Greetings. The process continues, with the meetings multiplying, the designs ever changing, and productivity levels resembling the spikes in my blood pressure. Ah, work.

I'm surprised that my friends over at the Initial Firm haven't figured out how to use a very productive individual yet. Hang in there bud, hopefully you can keep your head down long enough to stay employed. Maybe just maybe someone can figure out a way to work you into a project in which you can shine. The rest of the crew over there, with some very notable exceptions (hell, everyone mostly), should wonder if it's worth sticking around a foundering, if not sinking, barge.

Summer sucks. It's hot, the wife complains even more, and the house smells a lot like dogs. Big surprise, since we now are up to four canines-in-residence. The two elder pooches (Lila & Bob) are really no problem, and spend a lot of time asleep and lounging. They deserve it. The two young punks (Iris & August) are into EVERYTHING!! Nothing is safe. They chewed the tongues out of both my rare and valuable Osiris D3's. They are about to totally ruin the leather cushion on the living room couch. I have no idea where my rolling gloves have gone. No roll of toilet paper is safe. And, August is still only about 60% housebroken. Little jerk. I'm home for three days in a row this long weekend so I guess I'm going to "dog" him all weekend and kick his little spotted ass when I see him sneak off to shit or pee. Little jerk.

I've somehow become very addicted to talk radio. The main station at work is the local Air America station. I laugh at the morning show. I sort of listen to the noon show, the blow hard Ed Schultz. I really like to listen to the afternoon show, Tom Hartmann. But once these shows end at 4 PM, I usually turn everything off or sometimes sneak over to the local KKOB crapfest Jim Villanuci show.

I must resist the urge to listen to this local call in show. The station itself runs all the nationally syndicated right-wing sound machines, so its listener base is clearly made up of all those conservative wacko's that somehow believe Limbutt and Slant Head are sources of fact. All these listeners are poised by their phones waiting to call the local show in order to affirm the host's assertions about typical right-wing talking points. Liberal judges? Check. Gun rights? Affirmative. Liberals going after "our" hard earned dollars? Absolutely. To the host's credit, he does not easily tolerate the religious nuts that call, and has a pretty strong stance on overall freedom of choice when it comes to abortion. But he also fulfills the role required to allow his listeners to spew crap just to hear their voices on the radio in order to maintain ratings. What a waste. No real discussions, just blah blah blah at all time.

Anyway, back to it.

Here we go, confusion reigns.

Have a safe 4th of July. Work for better times in this country, and don't believe what you hear from the noise machine.

Peace.