Quality Weenie

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Ok, I am getting my website built for my doggie business but want to beable to add/change/delete stuff as I need.

I am looking for easy software to beable to do this with, what does everyone recommend? Pros/Cons?

Could I Be Whoring For Terrorist?

As you can imagine I didn't sleep well on Tuesday night, worried about the big "W" Day and nightmares, holy crap they scared the hell out of me.

The contract firm I am Whoring for is owned and run by all Indians, Paki's or something of the sort. I can barely understand them when they call. I never had to go into their "offices" (for all I know they run the business out of their basement) as they Fed-Ex'ed me all documents and had me Fed-Ex them back. I have never worked for a contract firm in which I literally never seen them.

Anyway ...

I dreamed on Tuesday night and well into the early hours of the morning that they were a Terrorist organization and are screwing it's employees on pay so they can send all the money back home to support their Terror groups.

I was freaked out all day Tuesday about it ....

"W" Day

Well, today was the day ... the first day back to work.

I was afraid it was going to take me awhile to get back into things, but going back to work is like riding a bike, after the first few turns it's like old habit.

The job itself isn't going to be too bad, my boss is nice, I have have the equipment I am going to need or it's on order (computer, phone, etc).

The puppies hated me when I got home today, they wouldn't even come near me. They are not liking me not being home all day.

It will probably be only a couple weeks before I start traveling to plants for my job.

Oh, and I got a call today from the contract firm from hell and they said I need to retake my drug test because it was too diluted to do any testing with.

WTF does that mean? Too diluted? Sounds to me like someone lost or spilled it. So I have to go pee in a cup again.

Full Circle

Tomorrow is the "big" day ... back to work after almost 5 months of being off ... going to take some time getting use to the grind again ... the puppies are not going to like mom being gone during the day again, they got use to having me home all time ... hell I got use to being home all the time ... going to be wierd working again ...

This new job isn't going to be much different from what I usually do, I will be in charge of moving service parts from plants to plants, making sure everything goes as planned on the dates they are suppose to and then approving the new supplier for service runs. Once all the parts are moved from the old plants to the new plants my job will be over.

Funny thing is, the company I am working at is the same company I started out at after college. I ended up working contract for that company for 6 years before being hired in full time. I am also working in the same division I started that company with. Kind of come full circle. When I started out at that company I was working on dealer hot lines, taking incoming calls about the service plans they offered people when they bought new vehicles.

I sure have come along way since I first started with this company.

Boycott China Goods

In reading about all these dog food recalls, especially now that our brand of dog food is involved I think America needs to start boycotting any food items (in the least) that comes from China.

by Robert Jay Russell, Ph.D. April 18th, 2007.

The news of an ever-expanding, poisoned food supply is coming in faster than we can report. It appears now that several Chinese food exporting companies have been adding melamine to the processed grain products exported to Europe, Africa and the United States. I suspect that the melamine increases the concentration of N2 (nitrogen) in the product, leading those who test the product to conclude, erroneously, that the shipment is properly rich in protein. It is a case of doping a product to mislead quality assurance tests that results in death and debilitation of a unprecedented scale. All mammalian kidneys -- ours as well as our pets -- can potentially be destroyed by melamine crystals that clog the fine tubules that are the functional units of kidneys.

While wheat products of any kind from China should be avoided, now we learn that so should any form of rice product (e.g., "rice protein concentrate," "rice flour" or some such).....

Dr. Russell concludes:
Because we simply are not being told where Chinese produced protein concentrates are going in the world food supply, we must conclude it is prudent to avoid them all. These include WHEAT, CORN AND RICE products. And note that the protein/gluten concentrates are HUMAN FOOD GRADE and there is no reason to assume that these shipments are exclusively being used for pet foods.

Folks, the Chinese are putting it in their on purpose. Oh it doesn't sound like for evil purposes but to make them look better. They have killed 5000 plus animals (the media isn't reporting the real numbers being reported to the FDA) to make their wheat and rice have better protein numbers.

