Qoute of the month!

A very good friend of mine sent me an inspirational quote the other day and I really took it to heart.
"You are either problem conscious, or solution oriented."

While I would like to think that I am more "solution oriented", I tend to lean towards the "problem conscious" side a little more.

With the way my life is going at this moment, I will try to be more "solution oriented". After all, I can be as problem conscious as I want, but ultimately I don't have much control over that.

Which one do you tend to follow?



I am currently listening to: Nekromantix - Devil smile


And here is a sweet video of my recent pseudo visit to Phoenix!


Thank you Cynthia and Thomas!

Pandora time....

I am currently listening to a custom QuickMix on Pandora.com. It's just some of my favorite stations playing randomly.
Here are the next 10 songs to play, and what I think about them..

1: Ritchie Valens - Bony Moronie
This is classic Ritchie. I'm sure most people haven't even heard it. Makes me remember Feb. 3rd, 51 years ago when he died.

2: The Cure - Friday I'm in love
Great song! Everyone at work perks up a bit when a song like this comes on. It brings me back for sure.

3: The Slackers - Bin waiting
I love Vic Ruggiero's voice. I especially love this song on vinyl. The Slackers have amazing lyrics.

4: The Offspring - Half truism
This song sounds good enough to not click "next". The lyrics are actually pretty good, but it sounds a little too "power ballad" for me.

5: The Ducky Boys - Crumbling heart
This is one I've never heard before. It is a great song, with great meaning. The lyrics really got my emotions going!

6: Klinonz - Johnny B Goode
This remake of the classic song really got me moving. It still has the rockabilly sound but with the pychobilly speed!

7: A Perfect Circle - Gravity
A song about addiction, with awesome lyrics. I am not really in the mood for how slow this song is, so I am clicking "next".

8: Social Distortion - Winners and losers
Great song! My favorite lyric is "its heaven and hell here, which one will i live today?"

9: The Briggs - My own enemy
A very well written song in my opinion.. and since this is my blog, my opinion matters most! This song stirs up a lot of emotion in me; the sign of a truly good song.

10: Flogging Molly - Laura
Fucking awesome! Powerful, emotional and sad. A song about a lost love that is classic Flogging Molly. My favorite line in the song is "There's no need for tears,
Cause there's no need to cry, The love that you leave will never be denied."

Well, back to work now!

What are you listening to?


I am now currently listening to: Billy Talent - This suffering

Only in America!

I have been reading a lot about this huge Toyota recall lately. I mean really how can you avoid it, it is everywhere! You can't get online or open a newspaper without seeing a huge story about Toyota and the problems they are having with there cars recently.

It is American media at it's absolute worse!

First you have this car manufacturer that is amazing in every way. They build the most reliable cars on the road. You can find countless stories about people and their Toyotas that have lasted 200000 miles or more. I personally had one that went for 243000 miles before I finally sold it. They hold their value and they require minimal maintainance.

The reason I am writing about this is simple... The american people are acting like such hipocrites right now.
A couple of months ago, Toyota decided to make a change. Toyota is shutting down NUMMI, its assembly joint venture with General Motors.
It is the plant where many Toyota Corollas and Chevy Prizms are made on the same assembly line. Thus breaking their tie with GM.

The american people are outraged.... What did they expect?!
GM, Ford and Dodge have been making mediocre products for quite some time now. When you hear about someone that had a Chevy that surpassed the 200000 mile mark, it usually required an engine replacement or two.

A couple of things people are failing to mention is that at this point Toyota cars and trucks are more "american made" than the big 3 domestic manufacturers cars and trucks.

So now it comes to this, Toyota is under scrutiny for having a sticky gas pedal on some models, and a braking system on the Prius that has been known to possibly fail, thus forcing a recall of epic proportions on those vehicles that are effected.

The american media is having a hayday with this!

Now that the focus is all on Toyota, a lot of issues that are showing themselves on other manufacturers cars are coming in under the radar, and America is part of a large cover up of sorts.

And to make it worse, I get on news comment boards and everyone is bashing Toyota, and basically saying things like "Toyota has been pulling the wool over our eyes for decades, and they are finally being called out on it", and they are discrediting the reliability of Toyota vehicles. It is ridiculous!

One thing you won't notice in the headlines is this - "The Chevrolet Cobalt is under federal investigation for steering-related safety issues. To date, the NHTSA has reported 1,132 consumer complaints about a sudden loss of power steering in 2005-09 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008-09 Chevrolet Cobalt SS models. While a loss of steering assist should not immediately lead to a crash, consumers have reported "difficulty controlling the vehicle, such as departing from the desired travel lane."

The NHTSA has recorded 11 crashes and one injury attributed to the power steering failure, with potentially 905,000 vehicles affected by the investigation. There have been no deaths reported."

