"Aliens" written by Tiburon1724 on estrip.org

05/11/08 11:50 - 52ºF - ID#44313

Aliens

do you believe in aliens? I definitely do, but I heard something on a talk radio show on Sirius a while back that made sense to me.

They said there's an argument that intelligent life may exist, but we'll never encounter it because any form of life that's progressed enough to find us will have already destroyed itself just as we will destroy ourselves before we ever get to the point we can go that far into space. In other words, by the time we get smart enough to save ourselves, it'll be too late as our own creations will destroy us, whether you believe in something like Skynet from Terminator (Google is the real-life Skynet, I still say so!) or the damage we do to our planet, or the weapons we create to kill ourselves.

It is mankind's destiny to destroy itself, it's inevitable. But is this a factor of MANkind or all intelligent lifeforms? If our cats and dogs were as intelligent as us, would they demonstrate the same behaviors on planet Pet?

Permalink: Aliens.html
Words: 175
Location: Buffalo, NY

05/11/08 03:27 - 65ºF - ID#44308

Unions hah!

American Axle seeks to close all 3 of its Buffalo-area plants
Proposed deal to end strike would add Cheektowaga plant to the shutdown list

Great job those unions do, huh? I absolutely despise any sort of union. They continue to bring down WNY and most of the Northeastern US. It interrupts the natural order of the economy. If you're not making enough, ask for a raise, if you don't get it, LOOK FOR WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE. If you don't like the working conditions, LOOK FOR WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE. "oh there is no work" YEAH BECAUSE THE UNIONS HAVE DRIVEN ALL BUSINESS AWAY. Get educated and find a new line of work.

Then the story about union people saying volunteers couldn't build a Cheektowaga playground for free, give me a freaking break. One thing I do miss about Florida is there's hardly any union talk or unions to speak of at all. If it were me I'd tell the union to fuck off. Are there laws requiring companies to deal with them because I just don't understand why they do.

Okay sorry for the rant have a nice day :)

metalpeter writes at 07:44:50 05/12/08 - Comment #35013: I have to add a couple things First (e:imk2) you make a lot of great points and think I agreed with everything or mostly everything you said.

I think one of the problems with both unions and the places the people work for is that they use contracts. My understanding is that the contracts determine everything. So then what happens is instead of a company having certain policies and procedures that the union overseas and makes sure aren't violated then every time a contract ends both sides have to agree on terms and they both really just want more. That works a lot less efficently then just having a system of raises and benifits at a place. What gets really weird in some places like if you work for the city and you are grandfathered in. So that what ever contract you where hired under if it changes then the rules on yours still apply and the new contract is just for new hires or wait maybe that is the county.

I think that US companies can make cars and make a profit. Maybe they are not as good as Japanese cars but they are trying and I think they will get better.

Out sourcing is great for other countries but not to good for us. What it does is lay off workers make the rich/middle class poor and make the higher ups richer and richer and richer, since it knocks down costs. If people where resposible they then wouldn't buy a cars anymore since they don't have a job. Eventully outsourcing will turn the USA into a 3rd world country and we will go to mexico to get jobs. If you don't have money to buy a car or or other products then that company may go out of Business if they only sell stuff here. It seems like Coropate responsiblity is a thing of the past. That being said people in unions can't be greedy either. Right now it has become cheeper for American Axle to close and move their plants someplace else. But see if they don't learn the next time there is a strike then it will become cheeper to move those plants some place else and it will never stop.

tiburon1724 writes at 12:03:15 05/12/08 - Comment #34997: There will always be new lower tier jobs for people, it's just that...say, in 2 generations they will be significantly more advanced as they are today, as everything is relative. However, this has not happened in a long time. I think we're all playing devil's advocate, something I love to do. I was taught hardcore economic principle is correct, don't worry about the people as they will eventually be taken care of (even if it's the next generation but a generation must suffer first)

