High Hopes - Pink Floyd

Since I'm constantly a victim to the disappointment of high hopes, and today is just one of those days, I though it would appropriate to post the lyrics to this song

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

Seagan

I think the urban dictionary is a very interesting site to be surfing... and here's a word that I found amusing straight from the urban dictionary, Seagan:

A modified vegan who also eats seafood. Distinguished from a pescetarian in that they do not eat eggs or dairy.
Yo...do we have any vegans coming to the BBQ?

No...I think they are all seagans now so as long as you aren't using butter on the shrimp kabobs we are cool.

The thing is, I tend to be pretty picky when it comes to food and there's lots of things that I won't eat, but for the most part, it's really because I just don't like the way it tastes, but what I don't really get are vegetarians, vegans, and now apparently seagans. I don't understand the principle of it. I'm all for animal rights and I love animals, I really do (of course I do also like some of them on my plate as well, but that's another matter), but what about the plants? Don't they have feelings? Don't they have rights? Aren't plants the lungs of this planet, the reason why this planet still exists after all our destruction? Why is it okay to eat them?

As a matter of fact, animals are are pretty damaging to th-e environment, unlike the plants. For example, cows' farting and burping give off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 litre bottles. Apparently it is believed that animal methane accounts for 18% of the greenhouse effect. That means that the world is getting hotter because of those animals burping and farting.

We shouldn't be part of the problem, we should be part of the solution. We're the top of the food chain, and so I say we should eat more of them. More cows on my table please!

YEE-HAA!

It's a fast paced world we live and there never seems to be enough time to do anything. Everyone is always in a rush and no matter how fast things are done, it's not enough. It always needs to be bigger, better, cheaper, and most importantly faster.

That is all fine, but if that's the case, then why, why, why do we need to have so many god-damn meetings, teleconferences, discussions and presentations? I had to sit through three and a half hours of meetings today that could've all been summarized in three short emails. What I don't understand is, if management has already decided something, why do they bother to pretend to take my opinion? Why don't they just tell me what the hell it is they expect me to do and I'll just freakin do it. Why must I be involved in the decision making when the decision has already been made?They say it's to get my buy-in. So basically they want to trick me into thinking that I'm important, that my opinion matters, and that way, when they go completely disregard my opinion, I can feel better about myself because at least I was a part of it... My question is, does it really work? Do people really “buy into” that?

What's worse is that they expect me to insult people in the same way so I have to sell their brilliant ideas to those people at the lower levels and I must pretend to be in agreement, like if senior management believe in it and middle management believe in it, then it must be the right way to go. Do they really think people are that simple? If they want to treat us like cattle, then they might as well be up front about it. Sure, I'll be slow, dim-witted, with virtually no opinion, just don't try to tell me otherwise. It's their company after all, I just want to get paid. So I say, stop wasting my damn time and let's get on with it.

I want my MTV

What I want to know is when did MTV stop being about the music and why? It's called Music Television people! I don't want to see cheap reality shows about spoiled little brats who plan extravagant birthday parties where their parents spend enough money to feed an entire African nation. Nor do I want to see a show about some random people caught up in some strange and sick love triangle, or some desperate girls throwing themselves at some bachelor, or some desperate guys for that matters. Now I don't want to diss the people who do watch these shows, but can't they watch them on some other channel? Can't they see this stuff on E! or something? Or I know, create a whole new channel called If you don't have a life of your own.

Anyone who grew up in the 80's and the 90's would remember how exciting MTV was when it came on the air. It was exciting stuff man and we spend hours watching those videos. For a time, I don't think we saw anything else. It was the only way to find out about new artists, new albums and new music, there was no internet back in those days. But today, MTV has sold out. There are no more music videos anymore... sure they play a few in the early hours of the morning, but who's up that early anyway? No, MTV has gone commercial people and it saddens me to say this, but video is dead, just like the radio star.....

Work Hard, Play Hard

Why is it that whenever the boss is not around the work atmosphere is so much more pleasing? I've realized that no matter how open and outgoing a manager is, there will always be that barrier that prevents subordinates from having fun at work. We all put on a mask to display a little more seriousness, a little more dedication when we feel like we're being watched. That's not to say that subordinates are not serious or dedicated when they're manager is away, but for some reason there is a mis-guided notion that working cannot be fun and if we seem to be having fun, then we must not be working enough.

Some managers have strange ways of evaluating employees and what I've come to realize is that there is absolutely nothing objective about employee evaluations, no matter what systems are in place or how much they try to objectify it. It is purely subjective and there are so many ways to get around it. I once had a manager who gave me a bad evaluation because I talked too much to my colleagues while working and laughed too much. Another manager told me I would never get ahead in the company because apparently I looked too young and that I had to do something to change that. What did he expect me to do, highlight my hair white to show premature aging? Since when did looking young become a drawback?

Wouldn't people be more willing to do things and go the extra mile if they were happy and having fun? When I first started working, I loved my co-workers and we had so much fun together that we stayed late almost every day. We worked really hard and we loved it. I don't think I've ever worked harder and I had a brilliant time doing it. I want one of those jobs where we're supposed to have fun. Why do I have to hate what I do to be a good performer?

Billy Part 10

The crescent moon rose slowly in the horizon above the empty plains, casting a small sliver of cold light that did little to illuminate the land. There was nothing in sight but emptiness and somewhere from a distance, a lonely wolf howled in hunger. There would be no food tonight. It had been an exceptionally hot summer and the animals that had not been hunted by the beasts of prey had died of thirst. The streams ran dry and the grass had burnt under the scorching heat of the sun. This was a summer unlike any other, a summer of pain and death that had ravished the land with such speed that there was little time to escape. Flourishing towns were now abandoned and left behind and the roads were littered with bodies, of humans and animals alike, no one had the energy or the time to bury them.

A lonely house stood at the edge of the plains just within reach of the dying trees of the forest oblivious to the death surrounding it. Despite the heat, a thin stream of smoke was steadily rising out of the chimney and the fire lit inside danced brightly from the windows. Inside the house sat two children at a large wooden table, kneeling on their chairs. In front them was a board with small wooden pieces, intricately carved into animals with such skill that they almost seemed lifelike. They sat in solemn silence facing each other staring at the board in concentration. The girl gently fingered the miniature wolf in front of her, running the tip of her finger over the ridges across its back and then with a smile, moved the token across the board and smiled triumphantly. Her little face was bright with glee and her soft golden curls bounced gently as she moved her head. The boy in front of her frowned and bit his lip. Outside, the wolf howled again.