So while the most reliable cars in the world are getting bashed for something that was more than likely caused by the american people assembling them, the Cobalt, which was named "the most unreliable car in it's class" at one time is being praised as a reliable replacement for the "shoddy Toyotas"!!

They are making Toyota look like a greedy car maker that is deceiving the american people to think they are great, when in fact they aren't.... Totally not true in most peoples opinions.

If Toyota is so "greedy", why is it that the CEO of that great company makes under $1 million a year, all the while, GM CEO, G. Richard Wagoner Jr makes nearly $9 million a year + many other perks totaling over $14 million a year! And in 2007, Ford CEO Alan Mulally brought in $28 million for just 4 months of work!
It is American corporate greed at it's absolute worst! They are getting paid to make unreliable vehicles that are technologically decades behind the rest of the world! And to top it off, they show up to Washington on their private jets to beg the president for billions of dollars to help them compete with other manufacturers that actually care about building quality products.

People need to start realizing that Toyota has done nothing but build quality vehicles, and help the american economy for a very long time, while our own people are screwing over the public with their greed.

I could go on and on about this, but I feel I have proven my point.

Thank you for reading,
Toyota and Honda driver for life.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Currently listening to: Joy Division - Transmission

Parenting 101...

Here is something I wrote on November 13 2008, and things have only gotten better for my little princess!....

So, somebody once told me that I was a bad parent, and that my daughter would grow to be the biggest brat ever. On top of that, they always made it a point to tell me "what I was doing wrong", and, "what I NEED to do".............

Today I went to my very first parent/teacher conference, as the parent. As I sat there, and listened to to Kaylana's teacher, it reminded me of that certain somebody.

Apparently Kaylana is one of the smartest, most mature kids in her class. Not only that, she also has handwriting that rivals that of kids twice her age... I know it's alot better than mine has ever been! Basically, if it weren't kindergarten, she would be getting straight A's. Not bad for one of the biggest brats ever...

And on top of that, She is the most well rounded, most disiplined kid in her Taekwondo class. And she is advancing faster than any other kid in that class.

Now, I'm not just making this up because "I'm her parent, I'm supposed to say that". These are actual things that I have been told by her teachers, and have witnessed for my self...

I'm not looking for any kind of "congrats", or "good job". All I'm sayin is this..... If you have never been a parent, mind your own fucking business and don't try to tell me mine... Unless you have some good fucking advice, keep it to yourself.

It's funny how the ones that know it all, have never actually experienced it for themselves... Or they think they have but really haven't.

Well, that's enough ranting for one night. Time to have some fun.

-Proud Parent Joe!

Currently listening to: Buck-O-Nine - Sound system.

The final days...

I was given a 2 week notice from my place of employment on Monday. The reason for that will be covered in another post that is soon to come.

In the meeting I had with the boss, I was told to keep it a secret because they didn't want anyone to know.
Well, I did tell one person because it is the one person I work directly with on a day to day basis. He was a little shocked, but he said he wouldn't tell anyone.

Today I got to work and it's as if I have the plague! Everyone pretty much avoids me because they know my fate and they really don't want to associate with the soon to be ex-employee. I asked my one co-worker if he had told anyone, and he said no. I believe him which leads me to think that my boss has been telling everyone.

I don't know why, but this bothers me. I wonder what was said to everyone. I have ask a few guys but they all just deny knowing.

As I think about it and see other peoples reaction towards my leaving, It puts a smile on my face. After all, why would I want to work for this company that has continued to promote and reward mediocrity among it's employees? They have stripped everyone of the privileges that once made it a very fun and rewarding place to work. They have denied giving any pay raises for the last year and a half, and to top it off, they have made me feel as if this was the best I could do for myself!

I will move forward with no regrets and I will create a better opportunity for my self. To hell with you haters and doubters that stare and judge me. I am so much better than I have been led to believe. It's not that I was ever lazy, it's the fact that no matter what I did, it always went without notice and it was always backed by someone else doing a half ass job on their part.

Of course, I do in fact have friendships with a lot of these soon to be former co-workers, so it isn't all bad. I would like to make sure they know that they are appreciated and it was fun working with them. You know who you are.



Where do I go from here? This is a new beginning and I will make the most of it, thanks to the love and support I receive from my friends, family, and beautiful girlfriend.


This random blog was brought to you by my soon to be former employer. Building machines that are "good enough" since some time in the 90's.

I am currently listening to: Social Distortion - Reach for the sky.

Random thought for the day.

"There cannot be a crisis this week; my schedule is already full."

That is the understatement of the year!


On a happier note, here is the highlight of my week! Filmed by yours truly.




Current song i'm listening to: Bad Brains - Expand your soul