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Harassment

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Doing my little training gigs all across New York State and as part of the safety training I have had to do sexual harassment training as dictated by the state. It’s always a rough sell to construction personnel and I get a lot of comments about ‘this sucks’. I know a lot of guys who roll their eyes when told they can’t make fun of someone who is changing their sex or want to be known by a different gender. The video is long. The test is cumbersome and the participants absolutely hate it. Then I am asked to sell it to them a little… …which is difficult because I have been in the business for a lot of years. I’ve heard it all. I’ve traded playful insults with a lot of guys and have never had my feelings hurt… …but as I told the class. “It’s a real issue, and many people have had their lives ruined by a boss or a coworker who didn’t stop.” “Don’t cross the line. Don’t be an asshole.” The class laughed. “You should write all the safety rules,” one of them said. And, in a world where it se...
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Blowing Up Boats

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So, America is now taking aim at boats with brown people on them. As a matter of fact, they struck one, saw that there were survivors and bombed it again. The idea being that perhaps it was a boat bringing drugs to our shores, but I’m just wondering here: Due process? Or is it straight up murder now? “We’re gonna’ start doing it on land,” the huge orange toad said.  Meanwhile, he pardoned a convicted drug dealer, in between drone strikes of small boats. Fighting crime? Law and order? Department of war? All of it stinks, and now, no one knows anything. The drunk, ex-Fox news reporter now knows nothing about the murder of those who survived the first attack. “I was hustling into my next meeting.” Didn’t stick around to watch the carnage. Now, I may be misinterpreting the constitution here, but is the penalty for a boat ride - with or without drugs - now murder - if you’re brown? Every damn day. A new horror. Had to laugh at the long nap during the cabinet meeting, though. Sleepy Joe?...
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Dressing Up For A Flight?

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Uh, no. The latest distraction being bandied about is that people should put on a jacket and tie to take a flight. That would be comfortable, right? I’ll put on a jacket and tie when I get a seat big enough to be able to hold a book without making contact with the person who is also sharing my seat. People are so crammed in now. You want civility? Have the people carting us around maybe stop yelling at us the entire time. “Are your pockets empty?” The guy asks in a nasty voice. Then he asks it five more damn times before you can take 3 steps. God help you if you have a sip of water on you as you pass through the line. On the plane there’s a ten minute lecture on buckling your seat belt. Then are the wonderful moments when they hustle you onto the plane to hear: “We are seventh in line for take-off.” And you sit there for 40 minutes. In a suit and freaking tie? And then there is the deplaning issue. The plane lands and people in the 20th row immediately stand up… …if you’re seated next ...
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Back At It

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December. Thanksgiving in the rear view. The break was certainly restful, but the howling winds and the cold temps had me feeling a little agitated as the long weekend wound down. But I was kind of looking forward to being back on a construction site. I have training coming up too, and it’ll be fun to dust off some of the old stories, and tell a few new ones. Three weeks until Christmas, which has started the: “What do you want for Christmas talk?” I gave my standard answer: “Peace on earth.” What else would I possibly want? My golf bag is updated. I have plenty of books in my ‘to read’ pile. Just sixty days away from my golf trip. Peace on Earth is the only other thing I can think of. Yet, that question is always followed up by what we are going to get the boys, and other family members. As far as my kids are concerned it’s less about a gift and more like a bank transaction. “They want money.” Time to get the tree out… …make sure the heater is charged up for my jacket. Time to head ba...
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Rested!

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Saturday was the 4th consecutive day off. I woke up rested and relaxed. Ollie had a lot of trouble bringing the ball back during some of our rounds today because he got a lot of reps. The stuffing was great - I had it a few times as a snack - I nailed it this year. And then…. …a huge move! I put potatoes in the air fryer as everyone kept saying that it was the replacement for baking a potato. I was skeptical. I didn’t want my baked potato going wrong to ruin my porterhouse. Have you tried it? The process took about 45 minutes. Let’s just say, I will never bake a potato again. Was absolutely perfect. There certainly is something to be said for the more relaxed days. I have slept an hour later each day, have read a lot, and have written a bunch of pages (more to come soon). A lovely break all in all. Back at it tomorrow.
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How Low?

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The post was sent on Thanksgiving night. The president of the United States called the governor of one of Minnesota, “Severely Retarded.” Seems like a low point, but obviously we can go lower. In just the last 2 weeks he’s called a reporter, ‘Piggy’. Told another to ‘Shut Up’ and also, on Thanksgiving night called a reporter a ‘Stupid Person’. Then there was a press conference to announce the death of a 20-year old National Guard soldier. He spent at least five minutes letting the world know that he is a great golfer who has won 38 club championships. He explained that he won ‘legitimately’ because people were watching. And Biden was basically removed from office because he stuttered during the debate. There are whispers… …that he is losing it and that MAGA is quitting on him. I don’t quite see it. One of the Republican congressmen put a triumphant post up: “He’s given us permission to say ‘retard’ again!” If you are nostalgic for the good old days when you could throw that word around...
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Another Senseless Tragedy

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I suppose that it was only a matter of time. National Guardsman patrolling city streets, and now we have a senseless tragedy. It’s bad enough that we have to battle daily lies. “There hasn’t been a murder in Washington DC in 6 months,” the liar in chief proclaimed the day before. Which wasn’t even remotely true. Then two National Guard soldiers were gunned down in the shadow of what’s left of the White House. “Did you hear about the shootings?” A work friend texted me. After I confirmed that I had his next text stopped me in my tracks. “The girl who died is my niece.” Good Lord. And now the blame game begins. Biden let him in, but the vetting process for asylum was granted in 2025. “Not the guns fault!” All the same stupid crap that we hear about with every slaughter in the streets of this soon to be 3rd world nation. I simply kept thinking: “She should not have been in harm’s way.” These kids are being used as political pawns in a game being played by people who don’t care, for even a...
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