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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (April 29, 2020)

Doing videos again

 

One of the things that have happened to me is because of the Coronavirus outbreak, I have resumed doing videos and posting them to my YouTube Channel, which kind of let fall to the wayside given that I work full time, and usually am too tired (or in the case of Fridays, have been drinking.) The sheer insanity of what has been going on has put a major bug up my ass, and given that I have a very nice camcorder that my hubby got me for Christmas a few years back (a Canon VIXIA that shoots in full 1080 HD video,) I figured that I would charge it up, mount it on my GorillaPod 3X, and cut loose.  I am playing it smart this time though, and only posting videos while I am sober.  That way, I don’t come across looking like a total ass, which if anyone has seen previous videos, shows that I can be a total ass.  So, without further ado, here are my three latest videos:

 

 

April 29, 2020

 

 

April 24, 2020

 

 

April 19, 2020

 

 

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© 2020 Dean A. Basler Jr.

All rights reserved.

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (April 10, 2020)

 

Clarifying some things.

Let me clarify my previous post. Yes, I am a bit stressed out because of the COVID-19 outbreak. So are other people who are considered “essential” workers. People such as retail workers that work in places that sell food and medicine (Price Chopper/Tops/Wegmans/Walmart/Walgreens.) Public transit workers. First responders such as police officers, firemen/women, and ambulance crews (paramedics/EMTs.) Health care workers have it the worst of all though, given that they are on the front line when it comes to dealing with people who have contracted the coronavirus. I would not be able to handle the shit they have to go through to take care of people, not just coronavirus victims, but the everyday suffering that happens to people. So yes, I am lucky I still have a job, but there are people who have their jobs also, and are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. Basically, I am apologizing for being a whiny little bitch.

 

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(c) 2020 Dean A. Basler Jr., all right reserved

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (April 9, 2020)

Another Day in Dystopian America.


I am 61, America is in crisis, I still have to work because I am in an “essential” company, and I have to work overtime because of staffing shortages. And people say that I am “lucky” because “you still have a job.” Yes, but the job becomes for stressful when you have to double-up on what needs to be done. Think about that, Dystopian America

 

Grow a brain, America.

 

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(c) 2020 Dean A. Basler Jr., all right reserved

Leave a comment Posted on Clusterfuck, Corona Virus, Donald Trump

A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (March 20, 2020)

Alrighty then…Andrew Cuomo is doing everything that he can to contain COVID-19.

The federal government?  Bupkis.

Trump has EXPERTS telling him what needs to be done, but all he is concerned about is how well he is doing in the polls (which isn’t good, from what I hear.) So he thinks that giving every American family a check for $1000 is doing some good?

Nope, he is trying to polish the turd that his Presidency has become. He is hoping that the $1000 checks will make people WANT to vote for him. It’s bribery, plain and simple, and it is coming out of our tax dollars.

His right-wing supporters will cry “IT’S SOCIALISM!” But those assholes will be the first to line up outside the banks to cash them.

 

Grow up and grow a brain, America

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© 2020 Dean A. Basler Jr., all rights reserved.

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (March 6, 2020)

Isn’t this how the first Resident Evil movie started?

About the whole bullshit about the COVID-19 (aka the Corona Virus.)

One: I wash my hands after I piss and/or shit.

Two: I cover my mouth and nose when I sneeze, and if I am near a sink and soap, I wash my hands.

Three: I am not obsessive-compulsive about using hand sanitizer (but I will do so if I am not near a sink and soap.)

Four: I do not listen to the bullshit coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth about the Corona Virus.

Five: I do listen to what the WHO (World Health Organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) have to say.

Excuse the fuck out of me for using logic and filtering out the tin-foil hat conspiracy bullshit that is permeating the Internet in general

(and Facebook and Twitter to be specific.)

Grow up and grow a brain, America

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© 2020 Dean A. Basler Jr., all rights reserved.

