Roadtoad
Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
Not particularly shameless bump.
Transcendence
- Thread starter Roadtoad
- Start date
Roadtoad
Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
This may seem like an odd question, but here goes...
I had a run to a Granite Construction site today. Unlike most construction companies we run to, I actually enjoy working with Granite. Good people, they know what you're up against, and they try hard to work with you.
At the same time, Granite's a tough outfit to work with. First and formost, you WILL wear your safety gear. Got your hard hat? Goggles or glasses? Safety vest? Are you wearing steel toed boots? If not, you might as well turn the rig around and head back to the yard. Because, babycakes, you ain't delivering today.
The crew on their sites ALWAYS know where you're supposed to be. Someone has been told you're coming, and they know what time you're due to be on site. They know exactly where you're supposed to unload, and they know how you're to be unloaded. Got a question? Ask. Someone knows the answer, and if it ain't the guy running the loader, it's they guy on the excavator, or even the girl running the crane. And if they can't figure it out, they'll find out who does and let you know. You will NEVER be on their jobsites.
All they ask of you, once you arrive, is that you follow their rules. They're posted in plain sight for anyone there. You're going to wear your gear, you're going to obey the hand signals. If a Granite employee tells you to move, get that rig in gear, because if you DON'T move it, you're not coming back. If you're told to do something, it's generally for someone's good. You don't drive behind a moving loader, nor do you move if you can't see Granite's people.
As a result, they've got a solid safety record. They're one of the few companies I look forward to dealing with on a daily basis. I could only wish we got more work from them.
But as I say, the rules are clear. You know in advance going in what's expected of you.
Is it just me, then, or did someone muddy the waters in the rest of the world? I read some whackjob extreme Christofreak, like Billiefan, or this Leslie Gray that Randi told us about in his commentary, and I think two things: (1.) Which Bible did you read? Because I never ran into this sort of weirdness when I read it. And (2.) I'll bet you were a lot more fun when you were a pagan.
Or did I miss something else? Maybe the Bible wasn't supposed to be used like a rulebook. (A verse in Isaiah seems to bear this out.) Maybe there's supposed to be more reliance in this world on our common sense. I find it hard to believe that it's not any simpler in life than "If I raise my hand and close my fist, you stop moving. Got it?"
Or did I miss something?
I had a run to a Granite Construction site today. Unlike most construction companies we run to, I actually enjoy working with Granite. Good people, they know what you're up against, and they try hard to work with you.
At the same time, Granite's a tough outfit to work with. First and formost, you WILL wear your safety gear. Got your hard hat? Goggles or glasses? Safety vest? Are you wearing steel toed boots? If not, you might as well turn the rig around and head back to the yard. Because, babycakes, you ain't delivering today.
The crew on their sites ALWAYS know where you're supposed to be. Someone has been told you're coming, and they know what time you're due to be on site. They know exactly where you're supposed to unload, and they know how you're to be unloaded. Got a question? Ask. Someone knows the answer, and if it ain't the guy running the loader, it's they guy on the excavator, or even the girl running the crane. And if they can't figure it out, they'll find out who does and let you know. You will NEVER be on their jobsites.
All they ask of you, once you arrive, is that you follow their rules. They're posted in plain sight for anyone there. You're going to wear your gear, you're going to obey the hand signals. If a Granite employee tells you to move, get that rig in gear, because if you DON'T move it, you're not coming back. If you're told to do something, it's generally for someone's good. You don't drive behind a moving loader, nor do you move if you can't see Granite's people.
As a result, they've got a solid safety record. They're one of the few companies I look forward to dealing with on a daily basis. I could only wish we got more work from them.
But as I say, the rules are clear. You know in advance going in what's expected of you.
Is it just me, then, or did someone muddy the waters in the rest of the world? I read some whackjob extreme Christofreak, like Billiefan, or this Leslie Gray that Randi told us about in his commentary, and I think two things: (1.) Which Bible did you read? Because I never ran into this sort of weirdness when I read it. And (2.) I'll bet you were a lot more fun when you were a pagan.
Or did I miss something else? Maybe the Bible wasn't supposed to be used like a rulebook. (A verse in Isaiah seems to bear this out.) Maybe there's supposed to be more reliance in this world on our common sense. I find it hard to believe that it's not any simpler in life than "If I raise my hand and close my fist, you stop moving. Got it?"
