A month?

Seriously, has it really been a month since I last posted? I guess it has. I have fallen in love with my new job, again. Unfortunately it means being away from the family for a while. After talking to my wife it looks like it may be a long while. She is not confident that the funding for the contracts I work on will continue, and she would hate to move our family here only to find out in a matter of months that both of us would be unemployed. I tend to look at things in a more positive light... that is that God moved us here, he will allow us to stay here.

I have to be honest though. She does have a point. Turns out that a lot of the contracts I work on are funded through earmarks. Public enemy number one for the newly elected Conservative Congress. The Conservative philosophy really appeals to me, and I have to define myself as a Conservative. It is really funny/ ironic that my lively hood depends on government spending. I see no conflict though as defense is a legitimately defined and enumerated power in the Constitution, whereas the Department of Education is not. Perhaps that is why I never was too enthused about being a teacher. Working in the Defense industry for government contractors I don't feel that I am being contradictory.

Unfortunately pursuing the career I love has taken me away from the people I love. In order to support the people I love I have to be away from them. It really is a tough catch 22. I could go back to Colorado Springs and hope that something falls out of the sky the way that On Target Enterprises did when I was at WalMart. That is the thing though. I do not have WalMart to keep my family fed, and I can not work there again for at least two more years. That means that I may not see my family again for two more years.

Thank you all for your prayers during this time. Please keep them coming.

Prayers,

Pisio

ARRGH!

Yep... thats it.
Prayers Pisio

Started the New Job

It is almost as if I never left the site. I have landed a job working for basically an old employer working on the same projects I worked on the first time I worked here. It feels like home. I need my family here with me soon, and I think that it will be again.

Prayers,

Pisio

Job Update

For those of you who have been following, my unemployment claim was denied. I am assuming that they will try to claim I was insubordinate or something like that. They are really good at that. The funny thing is one of the last things I was told was that I was told was that if I did not like it I could find another job. All I did was what they asked; I started to look for another job. It is going to be fun to appeal the denial of claim. If nothing else, I am just planting the seed for someone down the road who may not be fortunate enough to find another job within a month.

That is correct. I have found another job. I will be working on Maui again. Initially, my beautiful family will not be able to come with me. However, down the road I am hoping that they will be able to. The reason that they can not come is that the company I am working for is not able to guarantee me work beyond six months. I have a history on Maui and am a known commodity there so the site will be able to use me. That means the money should continue to come into them for my services.

I will be keeping up this blog in my free time at home as well as another one. Look for a link and a brief snippet of what that one is about soon. Please pray for me during this move. It is going to be a rough year or so.

Prayers,

Pisio

Update: I have let it go... :)

Imagine this

You are driving down the road in the middle of a blizzard. The wind is blowing and the snow is blinding. You can not see see three feet in front of the car. Your kids are in the back seat strapped into their car seats when your tire blows out. You pull your car to the side of the road and have a decision to make. Turn off the car so that your cell phone can operate or leave your kids in the car with the engine running and the heater going, but you have to get out into the weather and wander far enough form your car so that your cell phone will work. Why these two options? Because the government has decided installing a cell phone jammer in your car is the only way to keep idiots from driving themselves off bridges, or into buildings.

Apparently now it is the business of the United States Government to intrude into your life to the point where they could disable your private property in your private property. Seriously. Lets think this through a bit though. If they put this device anywhere visible or known, the operator can just disable it. It can not be in a place where the operator can be tempted to disable it, because it will only be a matter of time before they do. It can also not have an on and off switch, as the operator will simply turn it off. This means it has to be directly connected to the batter, or the cars electrical system in some fashion; as soon as your car is on, the device necessarily has to come on.

What then do you do in the case of an emergency like the one above? How do you safely call a tow truck while keeping your family safe as well. I have been in cars that will not start up in extreme cold when minutes earlier they had been running (for those of you from warmer areas, this is why people leave their cars running while they go into a convenience store in the middle of December). The bigger question though should be is this even a valid concern of government?