Leave a comment Posted on Clusterfuck, Democratic Nomination, Donald Trump, Economy, False Flag, Hatch Act, Politics

A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (June 26, 2019)

The American Clusterfuck

 

foxfriendsasskiss

 

You know, I am really getting sick of a few things.

 

1: People reposting articles from the past to Facebook without any context. If you feel that the article has relevance in the now, PROVIDE SOME FUCKING CONTEXT.

2: The incessant postings of right-wing bullshit that has been proven to be lies e.g. the economy is great because of Trump. The economy was doing quite well during the Obama administration, and now it is going into the tank because Trump is getting into a pissing match by imposing tariffs on some of our largest trading partners. Ask a farmer in the midwest how well he doing because of Trump. I fucking dare you.

3: The whole pissing match with Iran. We had an agreement in place along with numerous European nations to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The one thing that Trump does when he gets into office is break that agreement BECAUSE IT HAPPENED WHEN OBAMA WAS IN OFFICE. Now, we have tankers being bombed, drones being shot down, and a President taking us to the brink and then pulling back. The hawks in his administration (mainly Pompeo and Bolton) have a major hardon for starting wars in order to impose their fascist view of a new world order. And they have a perfect patsy in the form of Donald Trump. He is so enamored with himself that the only reason he does things now is to get praise from Fox News and other right-leaning news outlets. He has no interest in world peace. The only reason that he does things now is to burnish the shine on the turd that his presidency has become.

4: Claiming “immunity” or “White House Privilege” when being called to testify before Congress. The most recent example was with Kellyanne Conway being called to testify before the House Oversight Committee over her repeated violations of The Hatch Act, which she dismissed with the quote “Blah, blah blah. If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work,” and the White House saying that it was a violation of her First Amendment rights. Bitch, shut that wrinkled old pie-hole of a mouth, sit the fuck down, and fucking testify. When you violate the law, you have to explain yourself.

5: 20+ FUCKING CANDIDATES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020? Hey you assholes, lets muddy the political waters even further. Yes, Barack Obama came out of left field to win the Presidency in 2008, but all you Democratic wannabees need to sit the fuck down and let it shake out between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. They are the only two who stand any chance of denying Trump a second term in office, and you idiots who are tossing your hats in are doing one thing, just making a big pile of fucking hats. Stay out of the big political sandbox until you have gotten a few years behind you and are able to make a real difference. Warren and Sanders have many more years of experience behind them, and are better able to deal with the shit that is going to be flung at them by the apes in the Republican zoo that Washington has become.

 

Enough of the old man ranting, I need to drop a grogan.

 

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© Copyright 2019, Dean A. Basler Jr., all rights reserved.

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (June 15 2019)

Star Trek and the Ratings Creep

 

Okay, Quentin Tarantino wants to do an R-rated Star Trek movie. Given his proclivity for foul language, over usage of racial epithets (mainly the N-word) and graphic violence, this IS NOT a good idea.

 

Star Trek has been around the PG/PG-13 area since 1982. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture was rated G when it was released in 1979, but re-rated PG when it was remastered for DVD.)

Yes, there has been some mild colorful language in the series (Data saying “shit” when the saucer section of Enterprise-D was about to crash land in Generations, and Troi and Crusher talking about their “boobs” in Insurrection, and Kirk saying “bullshit” to Spock Prime in the 2009 reboot,) but for the most part Trek has avoided blue language.

Over time, the violence has ramped up, thus going into PG-13 territory when First Contact was released in 1996 (and yes, it did earn it because of the Borg.)

(Side note: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991 would have probably earned an R rating because of the copious amounts of Klingon blood that was spilled, but was changed from red to purple in post production.)

If Tarantino wants to do a Star Trek movie, stick to doing it with a PG-13 rating in mind, and save the R rating for the Blu-ray director’s cut. It worked with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which had a PG-13 rating in theaters, but sold like hotcakes when it was released on Blu-ray as the Ultimate Edition with an R rating.

