| (no subject) |
[Dec. 17th, 2008|05:57 pm] |
This week I’ve issued decisions totaling more than $30k benefit overpayments. Benefits that were paid to because they fraudulently withheld information from the department to obtain benefits not due. I have a decision to enter tomorrow that is over $8k. I might break $50k this week. What does that matter? I’m one adjudicator out of an office of 60. if my amount is the standard that means this week, from this office , there should be a total of $300k. There are four adjudication offices in Wisconsin so $1.2mil. Over 52 weeks, $624,000,000. And people wonder why the state will be out of unemployment money in February. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Oct. 3rd, 2008|08:52 am] |
Yesterday i spoke to my son, Alex, for the first time in almost 8 years. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|12:19 pm] |
|
Depending upon time, energy and the weather I may be in Madison Saturday evening. Anyone going to be around for a drink/late dinner? |
|
|
| picture meme |
[Sep. 20th, 2008|08:59 am] |
take a photo and post it.
|
|
|
| Weekend |
[Aug. 1st, 2008|05:30 pm] |
between moving and race weekends I haven't had a chance to go on a decent motorcycle ride this year. decent meaning triple digit speeds 1/4 mile long wheelies dragging knees through the corners head banger ride in the country. so i'm getting together with a few racers and track riders on Saturday to do just that.
other than that i need to get the bed put together so we can have a complete bedroom and mainly comnplete living room. next will be the office, she spare bedroom and then the party den in the basement. hopefully we'll have everything sorted by 2010.
have a safe weekend, everyone.
Malik |
|
|
| Ebay |
[Mar. 13th, 2008|03:09 pm] |
|
i just scored a new windsheild for my bike for $0.01. WIN!!!
it ships from Hong Kong and costs $23.99. LOSE
its starting to thaw out enough that i need to think about getting the bike ready for spring. so i can ride it. out of town. to places like chicago and madison. |
|
|
| catching up. |
[Mar. 10th, 2008|04:22 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
I was thinking about renewing my race license this year. Actually let me correct myself. The last time I had a valid race license was in 1994. After 14 years I’ll just be getting a race license again. Mainly I wanted to do it because I have some friends that were going to be racing this year and if the opportunity came up to do a team race I could fill in. I’m reliable. Smooth and don’t take a lot of chances. I’m not race pace fast but I’m not a complete slouch either. I had been thinking of getting my bike race prepped over just track day prep and doing a race on my bike or at most doing the licensing school on my bike. Turns out a guy I know has a race bike that he’s not going to use this season. He’s’ going to race motocross instead because it’s not as dangerous. I met the guy a few times but haven’t hung out with him a lot. He’s more of a friend of a friend. He was racing at Road America last year and ran into some bike problems. I jumped in, ran a part over to a mechanic, got it fixed, dashed back over and got his bike back together for the next race. I guess it stuck in his head because he’s going to let me use his race bike this season providing I perform the maintenance and repair it (or buy it) if I crash it. For free. Free race bike. Just gas and go. How fucking factory is that? Another guy I know owns a website. I’ve known the guy for damn near 20 years. He has suggested to another friend that I become a member of his race team. He’ll pay $75 for a win, $50 for 2nd place and $25 for third. I don’t have any illusions of winning any races or coming in third but I’d also get a discount for the parts he sells on the website. So…maybe I’ll be racing a bit this season and maybe not. we’ll see what the girlfriend says. |
|
|
| weather |
[Feb. 7th, 2008|09:12 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confused | ] |
i heard the weather was bad yesterday. people plowed in. stuck in driveways. stuck in the ditch etc...
i drove from Milwaukee to Oshkosh and then back yesterday through this awful winter weather blizzard whatever thing people were talking about. i didn't see what the big deal was.
i also don't understand how my neighbor got stuck driving straight from her garage and down her plowed driveway. i also don't get why her fatassed worthless son was sitting in the back seat of the car while i'm helping her shovel and push.