Buffalo's big problem is when the economy started to change, nobody here did anything to adapt. Those $20/hr factory jobs started dissapearing and those people had no other skills, said "there are no jobs!" and moved. A huge part was more local government in not adapting and chasing after the next big thing too. I used to run a gaming website when I was in high school during the dot com boom...had an advertising contract and everything. I didn't continue to learn and adapt and therefore I can't do any of the fancy things websites do today. I only know basic html. So now I wouldn't be able to get a job in that area. Had I pursued and kept up with it I'dbe ok. Not saying it's the same situation but it touches upon the underlying principle.

tinypliny writes at 11:52:49 05/11/08 - Comment #34995: I was about to go off but I could not help coming back at this one: "So we give up 10 minimum wage jobs for 3 jobs that pay 10x more - net gain for the economy. Over time, this forces the nation's population to grow more intelligent."

In an ideal world, Tib!!!
But, we as flawed humans, will continue to reproduce like crazy without thinking about consequences.
We will reject every family planning/control measure there is because we are too ignorant to care!
That is the real world.

In the real world those three high paying jobs will take us back to the feudal land-owning ages with the wealth concentrated among a few. Because let's not forget that money beget power and power begets corruption!

tiburon1724 writes at 11:43:58 05/11/08 - Comment #34992: You're looking at it on a personal, individual level, which can't be done.

If an industry cannot support itself in this country, it should not exist in this country - Comparative Advantage. There are a limited number of resources available in the world be it land, labor, or capital. The entire world would be better off if everyone made what they held a comparative advantage in. For example, all American automobile manufacturing should be shutdown (that is, no longer proped up by the government which will result in them all failing). We cannot make them as efficiently as the Asians, union or no. The Middle East is ripe with oil, we are ripe with wheat, etc. The whole argument against free trade is silly from an economic standpoint.

Of course if all the countries could get along (ie The US minds it's own business and stays out of the rest of the world) it would help open this up completely as it should be, and if governments would stop interfering, like by bailing out industries (again, auto industry comes to mind) and just leave the economy alone, everyone would be better off for it in the long run. Certainly not short term as the economy would have to adjust...those people jobless because auto manufacturing is shutdown must adapt...or we wait for them to die off, before the benefits are realized. Another example is when people say they hate self-checkout lanes because it costs someone a job. No, it may cost people jobs that require no education, but it creates jobs in more advanced areas - people design the software and maintain them. These are higher paying jobs which require education/specialized training. So we give up 10 minimum wage jobs for 3 jobs that pay 10x more - net gain for the economy. Over time, this forces the nation's population to grow more intelligent. Otherwise, we continue to fall behind the rest of the world, which is what has been happening, because everyone's afraid to do what's right for the many instead of the few. You can't look at individual cases if you're running things, just the big picture. But our uneducated population doesn't understand this and therefore won't vote for it, so it doesn't get done...it'll take someone strong in office to get a turnaround rolling.

tinypliny writes at 11:16:15 05/11/08 - Comment #34990: Nice comment, imk2. I agree, wholeheartedly. I read all of your comments and I have a couple of my own to add to the mileau.

Unions back home are a pain. Their ends (helping the worker) don't justify their means. Instead of reasonable table-discussions with the industry leaders, they resort to strikes. These affect economic growth, more workers are laid off and wages are lowered. So in the end, ill-advised and rather reactionary methods employed by the union come back and damage the worker's chances of getting proper work-related justice.

From all your arguments, it would seem that inappropriate use of union influence and power is what is tipping the balance here, as well. If so, writing off unions completely or giving them unlimited power is not the solution. Perhaps, unions should have a code of conduct as well. They are no doubt a necessity as is amply pointed out by (e:imk2), but they cannot run unregulated. I would favour a moderate middle path toward union practices. Keep 'em, empower 'em but don't let 'em run wild.

imk2 writes at 10:38:24 05/11/08 - Comment #34987: yeah, i think i have to agree with (e:paul) and (e:metalpeter) here. although, unions can often times be difficult and even sometimes obstructive, they do offer protections that you wouldn't have otherwise. as i'm sure you know, if you work for an employer without union representation, the employer can fire you for whatever reason he/she wants. if your boss doesn't like you, if they're not making as big of a profit as they like, if you're getting old or if you stir up trouble, etc....if you don't have union protection, you can get fired.

