chatillion Blog

The Jig is up...

The jig (a jig) is a lively Irish folk dance accompanied by a tune. Tunes differ from songs as they usually have no lyrics. Literally, the jig is up would mean the tune had ended.

The idiom for the jig is up would be someone who has been found out for wrong doing.

For example, little Billy was taking money from his mothers purse when she napped. She intentionally marked the bills and after checking her purse confronted him. At that point he realized the jig is up and had to confess having taken money from her.

A musicians slang for engagement is gig. I believe it started with jazz musicians calling an engagement an en-gig-ment that was later shortened to gig.
We commonly used the term the gig is up not knowing the Irish word jig. Yeah, it was a dance but none of us knew it was a tune. Hey... we played rock music. Except for The Beatles, we didn't know much about things that came from across the pond.

The Jig is up...

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Sep 2018
in Entertainment
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an unwanted promotion...

I'm coming up on the anniversary to a promotion I received 2 years ago that I really didn't want.

The plan was that I would leave sales and create an order processing department where none existed. For years, salesmen for the company would each turn their orders directly to our vendors with no verification by our company. It would be my responsibility to oversee these orders for missing details and to verify the prices and engineering standards were correct. Service was overwhelmed by the mistakes on orders and delays for installations due to incomplete drawings. Eliminating problems up-front is the only solution to survival. We didn't need more servicemen, we needed less service problems.

Before that job assignment took place, a salesman from another division announced retirement and my manager was promoted to his position. In doing so, he hired a replacement and spent three months training the guy... although the new guy was a people person with retail cabinet experience, his engineering and computer skills were sorely lacking. This forced a burden that was holding me from the transition to the processing manager position. There were other circumstances I wasn't privy to, but the new guy got bounced out and the next day I was told his position was eliminated... I was being promoted to fill the gap with the title of sales manager.

Strangely, all my coworkers congratulated me for the new position and started treating me as though I was the general manager, service manager, HR manager... and all important answer-man. It was weeks of denying I was anything above a single rung on the ladder, I became the traffic cop telling people who in the company 'did what' which was really surprising as though there had been a shift in geometry. We actually have people assigned to those positions for questions I was being asked!

We are really understaffed and my analogy to the situation is a busy restaurant Maitre d' running back to the kitchen to prepare meals as there is only one chef and no available kitchen help. I'm not liking it. I hired (or assisted in the hire of) 3 people but training them is time consuming. Sometimes it's easier to fix their mistakes than sending the work back for them to correct it.

The position is a 'dumping ground' to fix anything that didn't get done correctly for all departments. Staying focused and goal oriented takes a back seat to a few emergencies per hour keeping me from my actual duties.

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Sep 2018
in Business
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TRUST...

You can quote me on this:
"Don't always trust the advice of someone who has a vested interested in the decisions you make."
Typically, it's someone trying to sell you something. Eons ago, I recall an episode with an insurance salesman who made a commission for a policy that wasn't right for me.

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Sep 2018
in Business
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Songs about D R U G S...

Long before I was born, people were writing songs about drugs. Due to censorship many had hidden meanings. The 1960's changed all that. The first I can recall was Steppenwolf with The Pusher. On a sweeter note, the Beatles recorded Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I read that was about their experiences with LSD.
It doesn't end there and though I respect a musicians passion for recording music about drugs, drug addiction and recovering from broken lives from the use of drugs, it sits oddly that there's such a great audience who want to listen to songs about drugs.

She's divorced with two kids in middle school, has a great job, nice house, eats healthy, non-smoker, rarely has more than a social drink with the girls, concerned about the environment, dedicates time for the gym, seeing to it that her kids make it to soccer practice and attend school marathons. She gives 100% support for all women's causes and has a pink ribbon bumper sticker.

Do you know her? There's a few on every block. At the Bar-B-Que she's friendly and enjoys the music... the transformation occurs when they play a Clapton song. That's were she has her arms in the air... well at least one as the other is holding her drink. Bumping butts with the other girls who want to be like her and all the single guys are wanting to be with her.

What Clapton song? Cocaine.
Maybe that's not the right song to sing in front of your kids.
Come sing it with me...