I have a better solution. Let the idiots on the road be personally responsible for their actions. Stiffen the civil and penal penalties allowed for idiots who harm others while on their cell phones in vehicles. You do not punish the whole for the actions of a few, unless the whole is wrong to begin with. The US government really needs to stay out of our cars, our homes and our pants.

Umm... and I thought

Never mind. I really am suffering from a major case of writers block. I am worried about my family and other things. I had two successful interviews with a company that would take me back to Maui and my family would hopefully follow this summer if work stabilizes. I have not heard a peep from them since the second interview concluded on Thursday.

I guess there are no rules for professional behavior about getting back to a candidate for a position. I know that as a candidate I should send a Thank You, and I did. What about the company though? I have applied for a bunch of positions over the last month and aside from the auto reply e-mail saying they had received my resume... NOTHING. Not even a reply that my skill set is not what they are looking for.

I guess this is just normal practice in a time of economic hardship though. I am sure the companies are receiving several applications a day for the same position. They must just be overwhelmed. I know in the past, I have been fired for less. Maybe these companies should evaluate the people they have screening resumes...

Prayers.

Pisio

Congressional Pay

Last night I was watching the Glenn Beck program and he was talking about ways for the government to save money. One of the ways he talked about was limiting the pay of those in Congress to the average pay of what those in the military are making. While I like the premise, I think that it is flawed. I do not think that he has thought this through enough, although I have not read his book Broke yet so I do not know.

Personally I think a better method would be to tie Congressional pay to the median income of the district or state that they represent. Federal "servants" like the President and those in the military could never make more than the median income for the United States as a whole. Right now, that would mean a salary of around $50K a year for enlisted military (a huge pay increase) and the President (a huge pay decrease) (Officers should be paid on a scale that starts them at 10% above the median income and goes from there). Senators would be paid no more than the median income for the state that they represent, and House Reps would be paid no more than the median income of the district that they represent.

I think that this would serve several goods. First and foremost, Congress critters would no longer work to get people dependent on government programs. Welfare and state aid in general decrease median wages for areas therefore by encouraging state aid, Senators and Representatives are deflating their own wages. It would be in the best interests of all involved to set policy that keeps people employed and increases the chances that they would set policy to keep higher paying jobs in their areas. Providing these opportunities for those that they serve is in their best interest, and it would necessarily decrease the need for entitlement programs. The more you can do for yourself, the less you need government.

This also takes the keys to pay raises for themselves away from Congress. The only way they get a pay raise is if the economic situation of the areas they serve improves. Imagine how fast we would see common sense policy in place if they pay of those setting policy actually depended on the policy that they set. I have a feeling the budget would be balanced every year, and policies that forced companies overseas would be eliminated, or at least left to the discretion of the states.

I don't know, I just think that this makes more sense than the current way things are done and the way that Glenn Beck was proposing. My guess is though, this current bunch of leeches would just se the federal minimum wage at $200 per hour and say we tried. That would then force all business out of the area and the median income would be $0 though... Guess what they would be paid... :)

Prayers,

Pisio

A night to remember

About 6’2’’and balding hair with blue eyes and long hairy arms I knew I was in for a long night. The room was full of young women with legs all the way to the floor and hair to match; I was in search of a wing man for the evening. I found him standing against the wall. My height with a full head of hair and 50 pounds on me I knew I had found the guy; a real mouth breather.

“Hey, you want to hit Starbucks?” I queried, giddy as a school boy.

“Do we have time?” came unhesitating reply. I knew I had found my guy; kindred spirits.

He introduced himself as “Shrek”. Curiously, my name is “Donkey”. The night was off to a better start than I had expected. Shrek and Donkey, which one of the high class ladies inside could resist such a pair? Heaven knows we could not resist theirs.