i think the next time he lets his dog out to shit in our yard i'll make a point to tell him to pick that up right away and stop leaving it for his mother to do in the spring. |
|
|
| on a lighter note |
[Jul. 18th, 2007|11:24 am] |
pictures from Road America and Blackhawk Farms Raceway.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jun. 16th, 2007|10:16 am] |
Yeah…
That Zune that I ordered off EBay came. Did I mention the story? You can find some pretty good deal on EBay if you know how to look. People, in general, can’t spell for shit. So if you misspell a word or a product when you search you might find some pretty good deals. The Zune, made by Microsoft, was spelled Mircosoft and that’s how I found it. 1 day left starting bid $100 and no bidders. So I bid, pushed my max bid to $125 and won it.
Anyway I got it in the mail yesterday. I was expecting it to be a little beat up and rough. Not a scratch on it. Perfect condition. Brand fucking new. Flawless. Did I get a fucking steal or what?
Now I’m working with the Zune software. Can I just say it fucking sucks? I mean it really fucking sucks. I’m not stupid when it comes to working with software but this shit makes me feel like a fucking retard. Dee dee Dee. Get all the updates and sp2 and shit installed on my computer, got the software installed, plug it in, and spend 15 minutes creating a bunch of shit I’m not going to do or use. Then the damn thing tries to load all my music onto itself. Umm…I have 60gigs of music. Fucks that gonna work?
So I’m stuck trying to figure out how to select the songs and music you want to load or ‘sync’ it’s a real pain in the ass. Leave it to Microsoft to create a flawless piece of hardware and fuck it up with their software.
Damn Mircosoft. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Feb. 12th, 2007|04:32 pm] |
I bought an iron skillet for cooking awhile back. Mainly I was not happy with trying to cook steak on a stainless steel pan. I didn’t feel I was getting enough heat into the meat to sear it quickly and I wasn’t getting enough heat into the meat to cook it fast without drying it out. I cooked a steak (two actually) last week that turned out well. The iron skillet does hold and transfer a lot of heat but I left the steaks on for a few minutes too long and they did not turn out the way I would have liked. Next purchase should be a meat thermometer.
Proud enough that I have a nice iron skillet the GF surprised me with steak last night. Her steaks in the past have been good but not great. My good steak is about as good as her great steak. Well, at least that used to be the case. She made New York strip last night that made my steaks look like something from Ponderosa. It seriously kicked my ass. (My mushrooms were better. I have a secret but damned if I tell it to her now.)
So, no I have to step up my game. Next time I cook I’m going to make sure my steak is the best, my mushrooms kick more ass than Chuck Norris and I’ll throw in Lobster tails to really give it the knockout.
That’s all. |
|
|
| in no particular order |
[Jan. 16th, 2007|07:37 pm] |
got back from Jamaica on sunday. was there for a week. i don't think i've ever been so dark. i like it. i look like a real negro. werd.
the vacation was nice. you probably won't want to here it but the GF and i screwed like teenagers. sorry, i don't have time for cuts. i think we had sex more in that week than in the past 4 months. i know my job is stressing me the fuck out if i'm not thinking about screwing alot. i used to think of it all the time. all.the.damn.time. it really is time for a new gig. got some decent Jamaican weed too. it was the first time in about 5 years that i smoked weed. it was nice. relaxing. the GF had monster orgasms too. sorry, again. not time for the cut.
i keep telling myself that i am a far nicer person when i have time off from work. i know i am. i know i need to find another gig. this one is just not for me. the more time i spend doing this job the more of a miserable fucker i become. i know what i want to do but i also realize that i need to be patient and its not going to happen overnight. i just have to be patient.