"If you wanna hang out, you've gotta take her out... Cocaine
If you wanna get down, down on the ground... Cocaine
She don't like, she don't lie, she don't lie... Cocaine

If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues... Cocaine
When your day is done, and you wanna run... Cocaine
She don't like, she don't lie, she don't lie... Cocaine
If your thing is gone, and you wanna ride on... Cocaine
Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back... Cocaine

She don't like, she don't lie, she don't lie... Cocaine
She don't like, she don't lie, she don't lie... Cocaine"

(song & song lyrics credit: Eric Clapton)

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Sep 2018
in Music
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Skinning Cats...

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me "There's more than one way to skin a cat" I'd be retired and living off the profits of my investments. Well, I'm not collecting dollars and it's true, although I've never skinned a cat, I'm sure there is more than one way to do it.

So, let's say I really did work for a place that skinned cats... Taxidermy perhaps?
Right answer. It was my summer job... lots of cats came in and I got them all. The boss told me he's never seen someone work so quickly and paid me extra if I could skin them in a way that required less time to stuff them (that was his job) because I skinned them and he stuffed them. What a great job, but many things come to an end and I found another job.

Later in life, I got to talking at a pub and the subject came up about skinning cats. Okay, I skinned a few... hundred and described how I developed some different ways to skin cats. But... it sounded so over the top that no one believed me. I really was telling the truth and someone at the end of the bar went around telling people I was a BS'er simply because in his neck of the woods no one had accomplished what I said I had done.

Trump fabricated a story/lie about Obama that people believed. Millions of dollars were wasted on finding the truth. Years later, he admitted it was a farce but people to this day believe the lie... it did sound convincing. If you are convinced that the lie was true chances are the person who started the lie would be unable to change your mind.
That's human nature.

So any time I went into that bar I was perceived as a liar simply because of a person who fed people BS about me. Then one day, the best customer of the taxidermist happens into the pub. He recognizes me from years past and mentioned how much money he made selling stuffed cats that he knew I had skinned. Some of the people stood around with mouths opened... "You mean he was telling the truth?" one of them said...

I've seen some YouTube videos uploaded by Dude Perfect. It's a group of guys who document some amazing stunts, some have been entered into the Guiness Boooook. Anyway, their videos are really cool... I've seen an outtake of the amount of failures it takes to get one successful stunt. Hundreds.

What sticks in your mind is the 'first try' success these guys have on video...

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Sep 2018
in Society
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Hurricane Gordon...Tropical Cyclone SEVEN...

I'm editing my blog from earlier today that was about Tropical Cyclone #7 that had formed off the southern tip of Florida. Heavy rains dumped all across the southern part of the state and flooding occurred in many low lying areas. It was early in the afternoon #7 picked up speed and was renamed Tropical Storm Gordon. By late afternoon, the winds on the east coast of Florida had dropped out and by 7pm nearly all the rain stopped.
As I write this edit, Gordon is out to sea (in the Gulf) and early Wednesday, it will strike the southern shores of Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama. If the National Hurricane Center projection is correct, Gordon will be a Hurricane.

So hunker down as all storms have serious potential for widespread disaster, let's hope Gordon's stay will be a short one.

The tracking map I linked below should be active until the storm dissipates and the weather service no longer updates it.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
This holiday weekend has been filled with rain as tropical storm seven moves across the bottom of Florida into the Gulf Of Mexico heading toward Louisiana. All of South Florida is on a flood watch as the we get dumped on with 35-50mph winds and rain.

I've linked the tracking map from the National Hurricane Center that updates every few hours.

I'm off to work and hopefully there won't be many cars on the road today.

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Sep 2018
in News
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She loves long moonlit walks along the ocean...

Women often have great expectations for what to do on a first date. Stated in many profiles I've seen, they want those romantic walks along the ocean. Guys, be wary of such requests, especially if the women lives in a city like Albuquerque, New Mexico or Denver, Colorado. You know, places that are more than a days drive from an ocean!

Before you get started... think first before contacting her. If she made the first move by contacting you... think first before replying.

Know what you could be getting into right from the start.

This has been my PSA (Public Service Announcement) for the month of August.

Thanks for reading my blog!

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Aug 2018
in Comedy
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shelf life... BOOM!!