Emboldened, we headed into the Starbucks. We paid for our lattes and had the extra cream added of course. We headed for the exits, but were stopped by a real smart ass. No really, we could not figure out how to get around this donkey. I would shake, and it would shimmy; spin move with the hot button double press “D” action. Shrek did what any self respecting mouth breather would do. Gave him some Captain Crunch until the ass passed out.

A night to remember.

Prayers,

Pisio

Blogvertise

So, I logged in and I have been suspended I guess. Looks like the account is still alive, but I could not find instructions on how to reactivate a suspended account. Then again, it is their customers who have lost a good plugger. Given a bit of headstart with a topic and keywords, I can develop a story around any product wether or not I believe in it, I have used it or I even have the capacity to use it in my home or not. Oh well. Maybe I will dig around a bit more, maybe I wont. I could use the extra money right now, but I am not worried enough about it to worry about it.

Please tune back in for my next post. It will be a doozy. I have decided that every 10 posts I will create a link back madlib where there is a goofy story and I randomly link to my followers blogs throughout it.

Prayers,

Pisio

Aliens in the Attic

Last night my wife and I watched this movie, and I have to be honest with you... I have not laughed so hard since the first time I saw Idiocracy. My wife was really leery when it showed up from Netflix. I think she really wonders about me when I put movies like this in our queue. I wonder about some of the movies I put in our queue as well, but that is another whole blog posting.

Aliens in the Attic though, was absolutely hilarious. It had the typical kid realizes he being different is not a bad thing story line, but story itself was just great. I really do not want to ruin this for you, but just think of a kids version of The Hangover. It is everything you wish would have happened to you on a three day weekend with your cousins in high school, and to boot you get to ruin your sister's life :).

This movie would be great for one of the upcoming cold winter nights with the family, or if you are a single guy, one of the many cold nights you spend alone... I mean honestly... you are reading my blog... you can't be a stud or anything... :)

Prayers,

Pisio

City of Wonder

I had been avoiding playing games on facebook for what seemed like ever. The reason being that I was afraid I would get addicted. The time off though has made me want something a little more interesting than Farkle and Bejeweled Blitz to play. So I started playing City of Wonder. Mistake. I am hooked. I hate having an addictive personality.

I am already at a level 9 and want to go farther. The only issue I am having is getting gold bricks to expand my territory and build the marvels and things I have to build in order to progress. It is maddening. I never thought I could be this hooked on something. Last night I even caught myself doing surveys to try and earn gold bars. That was actually pretty frustrating. I spent 20 minutes trying to qualify for a survey only to be told I did not meet their requirements, even after answering specific questions about experiences at WalMart and things. What a frigging scam I tell ya!

Oh well. Anyway. I need to convince a bunch of my friends to become my allies. That seems to be an effective way to progress in the game. I am not really sure what else I am going to be able to do. I guess I will just invite 26 a day over and over again until a few of them sign up and help me. HEHEHE... It has worked on me in the past, why not on them?

Prayers,

Pisio

Hmmm...

This really is an interesting election cycle. The Democrat Party (the party of the little guy and minorities) endorses the rich white guy over the black guy so the hispanic son of immigrants would lose.

But I thought

The world's most miserable animal was the liberal American woman. Apparently I was wrong. It is the blobfish. Who knew? Personally, I could not tell the difference between the blobfish and Janet Napolitano. Seriously, if I had to choose one in a kissing contest, hands down I would take the fish. At least I would know it was meant to look that way.

And one more thing I guess... How do we know that the blobfish is miserable? How do we know that it is not really smiling? We can tell that the women are not happy, just read what they say, but the fish... Not so much.

Prayers,

Pisio

Happy Monday

Well, Sort of I guess. My wife is blaming me for breaking her camera. Last night while trick or treating with our kids there was an attempted hand off. I was trading her my daughter for the camera. The camera was fumbled. Interesting. I never believed that I would be wrong about everything until I got married.