 

Star Trek MPAA Movie Ratings (from the iMDB)

Original Series

Star Trek: The Motion Picture G (1979) PG (2001) Director’s cut

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) PG

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) PG

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) PG

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) PG

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) PG

The Next Generation

Star Trek Generations (1994) PG

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) PG-13 (The first time that the MPAA bitchslapped 
Star Trek.)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) PG

(Now this is the anomaly.  Ratings creep started with First Contact, but backed off with this film?  WTF?)

Star Trek: Nemesis  (2002) PG-13

The Reboot (aka the “Kelvin Universe”)

Star Trek (2009) PG-13

Star Trek Into Darkness  (2013) PG-13

Star Trek Beyond (2016) PG-13

 

I have not watched Star Trek: Discovery, so I can’t comment on it.

 

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© Copyright 2019, Dean A. Basler Jr., all rights reserved.

 

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (March 23, 2019)

Learning new things.

AEDCPR

Since I have turned 60 years old, I thought that I was pretty much through with learning how to do things, but this past Saturday, I realized that we as a species, should never be afraid to stop learning.  About two months ago, there was a signup sheet for AED (Automated External Defibrillation Device,) CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation,) and First Aid training at my workplace, BCI-Empire Division.  One of the first things that I did was pose the question on Facebook, “Should I do it?”

The overwhelming response was:

YES!

Here’s the thing, I don’t have a bone of altruism in my body at all, I am very much a pragmatist.   But given that I am a pragmatist, I look at it as good business.  The more people who can first respond when something medical happens, the better.  Besides, the one opinion that made me decide was my husband.  He is a retired health care technician, and has been trained in it.  Basically, he ordered me to do it, and I am glad that I did.

So I went through the course, and now I know what to do when shit happens to other people, and I am in a position to help.  And I will do it, plain and simple.  Without reservation.

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© 2019, Dean A. Basler Jr., all rights reserved.

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (June 8, 2018)

Alright. Anthony Bourdain killed himself. Kate Spade killed herself. Robin Williams killed himself, Kurt Cobain killed himself. Yes, it is tragic that talented people chose to take their own lives, but what about the rest of the people who choose to die at their own hands? Like the ones who are bullied in school? The transgendered who are shamed and ridiculed? The ones who are terminally ill and choose not to be a burden on their loved ones? Where is your sympathy for them? Why aren’t you there for them?

Excuse me for being a total asshole about this, but there are so many suicides here in the United States alone, and nobody gives a shit about them, but a celebrity offs themselves, and the news services are creaming themselves over it. The little people who suicide…well the only publicity they get is through social media. I would rather mourn the little people who thought that there was no one for them to help them through their problems.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

(800) 273-8255

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© 2018, Dean Basler, all rights reserved.

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A Curmudgeon’s Viewpoint (December 22, 2017)

After 11 years working at the same position at the company that I work for, I reached the limit of my patience.  I needed to make a change, and the opportunity made itself apparent in a position that I was trained for over 12 years ago.

So I told the plant manager and the HR director that I was willing to go back to the Youngshin YT17000SII flatbed die cutter (which was purchased by the company in 2003, two years before I started there,) on a full time basis. I was operating it on an interim basis based on need, but the company needed a experienced full time operator on days, and since I was originally trained for it 12 years ago, they agreed to let me take the position.

To be honest, I was getting sick of doing the same job day in and day out, and I wanted to have a challenge in my professional career. I know the machine that I am working with, and all it’s little quirks.  Not to mention that I am making more to operate this machine.  The company managers know that I have more than enough experience to do the job, and they will listen to me when there are problems.  I am doing this for my own survival also.  I have responsibilities outside my job that I have to take care of, and if I don’t have a job, I lose a lot.   Fortunately, the company had someone in place to take my old position.   Once that happened, I didn’t look back.  Change happens, and sometimes it is for the better.  I am more relaxed at work now, given that I only have one machine to worry about, as opposed to dealing with everything coming down from different machines.

 

So what happens from this time, I don’t know. All I know is that I have a decent job, and I will try to do my best at it.

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(c) 2017, Dean Basler, all rights reserved.