i have a snowboard sitting in the basement that i know i'm not going to have the time or the money to ride. again. i got a friend out in colorado that want me to come out and ride. all i have to do is come up with the airfare. i just don't have the money or the time. i'm thinking of all the things i want to get done to my bike before spring rolls around too. money and time. i have little of either. i only have a few more years left that i can ride at the level i want to before reflexes start to fade. i'm just running out of time. i can feel my life slipping away from me. life is what happens while you are thinking of all the things you wish you were doing. i wish i could write more. write about my life and maybe get some better insight into how i've become the person i am. just don't have the time. just don't have the privacy or the space either. its a shame. i need to do some housecleaning.
jesus i'm dark.
snorkeling was fun. i enjoyed just floating on top of the water and watching life below me. the ocean was surprisingly shallow where we were at. we were about 1/2 mile from the coast and the water was still only about 20 feet deep. because of all the traffic there was not a lot of sea life. a few starfishes and sea urchins but that was about it.
riddle me this. whats up with girls that won't have sex with guys they like but will give head to guys they don't like? i don't understand that. you're afraid you'll be a slut if you fuck a guy you like but you are a slut if some guy you don't like fires one down your throat? the things people teach their daughters.
dudes...i typed this shit with like only three fucking errors. Word!! |
|
|
| dee dee dee |
[Dec. 22nd, 2006|09:21 am] |
I got a letter form a friend of mine who had been going through a divorce. Emphasis on ‘Had”. The day the divorce was to be final her husband decided he was going to get some therapy for his issues to try and make things work. “Therapy” for his issues. His issue is he can’t stop cheating on his wife.
I’m not talking the, well relatively harmless, stiff dick and horny cheating. I’m talking the relationship behind his wife’s back cheating. Having another girlfriend cheating. Having another fiancée cheating. Spending money she earned on other women cheating. The lying scumbag, lowlife filthy cheating. The kind of cheating that really hurts. The kind of cheating that wounds people to the core.
The older I get the less I am amazed at what lengths people will go through to keep this person they think is in love with them. I am less and less amazed at how low people will sink to keep control over those who love them. I am less and les amazed or bewildered by the how far people will lose sight of themselves in a relationship. It’s sad. It is really truly sad. You listen to someone talk about all the terrible things the person they love did to them. You listen to them talk about how much control and power that person has over them. You listen to what changes this person is going to make and I can’t help but think he’s just changed his tactics to keep you under his control. To him you are just one more person under his thumb. An object. He tells you what you want to hear not because he cares but because that’s what he needs to do to keep you.
I’d like to say those things to her. I’d like to tell her that the problem is not just him but her as well. I’d like to tell her that while he is in therapy she needs to be as well. She needs to get some insight into her personality and some insight into why he has as much control over her as he does. She needs to heal herself as well.
But I’m fucking jaded. So I won’t say anything. I’ll just let her go down the path I know she is going to go down regardless of what I tell her. |
|
|
| weekend |
[Oct. 20th, 2006|09:28 pm] |
|
have a good one. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 18th, 2006|01:33 pm] |
I managed to get back on the race track again last week. A friend of mine let me take his bike out for a few sessions because, in his words, I do so much for everyone out there, and he wanted to see how I felt about his bike.
It is very difficult to hop onto a race track and immediately go at the pace needed to stay out of people way. The first session I was out I struggling with getting used to my leathers, getting used to the bike and trying to sort out how much traction was available given it rained al night. The session was shorted by two red flags so I only got about 3 clear laps. I was frustrated by the bike. It is smaller and lighter than mine and while I try to be smooth the differences between it and mine were glaring. I set my bike up to be very stiff with not a lot of movement back and forth under braking and acceleration. His bike is softer and also had a rather slippery rear seat that I could not stay planted on.
The second session I worked on being smooth, relaxing and not trying to push too hard. I was immediately faster and was only passed by two riders. There was s group behind me that was slowly catching up. I probably could have let them passed then stayed behind but the session was over and that was all I got to do. The last time I was out I did 1:31.7 and my fastest lap this time was about .5 seconds slower. I’ll take it. I’m still frustrated that with knowing I can go faster and wish I had more time to be out there and make up the time I know I’m leaving out there. if debriefing I told him he needs to lower his gearing a bit there were times when I wanted to stay in 2nd gear but had fallen out of the power band to do so. Dropping into first gear is tricky due to the amount of engine braking and without a slipper clutch a few times the back tire hopped across the pavement.