I am still unemployed. I am applying for jobs here and there. It looks like my most promising jobs are going to be out of state :(; although New Mexico, Arizona and Hawaii are not bad options if I have to leave Colorado. I hope that something comes along soon though. It is so insanely weird to be at home, everyday with my kids. I hear this week wether or not my old employer has to pay me unemployment. My guess is I will have to appeal a denial of claim. Good thing I thought ahead and saved e-mails and voice mails :).

I really am enjoying having the time off. I have been working since I was 16 anywhere from 20 - 90 hours a week. I need a rest, but I also need to feed my family. Does anyone know how adsense works? I had over 2000 visitors last month and made $0.00. Today I had 60 visitors, and made $0.02. Seems a little odd. HMMMM... any other updates?

My son has the show and tell bag for Wednesday. He is going to take the Tonka Tow Truck he bought with his birthday money. Loud with flashing lights, it is perfect for a pre-school class...

Please keep me in your prayers. I am starting to go stir crazy.

Depending on election results tomorrow, I may get back into posting things more of substance.

Prayers,

Pisio

Something tells me

Alcohol was involved.

When I am in need of a good laugh like I am now, I can always find something on Dave Barry's blog that does the job. Like this:

North Dakota police arrest man in urinal shooting

You seriously have got to be kidding me. What the heck? I have been drunk before, but never so badly that I would feel threatened by a urinal. My guess is that this guy probably would have gone home alone anyway, although it is North Dakota.

Oh thank you Dave for making my day. Thank you so very much.

Prayers,

Pisio

P.S.: For those of you that care, I have a lead on a job back on Maui. Pray that something works out, otherwise I may have to get one of those annoying "Donate" buttons.

Unemployed

Well, after what looked like a promising job I went from an "atta boy" keep up the good work to a demotion to being unemployed. Colorado defines you as eligible for unemployment if you are unemployed through "no fault of your own". Just wondering if leaving a job because it has become so hostile to your existence so as to blame you for every problem the company has experienced in since its founding would qualify as "no fault of your own".

For example in an e-mail from the president of the company I am told that progress on the assembly of units had stopped for the last 3-4 weeks even though parts to complete the assembly of units did not show up until the last week. I can not do anything about the assembly of units if the person who orders parts (her son) does not get me the parts in a timely manner. Yet when I mention that little nugget of information I am told he is overwhelmed because of his school schedule and to not complain about his work.

I am told by the vice-president of the company that I am not to be anybody's friend, that I am a supervisor and management's eyes on the assembly team. When I correct an assemblers or engineer's work and am firm with them about it, I get told to stop complaining about other people's work. It is demoralizing the team and causing friction and temperatures to flair. I am told I need to start being nice to people.

OK fine what ever right? After the atta boy on Thursday, I get sent home early on Saturday and on Sunday receive a demotion from Supervisor to an experienced assembler. This is all well and good, except that in order to complete my tasks, I must be trained by an engineer to do so. In the same breath I am told this I am told I can not interact with the engineers, or anyone else for that matter.

Me thinks that I was offered the demotion so that they would not have to fire me and pay me unemployment. I know that they do not want to pay anyone unemployment. ARGH! this is maddening. I have two kids to feed, a mortgage to pay. I am so upset right now I could spit. I know I am not entitled to a job, but there was no warning given and no second chance. Just three days of hell and a kick in the ass.

Maybe, just maybe this will make me rethink my stance on labor unions... Ummm... no probably not upon further reflection.

Pray for me please. I have some nibbles already. I have a shit-ton of experience that someone is bound to need. The main problem is location. I am tied to a house here in Colorado. That probably means a hardship period away from my family as my best options are out of state.

Prayers,

Pisio

ARGH

I really started out loving a new job I took about 6 months ago. It was a small R&D shop that supported an important mission for the military. Things started out going well as I think all new jobs do. I made it through my 90 days of probation and was given a couple dollar an hour pay increase. Labor day weekend, they flew the company and the families down to Cocoa Beach Florida for a weekend. I felt like I had a new home.