And guess what folks, the Chinese will not allow anyone into their plants to do inspections.

In the meeting, Durbin and DeLauro learned that the Chinese Government has blocked requests from the FDA to send personnel to China to inspect the facilities suspected of producing the contaminated products. The FDA first contacted the Chinese Government on April 4, 2007, but have not been granted permission to send food inspectors into the country

They are denying requests. God only knows what else they are hiding.

We should be very afraid because Natural Balance only uses HUMAN GRADE FOOD to make their pet foods. They pride themselves on literally eating their own canned dog food. Because both their dry and wet food are made from HUMAN GRADE FOOD.

HUMAN GRADE FOOD, which means they are using the same rice that we eat.

WAKE UP PEOPLE, we could be next

And now pet foods are being recalled with Corn Gluetin for the same problem.

Not Happy About It - But I Got A Job

I just got the call from the contract firm which heard from the company I interviewed with last week.

I am not happy about this job at all, well actually it isn't the job I am unhappy about it's the contract firm ..

They are cheap bastards, plain as that.

Contract positions are bad enough to work at as you are treated as a second class citizen at the company but the contract firms are even worse.

This contract firm didn't tell me they don't pay holidays, sick days, or vacation days until after I agreed on a hourly wage.

Calculating it out I will lose almost $9k by taking this job, and it's only temporary as it is.

When I brought the fact upto the contract firm that I wasn't told about the no holiday, etc pay until after I agreed on a price and I want to rediscuss that they told it's a contract firm, they don't offer those benefits. I then mentioned that all the other contract firms I worked at all offered vacation, sick and holiday pay they were silent.

They called me back 5 minutes later and offered 6 holidays and 1 week of vacation after 1 year.

Cheap bastards.

I hope not to be working there very long as I still plan on finding a job at a company that won't F*$@ me up the a&&.

And please, don't patronize me and tell me is a job. Mr Weenie already did that and I am not happy at all. It's like I am being punished for something, first I get laid off and then I have to accept a job that is screwing me.

Did I mention I am not happy at all?

Oh and I don't get paid OT either.

Ya, not happy at all.

I start Wednesday, if I pass the drug test.

And It's Only Getting Better ...

Had another interview today ...

I felt it didn't go very good at all, they were hiring for 3 different positions and I didn't have much experience in 2 of the positions at all.

So I felt stupid sitting there going, nope don't know that, nope not that either, nope never done that either.

Almost felt like I was set-up to fail...

The position that I was qualified for they also wanted Cost Estimating experience, I have never done cost estimating because it really has nothing to do with Quality.

They said I would hear something in a few days ...

So more waiting ...

I tell you, it's killing me, just killing me ...

This Week Isn't Starting Off Very Good-UPdated

I have been safe from all the dog food recall stuff as we use a very good brand that doesnt contain wheat (or corn or fillers, etc).

We use Natural Balance, the Venison and Brown Rice formula as Lance as allergies to Chicken ...

And then yesterday I read this

NOTICE: We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.

We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.

Great, just great ....

I am reading sites and there is just mass histeria of what the cause is and now I am freaking out ...

They say it's only the Sept / Oct 08 best use by dates (our bag is July 08 use by) but they have pulled all dates of the Venison/Brown Rice bags off the shelf.

So I had to go buy a different verson, got the Duck/Potato flavor ...

Hope it is ok and they don't decide to recall that flavor also. I am hearing that it could be contaiminated Vension (they get it from New Zealand).

The puppies are going into the Vet in 2 weeks anyway for their yearly check-up so I will have them test the puppies for problems.

It was the rice ...

Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in two of its pet food products, which the company has recalled. Melamine is the chemical suspected of causing pet deaths and illnesses related to the Menu Foods recall, covering more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food from dozens of brands the past four weeks.

