Henry Rollins once described a song as "like getting hit in the chest with a Buick"

The whole blogging thing isn't really gelling for me. I find that I tend to create multiple incarnations of myself that I use when talking to different people. Some folks know about one aspect of my life while others know nothing of it. Am I protecting myself or my friends or just trying to appease everyone? It gets so damned tangled that eventually I have nothing to write about in my posts, lest someone stumble into something they shouldn't know.

So here it is, everything you probably didn't want to know:

I'm a staunch conservative. None of this compassionate conservatism crap, just plain conservatism. If the Constitution party would abandon its religious overtones, I'd sign up in a second.

I own a gun. Actually, I own several, but I only know of one that fires well, and it's a monstrous hand-gun. I believe very strongly in our second amendment rights, as I believe we'd still be saluting the English flag without them. I also believe that my house is my kingdom, and that I have an inherent right to defend it against marauders.

I don't believe in a minimum wage (c.f. above: "conservatism"). People drive wages. If you don't get paid enough, find something else to do. If you think there's nothing else to do, you clearly haven't been paying attention to the industrial revolution, which is still going strong. Invent something. Convince someone that you've invented something -- that worked well for the whole "dot-com" economy, and many of those people will never have to work again.

Here's a minimum wage math test: A company ships widgets. They do a steady business, and have allocated $100K for warehouse wages. For that money (assuming no other costs), they can hire 8(.36) minimum wage employees. That's 8 jobs that don't exist without this company. Now, let's assume that the "living wage" argument wins through Congress, and minimum wage rises from $5.75 to $8.00. Now, widget shipments have not risen, and the company still only has $100K to put toward warehouse wages. How many employees will lose their jobs? 2. The company can only employ 6(.01) employees at the new rate. That, in turn, hurts the shipping department's ability to meet demand, resulting in longer waits for shipments, dissatisfied customers, and eventually lost sales. When sales slide, so do profits, which means even more employees will lose their jobs.

So which is better? 8 people who make very little, or 6 people who make a little more? And whence comes the expectation that people *live* on minimum wage? I'm sure that some people do, but I would assume that most folks making minimum wage are entry-level workers (i.e., high-school students, first-jobbers, part-time positions, etc.), and that they aren't looking to stay in those positions throughout their careers. Furthermore, how many people fail to get raises over the years? Isn't minimum wage supposed to be a starting point? What does a high-school sophomore need with $16640 / year (that's the $8 "living wage")?

Back on track...

My mother is slightly insane. She's probably smoked her weight in pot, and I used to go on purchasing runs with her as a very young child. One of my earliest memories of my mother involved going to some dude's house where she bought drugs and there was a very large pistol on the table.

I don't trust anyone.

I am extremely selfish and jealous.

I am ridiculously lazy. I'll spend weeks working on a script to save myself 5 minutes of work per day. I will always put things off in the hopes that the business needs will change or that someone else will do the work.

My wife corrects all of my major flaws. When I'm around her, I become a giving and forgiving person. I want to work, work out, and be physically active with her. My love for Amanda is the most complete and satisfying experience of my whole life.

I detest those who cheat on their loved ones. If I find out someone I know is a cheater, I cannot respect any aspect of his / her life. Ever.

I abhor braggarts, although I have to work hard to keep from boasting. Maybe that's why I hate it.

I'm not a very positive person. I used to live by the simple philosophy that if you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed. It's morose, but it works.

I'm a grammarian and a pedant.

I feel that I've wasted every educational opportunity that's ever been placed before me.

I fear life, but I have a great time living it.