I just finished reading a lengthy article about outsourcing tech jobs to India. Given that I was unemployed for almost a year, and that the available jobs had gone from plentiful to non-existent by that time, I’m quite familiar with the IT slump. Yes, these people will work for a fraction of what we’ll work for .. but one thing I’ve never seen mentioned is the fact that American workers have no choice but to ask for a certain wage level! It’d be one thing if I had previously owned a Corvette and a Harley, and I was STILL whining about not making enough, but I live with 2 other people, drive a car that cost under $2000, and often skip meals to save money. If you show me a place where I can buy a full meal for 50 cents like they do in India, I will eat there every day. There is simply no way an American could survive on those wages, no matter how much they’d like to. So while I understand that business is business, and they are saving lots of money in the long run… I don’t think that saying “Americans are UNWILLING to work for those salaries” is a fair statement. We simply can’t get by on the same budget. Maybe I could buy a school bus and live in it with 10 other people, create a makeshift bathroom in the back, and use it to drive all of us to work in the morning… and THEN I would have some excess spending money… but that’s not how the people in India doing our outsourced jobs are living. What can we (or America’s businesses) do to stop this? Hell if I know. Cut prices of everything in tenths? A super value meal at McDonald’s becomes 50 cents instead of 5 dollars… gas becomes 15 cents a gallon… a loaf of bread becomes 12 cents. Then, THEN you can cut my salary as much as you want. Jerkoffs.

Took a strange route to work this morning. You get a glorious, fenced-in view of downtown, and then you get stuck behind 100 people, and each time the stoplight changes, about 2 of them make it through. I won’t be going that way again.

Last night I cut my own hair in under 10 minutes. My stepbrother assisted with the back, but all the rest was done in less than 3 minutes flat. Then band practice. I’ve been making it a point to pick up one of those energy drinks that tase like nuclear Red Bull on my way to practice. There are several brands at Mike’s Beverage and Deli, including Rockstar and Monster something. The first time I bought Rockstar, I didn’t realize the name until I was in the car. What kind of asshole drinks Rockstar while at band practice? Me.

The news can suck my schlong today. All of it. Except for… am I getting this right? Bush thinks it’s okay if HE nominates the members of the “independent” committee for investigating his erroneous WMD claims. To use a popular online abbreviation… WTF?! That’s like allowing a mass murderer to choose his best friends as judge and jury! No wait… IT IS JUST THAT!

Rob Schneider attempts to get the same press as Janet

It’s cold out there, and Punxsutawney Phil says spring won’t come early this year. (That makes 4 years in a row he’s seen his shadow. Little bastard.)

Although CBS’s refusal to air MoveOn.org’s ad was truly disgusting, the Super Bowl was a good matchup and had a few highlights that a lot of people probably didn’t even notice.

One thing I DID notice was a streaker on the field, though CBS did their best to pretend it wasn’t happening. I saw a man doing a Riverdance style dance on the 30 yard line, and then CBS put some stats up on the screen and that was it. To get the full story, I had to hear it from the British, who know this particular streaker quite well. His name is Mark Roberts, and he has streaked plenty of times.. this time for GoldenPalace.com, as it said on his chest and back. He also wrote “Super Bowel” on his back.

The thing I did not notice took place during the halftime show. It was a truly disgusting array of “musicians” and “artists” including P-Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and — the highlight — Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. At the end of their performance, Justin pulled off part of Janet’s top, which allowed a pre-pastied breast to flop out. At first, MTV claimed it was an accident. Of course, there was no way they could stand by that statement. As dumb as it was, and as quickly as it happened, I’m glad CBS was taken for a ride. Another angle. And another. And one more.

My weekend was fairly uneventful, involving excess sleep, getting angry with my computer, and consumption of Stroh’s at the Blarney Stone. I’ve been messing around on my guitar a bit, since John gave me some jazz books, and a bit of a boost on reading sheet music. Those jazz cats are some crazy bastards.