They were photos taken but not really worth looking at. Having ridden on the street for so long it’s hard for me to hang off the bike like I should and get lower on the bike as well. I felt stiff and uncomfortable and it shows in the pictures.
We have a very large group of track riders. At the beginning of the season it was about 5 people. It was a manageable size. This last time there were about a dozen people in our group all pitted together. Its just too many people. It works well for the newer riders because they can talk with us faster riders and get some tips on body positioning and a faster line. The problem is some people feel pressured to go faster. The pressure is internal. No one encourages anyone to go faster than they can. As a matter of fact we encourage people to get comfortable at the speed they are going before they start making changes and try to go faster. Lap times aren’t always a measure of how good a rider is or how fast they are.
We only had two crashes from our group. The first crash was a guy who has done a few track days this year. After debriefing we determined his crash was due to being unfamiliar with the track and his position on it combined with target fixation. He got into a corner too deep and instead of turning his head and looking at where he wanted to go he looked at where he was heading. In a panic situation you are going to go where you are looking. He was pissed and disappointed with his crash and confused at how it happened and once he figured it out how to prevent it from happening. We talked after the crash and after dinner during the ride home. The damage was minimal. A broken foot peg, front brake lever, a bent handlebar and some scuffs to the bike. We got the parts replaced in all of 10 minutes and he went back out which is what you need to do.
The second crash happened in turn one because the rider was in over his head and did not commit to his line. You approach turn one at speeds varying from 120-140mph and the turn is taken at close to 60. Instead of committing to his line he stood the bike, grabbed the brakes and headed off track. It could have turned into a serious accident but as luck would have it he missed the retaining wall that was about 30 feet off the track and the trees. He got lucky, plain and simple. The damage to the bike was surprisingly minimal and after getting it straightened out he was ready to return to the track had there been enough time.
I took some time to watch the faster riders that were there that day. It’s amazing how much faster 10~15 seconds a lap look. For the laps I was out there I felt like I was going pretty good but as I got used to it I saw where I was losing or leaving time and we I needed to improve my lines. I’m sure once I get out there for a day or two things well start to gel again. While I want to be faster I have to remember that I haven’t been on a race track and ridden at speed in over 13 years. I have to remember to temper my expectations of how fast I think I can go or should go with what I am able to do on someone else’s bike.
The plan for next year was to buy a track bike that I could take to track days and maybe (more then likely I should say) enter in a few races. Its difficult to save money but I’ll see how it turns out. If worse comes to worse I’ll use my current street bike and get some race bodywork for it.
Here are some pictures. I really need to learn how to do the whole LJ img tag thing.
http://paradox.shacknet.nu/bhf/upload/pics/1k-Joe_Todd_and_Malik.JPG.html
http://paradox.shacknet.nu/bhf/upload/pics/1k-Malik.JPG.html
http://paradox.shacknet.nu/bhf/malik/1k-DSC_7595.JPG.html
http://paradox.shacknet.nu/bhf/malik/1k-DSC_7680.JPG.html |
|
|
| weekend plans. |
[Aug. 11th, 2006|04:23 pm] |
a friend of mine invited me to go to a comedy club tonight. i agreed but i'm not sure if i'm going to go or not. i'm not really sure what i'm going to do. Sarah has to go to Waupun to see her mom and will be gone most of the night. i'm not really even sure when she'll be home. the comedy club sounds nice but i'm buying a set of racing leathers and need to watch my money. http://www.madisonsportbikes.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1306&d=1155093431 that don't really match my bike but they are for the track and who knows what my track bike will look like when i get one.
my best friend Steve and his family are coming up from Chicago this weekend to go to the state fair. i'd love to see them but, its the state fair and its money i don't want to spend. maybe i'll go see them later that night.