Or did I miss something?
I find your technical descriptions of truck-driving quite interesting. It never ceases to amaze me how techincally complex everything is.
I don't think you have stopped taking criticism just because you are older, Toad. I think you have learned to recognize the difference between valid constructive criticism and controlling bullsh*t.
Some books of the Bible. like Genesis, sound like they are written by existantialists decrying the burden of consciousness. Some, like Job, are humanist, subtly pointing out the brutality of nature and opppresivness of the laws of thermodynamics (you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game). Some are raw political documents (all that stuff about King David) that could have inspired Machivelli. Some are just porn.
The idea that you can get everything you need from a handful of books is just silly. It's a form of intellectual laziness. So yes, I agree that any reasonable position requires you to use more common sense. But I also agree with you that if God really wanted us to follow any particular rules, he would have made them more obvious. This whole system of "try it and see what happens, and if you don't like the result, don't do it anymore" seems rather inconsistent with the binary, one-shot choice of heaven or hell.
I don't think you have stopped taking criticism just because you are older, Toad. I think you have learned to recognize the difference between valid constructive criticism and controlling bullsh*t.
The Bible is a collection of books. The people who assembled the Bible didn't write any of it, and they didn't even really get to edit it. Consequently, I think ascribing a single purpose to this almost random collection of works would be both fruitless and unfair.
Some books of the Bible. like Genesis, sound like they are written by existantialists decrying the burden of consciousness. Some, like Job, are humanist, subtly pointing out the brutality of nature and opppresivness of the laws of thermodynamics (you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game). Some are raw political documents (all that stuff about King David) that could have inspired Machivelli. Some are just porn.
The idea that you can get everything you need from a handful of books is just silly. It's a form of intellectual laziness. So yes, I agree that any reasonable position requires you to use more common sense. But I also agree with you that if God really wanted us to follow any particular rules, he would have made them more obvious. This whole system of "try it and see what happens, and if you don't like the result, don't do it anymore" seems rather inconsistent with the binary, one-shot choice of heaven or hell.
Roadtoad
Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
Yahzi said:
It's interesting. I've mentioned this same idea to folks in the churches I've attended, (taking my cue from one of Paul's letters to Timothy), and been met with the iciest stares. I have a harder and harder time dealing, (as you do, it seems) with the one-shot, turn-or-burn choice offered. Real life doesn't work like that, why would anyone expect the same from eternity?
Intellectual laziness? Yeah, I would say that applies. If you only have to turn to the Bible as your sole answer for everything, you really don't have to deal with real problems suffered by real people. After all, homelessness becomes a sin problem, and people without a home are suffering because they don't love Jesus. Alcoholism? Well, that's a sin problem, too. You don't love Jesus, so you drink. Terminal illness? Well, if you just loved Jesus...
Ever notice, though, that people like that are having less and less influence on the rest of the world?
Thank God.
Er, at the moment, they seem to be enjoying a resurgence of influence. 
Intellectual laziness is not wholly unjustifiable. I particularly like the Bible's definition of rape: if it was inside the city, it's adultery, outside the city, it's rape. Simple and sweet. Rape trials are reduced to determining where the crime took place. None of this expensive, lengthy, divisive "he said, she said" crap. No trashing of characters in the courtroom. No forensics, no complications. Just a simple measuring tape.
Why is this so cool? Well, if you are a bronze age goat herding society, you really can't afford an army of lawyers. You've got to cut corners and get your justice on the cheap. This is a nice neat solution, and honestly, it's better than the Greek version (in Greek culture, rape meant having sex with a woman without her father's consent. Measuring consent is harder than measuring the distance to the city walls).
The horde of lawyers that infest our society is a sign of the staggering wealth of our society. When people have lots of material wealth, they tend to spend more on abstracts like justice. Poor societys, on the other hand, can't be expected to.
Intellectual laziness is not wholly unjustifiable. I particularly like the Bible's definition of rape: if it was inside the city, it's adultery, outside the city, it's rape. Simple and sweet. Rape trials are reduced to determining where the crime took place. None of this expensive, lengthy, divisive "he said, she said" crap. No trashing of characters in the courtroom. No forensics, no complications. Just a simple measuring tape.