My brother told me he heard an explosion coming from the kitchen side of his house. Running to see what it was, one kitchen door was open and something was dripping from the shelf. His inspection revealed a can of crab meat blew open and splattered spoiled crab inside the cabinet.
The smell was atrocious and wiping the area clean with ammonia based solvents did nothing. A week later and the smell didn't disappear. He went to the hardware store for advice and they sold him some enzyme activated cleaner... that didn't work either.
My suggestion was to get a can of spray clear lacquer sealer and paint all of the inside of the cabinet.
As of last week, he bought brush on shellac and hasn't started the project.

I'm thinking, he's getting used to the smell...

As a word of advice... check all your canned goods for a shelf life (or best if used by) date stamp. Use them or toss them...
If ANY can is slightly puffed, out it goes. I know many jars have concave detection lids. When packed in a vacuum the lid surface is curved down. Any can that has been opened or spoiling from the inside the curve pops up.

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Sep 2018
in News
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If... Raise your hand!

I've always had to work hard to get things to go right, but things that go wrong can happen in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to keep your stride, ignore the bad things and move on. For the most part, I try to learn from my mistakes so I can adjust and keep the bad things from happening again.

If you experienced accidentally dropping your cellphone in the toilet... raise your hand!
If you asked someone a question and two minutes later asked the same question... raise your hand!
If you spit into the wind and it came back to greet you... raise your hand!
If you ever dropped a sandwich on the floor, dusted it off and ate it... raise your hand!
If you had food splatter on your white shirt during a date... raise your hand!
If you tried drinking hot soda and it bubbled out of your nostrils... raise your hand!
If you dropped your car off to have the technician diagnose an odd scraping noise and the car doesn't make that sound for him... raise your hand!
If you fasted all weekend and gained weight... raise your hand!
If you answered the phone and forgot about the eggs boiling... raise your hand!
if you had loose change in your pocket and dropped a 9 volt battery in there (and your pants caught fire).. raise your hand!
If you tried to make a purchase and realized your wallet was at home... raise your hand!
If you got too close to your dog at feeding time and he bit you... raise your hand!
If you pulled into the bank Friday, 10 minutes before closing and the guard wouldn't unlock the door to let you in... raise your hand!
If you purchased something expensive and it went on sale a week later... raise your hand!
If you're on holiday ready to click that once in a lifetime photo and the camera memory is full... raise your hand!

Thanks for reading my blog...

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Aug 2018
in Lifestyle
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A boring blog...

I used to work for a company who manufactured upholstered furniture. They processed raw lumber to make the sofa and chair frames. Deliveries came by flatbed trailers and stored outside under the cover of an aluminum roof. 20-30 boards were brought into the wood shop as needed and cut to size to fit the specifications required to make each order.

My boss found that a new delivery had insects living in the wood and sent a letter to the supplier to pick up the material and deliver a fresh load that didn't have 'wood borers' nesting in the lumber.

That was the first time I had heard the term wood borers and as a resident of South Florida being a hot and humid climate, termites were the main insects found eating wood. There are also some variety of beetles that manifest themselves in lumber and appear years later... sometimes after the wood has been made into furniture.

A client of mine found a beautiful grand piano in a warehouse and had it delivered to her home and set up. Not long after, she noticed mounds of fine dust-like particles appearing on the carpet... that was the work of termites. The piano had to be removed and taken to an exterminator with a fumigation chamber designed for furniture and large items.

I have my house tented for termites every 6 to 8 years as that is recommended because whatever brought hungry termites into the house is still there. The wall construction, roof trusses and planking is raw wood. It's on my 'do list' of things for this year.

Every time it's fumigation where they cover the house in heavy tarp and fill the space with gas that displaces the oxygen killing the bugs... all the bugs.
Soon after fumigation, carpenter ants come to eat the dead termites. According to the exterminator, they don't eat wood. Their only interest is the termite dinner.

I found another company who does a different type of extermination where they spray the wood with a chemical coating to create a barrier. If the termites eat that, they die. The process requires them to drill holes in obscure places to spread the chemical, but they guarantee 100% kill.

The negative part of tent fumigation is termites can return within days as there is no poison to stop them and the chemical process stops their return and is cheaper.

After all these years of conventional termite treatment, I'm inclined to try the new technology method.

So much for a boring blog!

Thanks for reading...