But Natural Balance doesn't use wheat gluten, the ingredient contaminated with melamine in the Menu recall. Instead, it suspects that melamine was in a rice protein concentrate, a new ingredient used in the dry foods, said Natural Balance president Joey Herrick. "That was the only change in the product," he says.

It's The Waiting That Kills You

I had my interview on Tuesday ...

The interviewer said it was a really really good interview but couldn't say anymore as there are 4 others up for the position also and they were good.

They said I should hear something next week ...

This is only a temporary position, at the most 1 1/2 years, blech ...

Today in Automotive History

1977 : GM pulls plug on Wankel

The MGC - fastest MG ever made, 1967General Motors (GM) announced it had dropped plans to produce a Wankel rotary engine. The rotary engine is an old engineering principle originally pioneered by Elwood Haynes in 1893. Felix Wankel is credited with inventing the modern design in 1955. The Wankel rotary engine dispenses with separate pistons, cylinders, valves, and crankshafts, and its construction allows it to apply power directly to the transmission. The miracle of the rotary design is that a rotary engine can produce the same power as a conventional engine of twice its size composed of four times as many parts. There is a tradeoff, however. The Wankel rotary engine burns up to twice as much gasoline as a conventional engine, making it, among other things, a heavy polluter. Proponents of the engine argue that its smaller size would allow carmakers to install anti-pollution devices where they wouldn't fit in a car carrying an ordinary engine. The basic unit of the rotary engine is a large combustion chamber in the form of a "pinched oval" or epitrochoid. Within the chamber all four engine functions take place in the three pockets formed by the rotor and the walls of the combustion chamber. In the same way that the addition of cylinders increases power in a conventional engine, the addition of pockets increases power in a rotary engine. GM, after having considered the production of a rotary engine for a decade, finally decided against the innovation on the grounds that its poor fuel economy would be prohibitive to sales.

Happy Easter!

Pam Anderson and I, Twins?

Your Celebrity Boob Twin:

Pamela Anderson

Hattip: House of Zathras

Someone Wished In The Wrong Direction

A couple people have asked how the interview went ....

It was a phone interview with the HR manager and since it was Monday and it's Thursday I take it they won't be inviting me for a face to face interview.

I didn't really care for the HR manager as she said this "you don't have any longevity at any company" and the way she said it I knew I wouldn't be getting a face to face.

This is the auto industry, longevity is no more. The longest I have been at a company is 3 years and none of my partings from the companies have been my fault.

I've been laid-off, department disbanded, programs cut and sold. Nobody else has ever had a problem with it but she did.

Oh well

I do have another interview on Tuesday. I am not to excited about it as it is a contract position (I hate contract positions) and the contract company is so cheap that if I do get the job I will still keep looking as they do not pay for holidays, sick days or vacation days. They strictly pay for time worked at that is it.

Not paying for days off will cost me a few thousand dollars a year. Not to mention that I would be taking a few thousand dollars in a pay cut also.

So I would be making money but still looking for a good job.

Harder Than It Looks

I was always good at taking essay or short answer exams at school, actually they were my preference.

To put it mildly ... I am a good bull-shitter and essay questions are just a few facts with plenty of BS to fill the sheet.

I think I have mentioned that I am going to school towards my Masters Degree in Quality (see I really am a true Quality Weenie) and have completed all my required classess.

But it just doesn't end there ..... noooooooo

I had to chose the stupid degree that is the only Masters program with a Thesis requirement. Which is the only thing I have left to do for my degree.

I have been putting it off for quite few months, but have gotten my motivation back since being laid-off in December

So I have been working on it, doing some research, typing up my Abstract, cover page, and simple pages like that.

Today I started into the meat of the paper, the introduction ...

Who the heck thought it would be this hard to write an introduction .... I have been working at it for 5 hours now and barely have a full page ...

This isn't going to be as easy as I thought it was .... crap.

Wish Me Luck

WISH ME LUCK ....

I won't say for what, but my loyal readers will know what it means ....

Crossing fingers and toes!!!