Somewhere Over the Rainbow a Friday melody

It has been a long grueling week here in Alaska.

It ran the gamut from being pretty cold for this time of year with it in single digits or just below zero in the mornings while I looked at the weather map on the Today Show showing that Alaska was “Above Normal” so I have no idea where they were getting their information.

Driving to work in the darkness was somewhat deceiving with the ‘black ice’ covering the ground several mornings that we had ice fog around the city. The clear nights with the cold temperatures, no wind, and the inlet close-by made for some tough driving conditions for many people.

We had a couple small snow flurries which most hoped that it would warm up a bit and have the heavens cut loose with a nice fresh snowfall before the Holiday. Fresh snow cleans everything up for a bit and makes things have that ‘wintry’ look.

Work tried to beat me down this week as I tried to keep up with everything going on. Multiple projects, several crews scattered around Alaska in remote jobsites and all of the projects in Anchorage with everyone asking questions, looking for materials, and just trying to keep their head above water too. It was overwhelming I think for all of us. We have been trying to hire a front office person and the one gal we want to hire is stalling as her company wants her to stay another month to train her replacement. That is a noble thought but does me no good right now when I need help.

You can really feel the effects of the upcoming winter now as the darkness seems to be wrapping its arms around the day. Its dark early remains dark now into the morning and the horizon sun low in the sky drops below the horizon before I leave work. It feels like its around nine pm when I leave the office when it is earlier but a few nights that was not far off that time.

About the only ‘funny’ I heard this week was the ‘Big 3’ auto maker CEO’s arriving in Washington in their private G3 business jets with their hands out to the lawmakers for a 25 billion dollar loan to help them survive the current economy crisis.

They haven’t a clue.

No plan in hand on what they would change to make them survive this long ongoing mess. No ideas about changing their production lines to make fuel efficient vehicles, no ideas about lowering labor contracts to help the industry survive . . . I could go on but you can get the idea.

You could see by their arrogance and nothing written down they ‘expected’ a handout and had not prepared or thought about changing the way they have done anything in the past.

Do I think they should be ‘bailed out’ to keep the work force on the job?

Not really, I think Chrysler would fall to the wayside while Ford and Chevrolet would struggle to keep afloat. The unions would be busted and the free market workers would gladly step into those jobs. I don’t think the union workers have yet to figure out they make the cuts and get 80% of something instead of staying the course and getting 100% of nothing.

To end this Friday without a rant and something positive, enjoy!

Doesn’t that make you feel better?

Have a great weekend!

Ice