initially, unions were formed to protect workers from the horrible working conditions that arose during the industrial revolution. big corporations, at the turn of the century, had deplorable working conditions, that forced people to work ungodly amounts of hours in conditions that were inhumane. people were used and discarded like cattle while big business made enormous profits. they pocketed all of the money without regard as to how they treated their workers. an excellent book that depicts what was going on during that time is "the jungle" by upton sinclair. that book followed an immigrant family living in chicago at the beginning of the 20th century while working for the meatpacking industry. it showed the incredible corruption of the corporations and the mistreatment of its workers as "wage slavery". the book is credited as the catalyst for labor and food safety reform in america.

it's easy to say that unions drive business away, but imagine being an employee who has given 10, 20 or 30 years of their life to a company only to get fired over some frivolous or stupid disagreement or because you became injured and had to be out on sick leave for a month or two.

unions protect a worker from being fired from injury, old age, disagreements, personal issues, etc. in many counties, those portections are offered by the government, but since we pride ourselves on our capitalistic idealism, our government was not willing to interfere by means of regulations with big business since that would seem to go against what capitlism is all about. although times have changed a bit, and there are some federal regulations in place now to protect workers (such as having to inform you if you are working with hazardous materials or sexual harassment laws) from unfair treatment, unions often still remain the only form of protection a worker has against "THE MAN".

i'm not sure how you can say "if you don't like your job look for work somewhere else"? it's not as if manual jobs can be found on every street corner. you also say "get educated and find a new line of work". you do realize that not everyone is cut out for a university education, right? not everyone is the cerebral, intellectual type that can work in a office. the few manual jobs that we have left here (which are most often associated with union jobs) provide one of the last kinds of employment opportunities for people who, although diligent and hard working, could not manage to obtain a job that requires a college degree.

what about the guy (or girl) who comes from the wrong side of the tracks that would never get passed the first interview because of the way they speak or look? i mean seriously, think about the chances of country bumpkin or inner city kid who has been educated in substandard schools their entire lives trying to get an office job that requires them to speak and act in a way that is completely foreign to them. believe me, those subtle nuances that you and i take to be the norm, can seem completely foreign to someone who has never been exposed to them. the stupid bullshitting and ass kissing we all do on an everyday basis is not an ingrained behavior. we have to learn it from somewhere. many people will say that it is not our problem if there are people out there that don't want to conform to the expectations and standards that are required of people who want to work in main-stream, corporate america. but honestly, it is not a matter of not WANTING to conform, but the lack of know-how of how to do so.

there exists a whole other world of a subculture of american people who do not live in main stream, middle class, america. they come from communities that have different customs, different language and ways of speaking, different values and different beliefs that often often get labeled as ghetto or country or backward or ignorant. to believe that that life style and upbringing is completely by choice is ignorant in and of itself. and to try to kid ourselves into thinking that they should just clean up their act or get lost is over-simplistic and naive.

i honestly don't know how one might expect someone who has been raised in a low income home, attended crappy schools and surrounded by crappy parents, to act and behave in the same manner as a williamsville, tonawanda or kenmore resident who attended private schools and had a stay at home mom. i know that this is a grand generalization, but there is truth that lies in generalizations. and you can't deny that the kid that grows up in amherst has social advantages that the kid from the east side doesn't. (and i'm not talking about money)

and before people start chewing my head off, i am not saying that all manual job employees are country bumpkins or all come form the lower socio-economic spectrum of society. but i am saying, that often times, those are the only kinds of jobs that people, who come form those facets of life, can hope to get in order to have a chance at living a life that isn't spent on welfare or living from paycheck to paycheck. because there are people out there that didn't have the opportunity to develop themselves academically and there are people out there who were not motivated to become "professionals"