sunday there is a track day at Road America. i really wish i was riding this one...oh well. i might go up and spectate. i'm not sure. i should get a hold of Steve and see what he wants to do.
what are your plans for the weekend? yes, you. the person reading this. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jul. 19th, 2006|04:13 pm] |
I have a difficult time with some of the people my job brings me into contact with. If you don’t know I adjudicate unemployment claims. If a person filing for unemployment has been discharged or voluntarily quit, refused an offer of work or missed work their employer has available to them, worked as a school year employee for an educational institution or has a myriad of other issues regarding the unemployment claim they have to talk to me (or an asshole like me) and then a determination will be issued regarding whether benefits will be allowed.
Here's some advice kids. If your employer has a policy regarding the use of drugs either on or off duty don’t do drugs or don’t work for them. Don’t think you won’t get caught and then fired.
Back on topic, however. The quit issues are the ones I hate dealing with the most. Most quit issues are people who work for a temporary agency and didn’t read the policy close enough.
More advice, kids. If you work for a temporary agency read the policy. Also, make sure you have a contract of hire detailing what your minimum wage requirement is, the shift you are willing to work, the type of work you are willing to do and how far you will drive to do so. Don’t be such a good worker bee and think if you take anything under the sun it shows you are hard working and employable. They will offer you anything under the sun and then pull the rug out from underneath you. Trust me. I only lie in bed.
Everyone has a million and one personal reason for wanting to quit their job. Mine is I hate my job. Good personal reason to quit, Non? For whatever reason some people get it in their heads that their personal reason to quit means they should get an unemployment check. The usual response is, “I felt they were trying to get rid of me so I quit.” Well, genius, if they were trying to get rid of you it worked. You quit. You solved their problem for them.
The latest two are a glowing example of what is fucked up in our country. A woman I spoke with worked 24 hours a week. Three 8 hour days. She was paid close to $30 an hour as a data entry specialist. One day she was written up for her backlog of work. She says it wasn’t hers but that’s beside the point. The employer told her they wanted it caught up and would give her two weeks to do so. She felt the employer was being unfair, quit without notice and then called unemployment.
Sometimes I think people file unemployment claims because they think we are here to validate their choices. Employers aren’t really that different either but we’re on employees. They just want to talk to you about how bad their jobs were and how bad their bosses were and blah blah blah. I have 40 cases on my desk each week and if shit don’t get done its there for the next week. I don’t have time to play Dr. Phil. (I’m not fat or balding so even if I had the time I couldn’t do a good job. On top of not giving a fuck.)
I compare that claim to a guy who had worked for his employer for close to 10 years. He was a laborer. He loaded and unloaded trucks. Hauled away scrap metal, took out the trash and generally did the kind of work that those who can read don’t have to worry about. After ten years of busting his ass in rain, sleet snow or shine he had finally made $10 an hour.
That lasted for about 3 months. Then work got slow and they decided they were going to cut his pay to $7 an hour.
I wouldn’t flush a toilet for less than $12 an hour let alone do the shit this guy has to do. What the fuck kind of asshole does he work for? I wish I could have told that numb cunt $30 an hour fucking typist that complained that I didn’t give her enough time to whine about her fucking job and how she had to quit about the guy I talked to before her. I wish I could have told her she gets paid damn near 40k a year to do jack fucking shit and to suck it the fuck up, get the fucking work done and to stop being a worthless fucking squishpocket. Fucking minimum wage is what, 7.25 now? How the fucks do you someone you’re going to pay them less than minimum wage? How the fuck do you quit a job where you do fuck nothing for that kind of money?
i'm not very sensetive, i realize this. we've all had jobs we hated. we all have had jobs where you felt like stepping in front of a bus. i understand that. that fine. quit. go ahead. you have 2 days each week to find another job. just don't call me over that stupid shit. there is some guy getting shit on who really needs my time. |
|
|