Why is this so cool? Well, if you are a bronze age goat herding society, you really can't afford an army of lawyers. You've got to cut corners and get your justice on the cheap. This is a nice neat solution, and honestly, it's better than the Greek version (in Greek culture, rape meant having sex with a woman without her father's consent. Measuring consent is harder than measuring the distance to the city walls).
The horde of lawyers that infest our society is a sign of the staggering wealth of our society. When people have lots of material wealth, they tend to spend more on abstracts like justice. Poor societys, on the other hand, can't be expected to.
Roadtoad
Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
Had an interesting series of loads this week. Friday was the one, though, that has me up nights...
I finished up with Thursday's fun and games, which involved running an end dump from a construction site to a recycling yard, only to be told to hook up to a lowboy trailer. I would be hauling 60" pipe from a fabrication yard to a construction site on the south end of town. A relatively simple load out, and an even simpler off load: They take a forklift to load you, and an excavator with a sling to clear you out.
This should, ideally, be pretty simple. I run cables over the tops of the pipe, and then strap the front and back pipes. A sharp rise on the front of the trailer, and a sort of odd bump out on the back guarantee the pipes won't be going anywhere. Since there's only three, this is a quick and easy load. (I could easily have made four runs, but they put too many drivers on the job. Only got in three. For someone like me who gets paid by the load, and not the hour or mile, that's tough to deal with.)
I got out to the site, and the crew they had to off-load us was ready and waiting. I rolled one pipe back a few inches, (like I could move it any more than I did), they slipped the sling into place, cinched it tight, and the crane operator...
I leapt back. "F***ing A! What the hell are you doing?"
I had to move quick. The operator jerked the head of the crane up so hard, the pipe flew up five feet, then came down and bounced.
"Man, what ARE you doing?" one of the crewmen demanded of the operator. "That ain't a yoyo!"
"Oh, hey, I'm sorry, man," the operator yelled back, as the 8' section of 60" pipe slammed into the next piece of pipe to come off the trailer.
Now, you need to understand something about concrete pipe: Until you get it into the ground, it's extremely fragile. It doesn't take much to crack it, and once you have, it has got to go back to the plant, and be either recast, or patched. (And bear in mind, in most cases, you can't patch it. You have to haul it off for recycling. Very expensive, that. It really cuts into someone's bottom line.) So, whenever I haul this stuff, I have to take special care not to bump it wrong, or crack it, because if I do, the pipe is ruined, and someone is screwed. The money I earn for a backhaul is nice, but I'd rather not have to do it.
I didn't sweat it much, at least not at first. But this joke kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it...
Nine frigging pipes! Bang! Slam! Boom! Wham! What was this joker THINKING? (Or was I a witness to brain damage or something?)
I kept hoping that at some point, this guy would learn. But he didn't. He kept jerking the pipes off the bed, and frankly, I think it's a testament of good sense that none of us was hurt, mainly because once we heard him revving up the excavator, we all moved back a good 20-30 feet. At some point, someone is going to make the backhaul run, pulling that pipe out of that worksite, and I'm hoping I'm not called on to do it. A person could get killed with this operator around.
I kind of feel, though, like it's a good commentary on a lot of people. They bang, bump, slam their way around others, doing damage to people, groups, or institutions they think are tough enough to handle it. But, hey, as long as they say they're sorry, everything is cool, right? Except they don't look at the cracks they've put in, they won't look at the damage, and it's someone else who has to come back and fix things. And sometimes, the damage can't be repaired.
And I could forgive some of this, but the reality is that I find I'm dealing with people who JUST WON'T LEARN. They don't want to. It's not convenient, or it's hard, or it forces them to re-evaluate what they think, or any number of excuses.
The Ten Commandments in front of a courthouse? Why the nation's laws were based on them. But religion is not the basis for our nation's existence. Law is. Both Law and Religion are debased by the actions of one damn fool. He's sorry, but he hasn't learned. (So, maybe he's not sorry at all.)
And we forget this, time and again.
I would hate to reach the end of my life, regardless of what awaits at that point, whether it's eternity or oblivion, and realize in the end that I had opportunity to change things in this world for the better, but failed because I would not learn.