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Aug 2018
in Technology
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Matchmaker...

Typically, a matchmaker is a person who arranges introductions for people for the purpose of marriage. It's a profession in some countries. I'm not sure where I heard the name matchmaker and the song first. It was a Broadway show in 1964 and made into a movie 1971. Chances are my dad got hold of a record or reel-to-reel tape.

(I planned to do one long blog, but for lack of time maybe I'll break it into episodes. My schedule this month has me working 6 days a week and training two newly hired workers.)

Mail order bride was a term I heard as a kid. I knew it existed and recall reading the back page advertisements of magazines and newspapers. Women looking men were the ones I recall. The matchmaker would post some photos of his clients and guys would have to send letters to obtain more information. The women were mostly from European countries.

30 years later and the beginning of internet had matchmakers doing business nearly the same way, except they were crossing over to legitimate dating sites, creating profiles that appeared to be 'too good to believe' and fooling other members into thinking a real person was using the profile. For simplicity, I'll put matchmakers and scammers in the same category.

Of the sites I was listed, many had Russian and Asian women sending messages like crazy. I was getting a few a day. One site had a private messenger style chat interface, person-to-person. This was something new. If the person I was chatting with appeared interesting, I would give out my Yahoo or Skype. One woman sent me many messages and I declined each time because she was much too young.
Her English on the messages was very good and she was persistent. Okay... I agreed.

What I found in a video chat was the woman sitting next to her translator! She spoke no English and had gone to a matchmaking service run mostly by college students who were fluent in English. I would speak to the matchmaker who translated what I said and the woman's response would be translated into English. I was learning about meetings like this from blogs and forums and know someone had to pay for the service, so I repeated my position and thanked her for the time.

Scanning profiles was something I became good at and I noticed that a handful of profiles from the same city all had nearly identical introductions. Obviously a matchmaking service was doing the work for a few clients, cutting and pasting cloning the text. I became suspicious of messages with perfect English especially from women in China, I would ask if the the member was real or if I was communicating with a matchmaker!

That's it for Matchmaker.
Is Matchmaker II to follow?

Guys, here's a tidbit for you... Remember getting messages from beautiful blonde women claiming they were 'interested in your structure' ??
Many said they were from America.
Where were they really from?

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Aug 2018
in Dating & Relationships
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Getting the update....

One of the worst things about computers & cellphones are updates. There is absolutely too much lost time waiting for updates... especially with Windows 10 and their forced updates.
I have a laptop I often carry with me on sales presentations. I turned it on at a meeting once and it went into an update. My presentation was over (without the use of the laptop) and it was still doing updates. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE in business.

Between home, home office and remote office, I'm running several desktop computers on Windows 7. I was able to buy a few refurbished computers that I keep in storage. In the event one of my main computers fails, I have some W7 computers for backup.

I do have a few running Windows 10 and know at some point I'll have to abandon the older ones when support of W7 is no longer available.

Last year, I retired my 4 year old Samsung cellphone. I had a replacement warrantee plan and whenever one malfunctioned they would send out a refurbished model. The screen lifted on one I liked and the replacement was in worse condition. They couldn't get it to boot... it was DOA and I had to wait another week for the replacement of the replacement. They told me parts were no longer available for that model and the service center must have been cannibalizing other phones to make replacements.
That was the reason for buying their newest model. I've lost count of the number of times it forced updates. Thankfully, I'm able to stall a few updates... email app for example. There aren't significant changes that would justify updating it.

I'm running Firefox and heeded the notification my browser was outdated. I did an update and 10 minutes later I received another similar notification. This went on a few times and the last update has changed Yahoo's opening screen... yeah, those bastards have added code that allows a drop down banner I'm unable to block.

When it comes to 'getting the update' I'm not interested.

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Aug 2018
in Business
568 views
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This is a list of chatillion's Blogs. Click here for chatillion's Blog List

online today!chatillion Blog (1,891)

The Jig is up...

an unwanted promotion...

TRUST...

Songs about D R U G S...

Skinning Cats...

Hurricane Gordon...Tropical Cyclone SEVEN...

She loves long moonlit walks along the ocean...

shelf life... BOOM!!

If... Raise your hand!

A boring blog...

Matchmaker...

Getting the update....

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