Things were going well right up to Thursday night. That day I had been asked to put together a schedule for delivery of some units. The schedule was aggressive, but it was attainable provided everyone worked together as a team to get it done. This was generally not a problem. For whatever reason, I am blaming the full moon, this time it was. It seemed everyone was at each other's throats and nobody was doing anything correctly.

One of our units had a bad bottom seal, whoever had installed it cut it too short. I recommended to the engineer that I was working with that we take the 2 minutes required to reseal the unit correctly. The engineer grabbed the seal, stretched it out a bit and re-seated it in the channel. He then grabbed the bottom plate for our unit and sealed it up- This unit failed to enter burn in because the seal failed.

Another of the units had a bad/ intermittent front panel switch. I recommended to the engineer that we replace the switch with a new one. Since the computer was restarting itself intermittently I also recommended switching out the battery board and power protection components. This is an easy switch and takes all of 20 minutes. Again, I was overridden by the engineer.- This unit failed to operate and was brought back for repairs: a new switch, a new battery board and new power protection circuit.

A third of units also failed to enter its burn in period. The unit was showing some resonance on one of the channels. This unit had passed our operational check according to another engineer. It turns out that there were loose connections inside the unit causing the resonance.

In all three cases above, I handed off a system to an engineer and trusted their judgement. This has come back now to bite me in the butt. I have been asked not to come into work tomorrow so that the company can decide where I am best suited to be an employee. They say the failures of these units as my fault, and I believe they are looking for a scapegoat. My guess is that come Monday afternoon I will not have a job. If that is the case, so be it.

I ask for all of your prayers in this situation. I am lucky that I have a wife who has a stable job and who loves me. I worry for my kids, but somehow, somehow, God's hand is here. Please pray that I can see it.

Prayers,

Pisio

Linkback Madlib

Well... It has been a bit over a week and I have picked up three more followers. I really wonder what makes someone want to follow my blog... I would like to think that it is the writing and sharp insight combined with the witty humor. My guess is though, something more sinister is going on... I think that some of you are moles for the Obama administration... especially this gal. Let me put on my tin foil hat so that she can not read my thoughts... Give me just a minute.....

Okay... I am back now... tin foil hat secured tightly... The conspiracy is on... it is only a matter of time...

Anyway... today was a good last day of fall. I say that because I think winter is here in Colorado. It is gonna be cold next week and you know how I can tell? My joints are killing me... Like what this lady would obviously do... I am sure that death by her hand would be much appreciated after the torture she would put me through first. I have a feeling that it is going to be a long winter...

Glad I have this lady to keep me warm and fed... otherwise... I might turn out like this guy.

For those of you who are following me... Sincerely... thank you. I will do this in the future and just pick "random" followers of my blog to link to...

Prayers...

Pisio

Snow

As I was driving to work today, I noticed snow on the summit of Pikes Peak. It was beautiful. This winter is probably going to be a long one. Last winter I was able to sleep in a bit before I got up to shovel some global warming off of my driveway. This year, I will have to be in at work by 9:00am which means being up at the butt crack of dawn to get the snow off the driveway. AHHH Colorado living.

Don't get me wrong. I love the life I have here in Colorado, but somedays I really wonder why I ever left Maui. Sunny with a chance of rain in the afternoon. That was the forecast everyday. Not the same here in Colorado. It can swing from the mid 70's in the morning to the 30's at night. You will not believe how much that will mess with someone's sinuses and head. I know when we get those rapid swings that my head just throbs. It was like that today... my head just throbbed.

Next week, we will start the week with temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Wednesday though if I can believe my coworker, it will be in mid 40's... For a high... ARGH... I will be missing Maui by midweek I am sure... REALLY really missing Maui. Maybe, in a few years we as a family will be able to return. My guess is though that it will be many years before I can return to Maui and get away from the snow...

Prayers,

Pisio

Welcome

To the 11th follower zeitheist.