(Note: Guys, I hate vanity threads. Talk to me! How else can I learn anything?)
I finished up with Thursday's fun and games, which involved running an end dump from a construction site to a recycling yard, only to be told to hook up to a lowboy trailer. I would be hauling 60" pipe from a fabrication yard to a construction site on the south end of town. A relatively simple load out, and an even simpler off load: They take a forklift to load you, and an excavator with a sling to clear you out.
This should, ideally, be pretty simple. I run cables over the tops of the pipe, and then strap the front and back pipes. A sharp rise on the front of the trailer, and a sort of odd bump out on the back guarantee the pipes won't be going anywhere. Since there's only three, this is a quick and easy load. (I could easily have made four runs, but they put too many drivers on the job. Only got in three. For someone like me who gets paid by the load, and not the hour or mile, that's tough to deal with.)
I got out to the site, and the crew they had to off-load us was ready and waiting. I rolled one pipe back a few inches, (like I could move it any more than I did), they slipped the sling into place, cinched it tight, and the crane operator...
I leapt back. "F***ing A! What the hell are you doing?"
I had to move quick. The operator jerked the head of the crane up so hard, the pipe flew up five feet, then came down and bounced.
"Man, what ARE you doing?" one of the crewmen demanded of the operator. "That ain't a yoyo!"
"Oh, hey, I'm sorry, man," the operator yelled back, as the 8' section of 60" pipe slammed into the next piece of pipe to come off the trailer.
Now, you need to understand something about concrete pipe: Until you get it into the ground, it's extremely fragile. It doesn't take much to crack it, and once you have, it has got to go back to the plant, and be either recast, or patched. (And bear in mind, in most cases, you can't patch it. You have to haul it off for recycling. Very expensive, that. It really cuts into someone's bottom line.) So, whenever I haul this stuff, I have to take special care not to bump it wrong, or crack it, because if I do, the pipe is ruined, and someone is screwed. The money I earn for a backhaul is nice, but I'd rather not have to do it.
I didn't sweat it much, at least not at first. But this joke kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it...
Nine frigging pipes! Bang! Slam! Boom! Wham! What was this joker THINKING? (Or was I a witness to brain damage or something?)
I kept hoping that at some point, this guy would learn. But he didn't. He kept jerking the pipes off the bed, and frankly, I think it's a testament of good sense that none of us was hurt, mainly because once we heard him revving up the excavator, we all moved back a good 20-30 feet. At some point, someone is going to make the backhaul run, pulling that pipe out of that worksite, and I'm hoping I'm not called on to do it. A person could get killed with this operator around.
I kind of feel, though, like it's a good commentary on a lot of people. They bang, bump, slam their way around others, doing damage to people, groups, or institutions they think are tough enough to handle it. But, hey, as long as they say they're sorry, everything is cool, right? Except they don't look at the cracks they've put in, they won't look at the damage, and it's someone else who has to come back and fix things. And sometimes, the damage can't be repaired.
And I could forgive some of this, but the reality is that I find I'm dealing with people who JUST WON'T LEARN. They don't want to. It's not convenient, or it's hard, or it forces them to re-evaluate what they think, or any number of excuses.
The Ten Commandments in front of a courthouse? Why the nation's laws were based on them. But religion is not the basis for our nation's existence. Law is. Both Law and Religion are debased by the actions of one damn fool. He's sorry, but he hasn't learned. (So, maybe he's not sorry at all.)
And we forget this, time and again.
I would hate to reach the end of my life, regardless of what awaits at that point, whether it's eternity or oblivion, and realize in the end that I had opportunity to change things in this world for the better, but failed because I would not learn.
(Note: Guys, I hate vanity threads. Talk to me! How else can I learn anything?)
Our nation's laws are not based on the 10 Commandmants--this is a lie repeated so often that people are just ignoring the blatant falseness of it...IT is not true--show me anywhere that the first four commandmants are incorporated into our laws...
Roadtoad
Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
Fun2BFree said:
No, you're right in saying that not all ten specific commandments are cited. But, the basic ideals are there. (Personally, I suspect the first four are worthless if you can't deny them, or challenge them.)