BELIEVE ME...wanting to be SOMEBODY does not necessarily come to people naturally. it is taught to you by the people around you. by your parents, mentors, siblings, teachers, community members and peers, and if you are surrounded by downtrodden, unmotivated and uneducated people all of your life, chances are your expectations in life will vary greatly from that of you or i and getting the american axle job is the the best you can expect professionally. and is it necessarily so bad to want to work a manual job? aren't there some people who get a whole lot more satisfaction from working a job that is physically challenging, that requires you to sweat, to use your hands and muscle? don't these people deserve to be able to have a job that will allow them to support themselves? don't people deserve the chance to earn a decent wage even if they are not academically inclined? does every decent paying job have to be behind a desk and computer?

we have to have jobs in this country that allow people to live above the poverty line that do not necessarily require a college degree. higher education is not for everyone, and for those people for whom it's not, there should be opportunities to support themselves and their families without living in poverty.

i think the real issue here would be to address NAFTA and globalization and the reasons WHY these jobs are permitted to go abroad. because as long as people in other countries are willing to cope with lower standards of living (which is not necessarily a bad thing, i mean, do we all have to have 5 TV's and a car for each member of the family?) then at some point our standard of living will have to decline as well to even out the playing field.

and by the way, this is not a personal attack on you, tiburon, or your beliefs; it's just an argument i thought i'd throw out there. i'm sure many people here will disagree with me.

tiburon1724 writes at 09:29:21 05/11/08 - Comment #34982: they go to mexico and the sunbelt because there are no unions there to make their business less profitable and less able to compete with foreign manufacturers! In that way it's directly the fault of the unions.

The American automakers can't make a car with nearly as many features for anywhere near the price of a good import. I refuse to buy a GM vehicle in fact because in my experience they're also of crap quality compared to Japanese. Now I don't know the ins and outs of the automobile business, but I suspect unions have torn them a new asshole here, playing a huge part in why they can't compete.

And unions in public sectors like schools, city government, etc. is ludicrous. Mayor Tiburon1724 will throw the union bosses in lake Erie!

libertad writes at 09:01:41 05/11/08 - Comment #34981: I don't think necessarily that the loss of jobs should be blamed on unionization. It is my thought that the loss of these jobs is related to the fact that there is little regulation in business. They are allowed to just pack their bags and go to Mexico and still are able to sell their products here in the US. I don't know that this is the case here, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Even if it weren't they will move the plant to somewhere within the US were they are desperate and take much lower wages. With these options on the table unions lose. I would not expect my union to work if it were acceptable for my job to be outsourced or moved to another country less fortunate than ours.

joshua writes at 08:02:37 05/11/08 - Comment #34977: White collar unions are a fucking joke. I will never respect it, bottom line. Believe me, if our great-grandfathers could see it they'd be bewildered. I file teachers unions in the same category.

As far as manufacturing jobs go, that is a different story. At the turn of the century they were absolutely necessary - working conditions were deplorable and completely unsafe. In the end I think it was the only way that necessary labor laws would have ever been ratified. Counting on the private sector to reform those days would have been ludicrous. These days its beyond argument that union leaders, even locally in our area, are now directly responsible for the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs. Then everybody blames NAFTA after the union stops negotiating! Averages of $65 per hour compensation in a dying industry - those days are long gone.

People deserve fair wages for tough work - I'm all for that. My father is a blue collar guy, and I work in an industry that is hell-bent on directly protecting workers like that in all categories. I can tell you from personal experience, professionally and personally, that in a competitive world these days unions are doing more harm than good. In my view they've outlived their usefulness in many ways. The things that they've fought for are all now part of federal law, and we are now in a situation where union demands are literally bleeding companies dry. I have news - American Axle won't be the last in our area.

