Dear Obama,

You are the lack of change our nation never deserved to endure.

My wife and I work for a living. Together we make less than 50K/year. My step-son was born with a sub-mucosal cleft that handicapped his speech. Thus far he has had two surgeries just so he could physically reproduce the sounds needed for him to be able to speak just a little intelligibly. I'm am not his legal guardian. Austin has a father that is responsible for 50% of his mecical expenses, although to date I think he might have given my wife $100 or so towards the thousands he owes for medical expenses. He just bought a new tattoo last week.

The point I'd like to make for you, sir, Mr. President - is that your system is totally ludacris.

Why you ask?

I'm going to say this as clearly as possible:

WHEN YOU HELP PEOPLE WHO DON'T HELP THEMSELVES, YOU GIVE THEM NO REASON TO HELP THEMSELVES.

Huh?

More clarity?

When you give checks to people who pay $87/mo for "government" housing - and then allow those people to draw $8000 income tax refunds off how many illegitimate kids they can reproduce in any given year, you not on further disable them, you DISCOURAGE them from getting out and WORKING for a living.

But it's not just that.

My wife and I who get up off our asses and work - get completely shafted by the government. The more money I make, the less I get back from taxes. Our JOINT return this year amounted to HALF what my wife got back BY HERSELF last year. This was our first joint tax return as a married couple. Way to say - "welcome to responsibility" there.

So GOOD JOB restructuring the tax returns. Once again - you've managed to SCREW the middle class, including Joe the damn plumber.

And my most recent issue. I would say "we" were denied, but "we" were not. Austin was denied social security to pay for his last surgery. This surgery will cost several thousand dollars. SUPPOSEDLY our "household" income is TOO HIGH! We now have no idea how we will afford the surgery, or continue to afford his monthly medication - which cost approx. $130/mo.

Mr. President, YOU'RE income is TOO HIGH! We work hard and barely get by. My gas could get turned off any day now - something you haven't even thought about since you became an elitist prick politician.

WAKE UP!

THE MIDDLE CLASS IS THE PILLAR UPON WHICH THIS NATION STANDS. WHAT WILL ALL YOU ELITIST ASSHOLES DO WHEN WE DECIDE TO SIT ON OUR ASS IN GOVERNMENT HOUSING AND TAKE OUR CHECKS?

So what about the homeless?

GIVE THEM JOBS! Quit giving them money, and give them something to freaking do! No jobs? GET RID OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!

PRESTO! We have JOBS!

Let Mexico handle their own shit.

Problem solved.

Then give us some help so my step-son can have the SAME CHANCE AT LIFE that every other kid getting a free pass through your crap programs for the "needy" get.

I hope you have a horrible day, SIR.

Hooking up

Is there a class that you have to go to to be on reality TV that teaches you to insert "hook up" in place of "have sex with"?

I was thinking about this the other day. I used to think that "hooking up" meant getting together with someone - usually in a dating-like persuation. But as I pay more and more attention, it's means to "have sex with".

Once I realized that - I realize the phrase is tossed around quite easily and frequently. Is this because they (people on TV) procreate more than the average human? Or is it because they've disguised what they're saying to where it's just too easy to say?

Hmmm?

No longer a "mac only" guy

Thank you Bill Gates for finally getting something right. And that something is Windows 7. Thus far, most of the annoying things about previous versions of Windows that I had grown to hate have been removed. Of course I've only had my new HP pavilion for a few hours, but thus far I love it! I'm looking forward to seeing how the stability is going to hold up. So far it's fast, convenient, and for what all I got - it was a really good deal. I even got a brand new shoulder bag/protective case for it that's really nice.

This is a short one today, but I will probably do a more in depth review of the performance later after I've had a few more hours on it.

You are not a professional just because you think you are

A professional is defined as: 1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b : engaged in one of the learned professions c (1) : characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace

2 a : participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs b : having a particular profession as a permanent career c : engaged in by persons receiving financial return

3 : following a line of conduct as though it were a profession

— pro·fes·sion·al·ly adverb

So being a "professional" can have quite a few different meanings - and when I think about it - it's hard for me to define what the word means for me - until recently it was applied to something I do as being "unprofessional". At first I took it negatively until I realized that technically, I'm not a professional audio engineer. And when I think about it that way - it just made me realize the ignorance of those making the comment.

An MD is also considered a "medical professional" because he is proficient in that field. A plumber is a professional in the field of plumbing. A CEO of a big company is usually professional in business relations of some sort. A professional musician is someone who's means of living is provided by his musicianship - and a professional engineer is someone who has done a bit more than google the tech forums and learn how to set up his stolen, torrented, DAW and plugin software - and works in a "professional" studio. I know - I've learned a lot from google and used a lot of software. I've also paid for a lot of software.

Now this doesn't mean that one can't use the word "professional" to label someone who is "courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike". But in the audio world, that doesn't really reflect the product. There are many many different levels of quality recordings that can be obtained as the result of the technological revolution of our society. As computers become more and more capable, people have more and more access to the same softwares and equipment that the professionals used to be the only ones to have access with. This causes the gap between top quality recordings and crap recordings to become quite wide. You can find guys with a minimal set up, such as myself, and get away with a decent sounding demo for a few hundred bucks. Or you can go to Nashville, and spend $20,000 on one song - the sky is the limit.

So - before I get lost, lets get to the point: being professional about something is not the same thing as being "A" professional. I don't feel I am "unprofessional" about my engineering because I'm straight forward with those that come to my studio about the type of sound and quality I can achieve - so therefore, my customers get exactly what they pay for - and I have had a 100% satisfaction rating as far as I know. This is called "good business". People that aren't interested in the level of quality I provide, pay more money at other places. And this doesn't bother me. I enjoy helping folks out - especially younger groups that are exactly where I was when I was a late teen, trying to find someone to do a demo for what little money my band could scrounge together. And I do WAY better demos than the ones I paid lots more money for than I charge. So don't lie to people. Do honest business. And be professional. Don't lie to yourself and tell people you are a professional because you think you're better than someone else. Just do what you need to do, and do it the best you can.