Fun and Frustrations

Probably not the best time for me to blogging as I'm having for of the second rather than the first at this very moment.. but just typing is making me feel productive. First the frustration that is eating me is the job search. I had a job I found yesterday evening that I was going to apply for today, but the listing was already removed. A bitter snarl for job postings that aren't even up 48 hours. My wife probably correctly surmises that this is one of those many positions where they have to put something up for legal reasons even though they've got an internal candidate they have every intention of giving the job to anyways. The job search hasn't been all bad and has picked up for me both on my end with actively searching and the number of valid matches I get in the Seattle area. I've still not had a good interview this month though and it is going to come to high pressure time by the end of the month. There is always temp work if my unemployment actually runs out, but I don't want to be under that kind of pressure because you end up working two jobs.. the paying one and still searching for a job because you don't know when the temp assignment will actually end. There is too much unrest in the business markets right now with a major political election going on.

I guess now that time is short I should come out and publicly support a candidate. So first my disclaimer: I'm a lifetime registered Independent and in the last 3 elections I've yet to vote for EITHER a Republican or Democrat and this will be the first time. As a gamer-blogger I'll address it from that end first. John McCain has been effectively lobbied on behalf of stronger DRM laws, laws that are in fact biting him in the rear right now on Youtube as they pull down his campaigns videos any time an infringement is alleged (and not even validated) as they're liable due to a bill he voted on in the 90s if damage is found. Obama on the other hand always seems to talk and act out of both sides of his mouth. He complains in speeches about the effect of video games on children and the government needing to protect them (though I like when he says parents need to be more diligent - they do!), then turns around and puts political advertisements in EAs online violent shooter games on X-box live unannounced. I like McCain's refreshing honesty to people he disagrees with instead of trying to say he somehow sides with them like all the other politicians do.

But gaming aside I'm also a real human being and while gaming is fun, it is not what I'm really concerned about as a U.S. and world citizen. For me the big issues are the U.S. wars and Economy. Now I lived over in the middle-east for a while and I now the cultural and political situation we've gotten our troops mired in very well. I've always been against starting the Iraq war and unlike most people I thought we rashly rushed into Afghanistan before exhausting other measures to get Bin Laden that didn't include a full scale invasion. Military invasion should ALWAYS be a last resort, and the consequences are even worse in that region of the world where getting bogged down is the only possibility due to complicated reasons. All this is to explain where I'm coming from when I support McCain. It isn't the mistake in getting there which matters, but how we are going to move forward and get out at this point. We wouldn't be there now if we hadn't ended our involvement with the Soviet-Afghan war the way we did, or our many involvements in the Middle-East whether the first Gulf war or most other things. Blood Feuds in the Middle-east are serious things that last hundreds of years. Either the forces there achieve victory or we will be back against a better prepared and more determined enemy at some future date. Withdrawal is simply not an option when your enemy was sworn a vendetta against you and is a militant extremist willing to blow themself up... or raise dozens of children to do it for them a generation later. Other people I know over there, friends and family whether Israelis, Arab, or U.S. military all say and have a similar understanding of the situation.

Other matters are economic and this matters to us all. No politician EVER runs on making the economy worse, though it seems at least half of them do. Have you looked at the track record of the one you're voting for? I know it is hard to determine each ones votes on certain issues will do but you should try at least. Maybe the Obama Tax cut calculator? or McCain youtube channel? Get out and look, and if you aren't willing to educate yourself then I'll say the forbidden... please don't vote. Seriously, bad politicians love chumps and I prefer the bad ones don't get elected. I'd be curious what kind of country we'd have if only those who took the time to educate themselves could vote. Anyways for myself I'm voting again for McCain on this issue. Why? As a Quality Assurance professional I've seen a lot of jobs be outsourced because it is so much cheaper to produce in foreign countries. Even if workers made the same, they're taxed 35% on production in corporate taxes in the U.S. and 10% in someplace like Ireland. Lots of companies want to keep jobs at home, but seriously we have to give them incentives besides calling them partiotic to stay here. Companies can very "patriotically" go out of business due to competition from the not so patriotic. I'd LOVE to see them pay their fair share, but we've given them WAY, WAY too many means not to and Obama's plan to raise capitol gains and corporate tax rates will chase a lot more jobs out of the country that I've fought to justify by the numbers as a Quality professional. McCain's plan to lower the corporate tax rate and close the loopholes for being in the U.S. territories (off shore companies many have heard so much about) will create a huge rush of insourcing for a change which is great for EVERYONE (except the Russians and Chinese).

Now in the interest of amusement now that I've announced I'm voting for McCain is another personal tidbit. Both my Wife and I have some very rich relatives who are also very liberal Obama supporters. Neither side is willing to spend even a pittance amount that they would normally spend on a fun night on the town to help out the desperately needy in their family. Yet we've been beseeched by them to support Obama who would tax money from them that would end up with us.. while we support a candidate who will give them a bigger tax break. Political irony much?

So you read through this long hoping I talked more about gaming? I've had a difficult time stirring up more interest in Anima at the friendly local game store and am taking a break from it. This has translated into my Wife and I having too much time to get heavily involved in Lord of the Rings Online again. We're heavily addicted and can't wait for the Mines of Moria expansion. I've seriously binged I don't know how many hours on the game this last week, but I'd guess at least 20 minimum. I find the story oriented quests very compelling and my old Kinship (guild in most games) had several people ask (Beg?) me to come back.

Played a good 3 way game of Vor two nights ago in which I lost catastrophically. It was a skirmish to 50% of force lost on a 350 point game. Defining part of the game for me... Shard didn't pass a single armor test the whole game.Ramlar characters have been made and we'll have a short intro game of it this Saturday (tomorrow). Expect another entry about those two games to come very soon (maybe even by the end of the weekend).