metalpeter writes at 05:10:46 05/11/08 - Comment #34968: I have to disagree kinda with two of you and think along Paul's line of thinking. I'm not saying that we think the same thing or that I know what he is thinking. Unions are not good or bad and Corporations are not good or bad, it isn't really that simple. Power often corrupts and when some guy working a line should be paid $12-14 dollars an hour (hello no degree needed) to start and they think they should start at $18 you all ready have a problem. Companies want to make a profit just like workers want to but if either side decides it wants to get greedy and take more then they deserve then the company falls apart. The real problem is that it doesn't matter what your job is if you make $10 or $50 an hour up to a certain point you live on the money you make. So you might say well so what if the guy who makes $35 dollars an hour has to go down to $30. He isn't poor but see they have a house, car, trips, maybe kids in school and an entire life style that is based on a certain income level now all of a sudden there check is $200 less a week assuming no Overtime and that is where the problem lies. But see if both sides would try to not be so greedy and work together maybe something could be worked out. I think another problem is that Unions work out contracts when you have a contract work conditions can change and that isn't right. I union should be there to protect you and make sure rules are followed and make sure there are not abuses but they shouldn't be the ones doing the abusing either. We shall see what happens if they really close places it might just be a bluff to stop the strike or they might say fuck america and move to Mexico. On a side note that entire playground thing is so stupid, if some company donates something let them put it up since they are the ones paying for it. If the union guys work on putting up and are paid then it really isn't a donation. I think the company I work for may have donatated it but I'm not sure since I have nothing to do with that kind of stuff.

james writes at 04:31:54 05/11/08 - Comment #34966: I love unions. The people who brought us the 8 hour work day, weekends, and retirement can't be all bad. Unions in manufacturing jobs are a bit bewildering. Factory jobs should be paying shit because it is a job that could very easily go overseas. Paying a guy in an axel plant more than a teacher is ridiculous and makes no sense in todays economy.

paul writes at 04:22:36 05/11/08 - Comment #34963: I totally love unions - when they don't abuse their power. Although, I am an extremely hard worker - dedicated to my job - I love the protections afforded by working in a union and the benefits I would most likely otherwise not have such as great health care and ample sick time/time off.

Permalink: Unions_hah_.html
Words: 187
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: computers

05/10/08 01:35 - 60ºF - ID#44297

laptop has arrived!

Finally got my new laptop yesterday. Very happy with it. Now I can use the computer without waiting 15 minutes for boot-up and 5 minutes to open an application! yay

Permalink: laptop_has_arrived_.html
Words: 28
Location: Buffalo, NY

05/08/08 08:31 - 51ºF - ID#44277

weird alarm salesman

So I'm about to go out the door and someone knocks....I look out the window and it's a guy in a white polo with a clipboard...my new Dell laptop has shipped so all I really thought is maybe that's the delivery guy! It's a college aged kid trying to sell me an alarm system by APX Alarm. So he tells me they're doing a special offer on specific neighborhoods and I've been selected blah blah. Shows me a paper with a panel they'd install free etc. etc. and ends up muscling into the house observing the existing ancient ADT system that's installed, then saying "well you don't have a door sensor there" so I get immediately suspicious that this is all a scheme to case the house.

He said this was an internship for him. He goes to school in Utah and is from California. In the end I said not interested.....I was able to see exactly what he was doing...play on my fears (of being robbed etc...talking about rental units nearby, busy street I'm off of, crimes that have happened nearby. He tried to establish a bond....poorly executed though, he out of nowhere goes "is there a six flags magic mountain here?" um ok. He talked about "Joe" across the street (I don't know the neighbors yet) and how they signed up. I should have said "well let's go see if Joe's home and get his input" to see if he was full of shit. Repeatedly says I won't find a better deal and he'll go online with me right now to show me. Also, I have to decide NOW. No deciding later, it's now or never. So I told him never. Now get the hell out of my house. Went to their website, apxalarm.com and it does exist but from the site it seems this is the only way they sell?? Very strange.

I ran down to the store afterwards for a few minutes and passed a car parked across the street with Utah plates, so maybe it was legit. Even so, I'd probably use a dog as a security system before a real one anyway.

