Stop the whining… Just stop.

I just listened to ‘The Story’, from March, 24th, 2009. About a temp worker at Microsoft, who was unwilling to accept a 10% pay cut, or rather wasn’t happy about it and started fussing.

He whines about being indistinguishable from an employee, other than the color of his badge. Yet he doesn’t get to partake in off-site team building activities that employees get to partake in. Temp workers get no real benefits from Microsoft. (Duh, that’s why they are temp workers).

How can you be that stupid? He wants temp workers to unite and stand up for their rights. Rights that, well, as temp workers you don’t have.

Here are the facts jack:

  • You’re a temporary worker, i.e. contract worker.
  • Your Job could go away at the snap of a finger. There are a million and one reasons a company like Microsoft uses Temp/Contract workers, the primary reason of course is to control costs.
  • You agreed to be a contract worker.

Now if they are being treated poorly because they are temp workers, that’s different. That’s simply poor management. But they are NOT employees; hence they don’t have the same rights and privileges.

This is a horrible ‘Woe-is-me, I’m entitled to something story’ that is all too common with ‘The Story’. It’s very, very frustrating.

Pay cuts, temporary or otherwise aren’t any fun. Not fun for those taking the cuts, or those who have to implement them. Get over it, 10% less is far more than you’ll get from the unemployment office.

Here is the Seattle Times article on this clown.

Investment Banking Explained

(This is floating around, I didn’t write it)

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day the farmer drove up and said, ‘Sorry Chuck, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.’
Chuck replied, ‘Well, then just give me my money back.’
The farmer said, ‘Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.’
Chuck said, ‘OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.’
The farmer asked, ‘Whatcha gonna do with a dead donkey?
Chuck said, ‘I’m going to raffle him off.’
The farmer said ‘You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!’
Chuck said, ‘Sure I can. I just won’t tell anybody he’s dead.’
A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, ‘What happened with that dead donkey?’
Chuck said, ‘I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00.’
The farmer said, ‘Didn’t anyone complain?’
Chuck said, ‘Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.’
Chuck now works for AIG where he’s about to get a huge bonus!

FJR Crash Bars a good investment.

So I’m just riding to work minding my own business. I’m about a mile away, three turns left to negotiate.

A left, a right, then a left into the parking lot. I go through this intersection every day and yes it always looks like hell.

But this time it has an extra special coating of something oil like which I don’t see until after I try to stand up and just about bust my a$$.

I was going maybe 15-20, the road leading to it is 45MPH and I didn’t have to wait for the light and there was no one in front of me.

I go to turn left and *bam*

Next thing I know I’m sliding across the pavement, uttering a few obscenities.

Luckily there was an ambulance sitting at the light. They guys jumped out helped me pick up the bike. They offered to call it in, but I declined. Nobody hurt but my FJR and my pride.

All I recall is hitting my head, it happened that fast. Helmet’s good, jacket is good, gloves (check). I was wearing jeans, and if I hadn’t had the benefit of what ever was lubricating the street, I’d be rashed a bit. There’s no real rash, it’s more like a rug burn.

The turn:

From FJR Crashbar Test

(notice the scrape marks from my bike)

From FJR Crashbar Test

Now for the Feej, Standard left side low-side damage:

From FJR Crashbar Test
From FJR Crashbar Test
From FJR Crashbar Test

I only had the fronts installed, the rears are too fugly for me, and the ones I have don’t have peg mounts for the passenger pegs.

Though my left side is starting to get a little sore.

 

The mirror took a hit but is still intact. I already have a replacement though 🙂 

I’ll just need a bag… and a new left side crashbar, some new gear and I’ll be ready to go.

Clearly the crashbar saved my stator cover (already dinged up from a parking lot drop) and my left side fairing. That more than covers the cost of the bars.

Higher res images are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mdisher/FJRCrashbarTest#