Permalink: weird_alarm_salesman.html
Words: 365
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: computers

05/01/08 02:08 - 57ºF - ID#44210

help!

ok I'm an idiot. I used to be totally up on computers but in the last several years I stopped keeping up with it and as we all know it changes rapidly. So my desktop is way too old. I decide to order some RAM just to speed it up enough to make it bearable until I eventually get a new PC. Now the computer doesn't work!!! I took out the new ram so it's just like it was originally, but I get nothing when I power it on...everything lights up but there's no signal to the monitor and it doesn't seem to go through the boot sequence. Now I'm using my even older laptop that barely runs. (Bought it cheap refurbished about 6 years ago). I think it was incompatible RAM but no idea really. Any suggestions?

Permalink: help_.html
Words: 138
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: people

04/21/08 12:09 - 59ºF - ID#44074

Sheltered!!

So today at work a customer, a woman about 30 with a daughter about 6, asks where Military Rd is. We're in Amherst. I tell her to go down Sheridan and it will hit Military. She gets this real confused look on her face and says "is it in Amherst?" I told her no it's not and she seemed worried and asked how far it was. I explained she'd cross Delaware....then she stops me and goes "Delaware? Is that a dangerous street? I try not to leave Amherst." This wasn't a visitor folks this was someone from here. I know most suburbanites tend to stay away from the city but holy shit. I hate the suburbs.

Permalink: Sheltered_.html
Words: 115
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: volunteerism

04/12/08 11:36 - 44ºF - ID#43989

Brush Up Buffalo

I know it's two months away, but I'd like to take part this year. It's Saturday, June 14. Time and place TBD. I thought maybe we could get several volunteers from (e:strip)? Check out their website for more info and let me know if you're interested.

Permalink: Brush_Up_Buffalo.html
Words: 46
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: house

04/03/08 08:29 - 53ºF - ID#43888

becoming domesticated

So I finally closed on my house Thursday. The family came and helped me move on Saturday and helped me get things setup in the house. I absolutely LOVE IT!! I love living in N Buffalo....not far from anything really, and my neighborhood is very nice. The inside of the house really needs no work, all updated very recently. I do have some work cut out for me outside though...need a new roof, privacy fence along the back, and now the insurance company wants me to replace the driveway/walkway?! Screw them, that's 3rd on the list! :) Also have some work I can do myself...scraping and painting the sides of the garage, replacing gutter downspouts, repainting the trim (I don't like the color), etc. My parents bought me a washer/dryer which was a HUGE boost and picked myself up a lawnmower yesterday.

I'm finally at that point where I get just as much if not more out of spending money on something for my home as I do the latest video game :) It's weird to be grown-up!

Permalink: becoming_domesticated.html
Words: 181
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/18/08 09:16 - 40ºF - ID#43725

what happened!

So this morning I'm at work, probably about 8:30 and I notice a Buffalo Police car sitting in the closest parking spot to the store. I guess I noticed because it's Amherst and not Buffalo. He was sitting there for a bit....fast forward about 10 minutes and he was joined by what had to be 20 cop cars, mostly K-9 units...Amherst Police, Buffalo Police, Lockport Police, NFTA Police, Border Patrol, Lewiston Police, you name it. The secretary said they threw a guy into the back of a car behind the building so I figured...something like this will be on the news for sure. Alas, I can't find a thing on it!! But we get news about how well the super draft dodger works on your door. Anyone know what was up?

Permalink: what_happened_.html
Words: 131
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/16/08 12:29 - 33ºF - ID#43691

St Patty's Day

So I'm really happy to see that a big deal is made here out of St Patrick's Day. It seems Buffalonians love every holiday! In Florida you wouldn't even know the day happened...no mentions of it anywhere. We'd get in a little bit of st Pats merchandise at my store down there and barely anything would sell but up here it flew off the shelf!! I guess there aren't many Irish folks down there, but it's not just Irish people celebrating it! Again evidence of the culture and history present in this area. Wish I could check out the parade today from what I hear it's great, but now that I've broken it off with the g/f I have nobody to go with...plus I told my crazy aunt & uncle I'd meet them at some dive on grand island at 2.