XXX Files – Porn at work on the rise

Sure, many would kill to be able to look at porn while at work.  Even more would love to be making porn at or for work.  But now more and more employees are indulging their porn fantasies at their 9-to-5 jobs.

M.J. McMahon, publisher of AVN Online Magazine, recently reported that the Nielsen Online ratings (yes…the same company that rates the TV programs) show that roughly one quarter of employees view porn at their workplace during working hours.  That’s up 23% — which shows that they’ve been tracking this for a long time!

Steve Hirsch, CEO of Vivid Entertainment Group, attributes the upswing to the failing economy.  “People are looking for an escape,” he said.  And that’s most likely true.  But we also live in a point-and-click world and many who are now entering the workforce are used to having whatever they want, whenever they want it, right at their fingertips.  Many have no inhibitions about clicking on a porn site and then hitting the Alt+Tab buttons as they see the boss approaching to hide what they’re doing.

In a recent Newsweek article, Dawn Adams, CEO of HResults, said:

Managers are dealing with so many issues right now that sometimes people are able to hide out and no one knows what they’re doing.

And with the increase in free porn sites, it’s easier for many to access.  Viewers aren’t afraid of logging in and out of them quickly and there’s no credit card bill to argue with the spouse over.  And the stigma over porn in general isn’t as scandalous as it once was.  After video tapes brought porn into most homes and out of the seedy movie theaters, the idea of casually watching two (or more!) people engaging in a wide variety of sexual acts became common.

Do I disagree with porn in the workplace?  Only if it’s not your job to be viewing it while working.  There is a fine line to be drawn between personal choice and freedom and the responsibility of employees to do what they’re paid to do.  It also could bring about a sexual harassment issue if someone looks over your shoulder and sees something he or she doesn’t like.  Also, some adult content sites harbor viruses, adware, and spyware.  These cause computer systems to crash and can lead your employer’s IT department right back to the source.

In Washington, DC, nine city employees were fired for viewing porn sites thousands of times over the Internet while on the job.  Reportedly, one was a Child and Family Services employee and another reportedly logged hits every 2.5 minutes.

The argument over lost productivity versus freedom to surf during an unpaid break will go on forever.  The best rule of thumb is if it’s not your personal computer or you’re getting paid to do something other than look at porn, it’s best not to do it.  That five minute (or five hour, in some cases!) peep at a bit of forbidden goodness could cost you not only your job but financial responsibility should your employer charge you the extra cost of cleaning their computer systems.  It also could cost you dearly if someone files sexual harassment charges.  And unless you have an open relationship where both parties agree on the use of porn, it could cost you even more with your significant other.

Don’t always assume that your boss doesn’t know what you’re doing.  Enjoy porn!  Just be sure to enjoy it responsibly.

Do the punishments fit the crime? Youths and bad behavior…

What the hell is up with kids these days?  Is there nothing they’ll do for attention?  And are the punishments adults mete out appropriate for the offenses?  Shouldn’t we be a little more creative?

In Stuart, FL, a student was arrested for “passing gas.”  The 13-year-old had been accused of continually disrupting classes by intentionally breaking wind and then turning off computers other students were using.  He was released to his mother after being charged with disruption of a school function. 

Arrested??  Seriously??  What ever happened to in-school suspension?  Or how about some good old-fashioned corporal punishment?  Oh…that’s right…the U.S. has been trying to ban it for years even though South Korean schools use it with effective results, though I don’t totally agree with all their methods.

I do really like this video of how a judge in Ft. Lupton, CO, deals with noise ordinance violators.  I don’t really consider myself a fuddy-duddy person, but I can’t stand it when someone drives by with their radio so loud I can feel the beat in my teeth.  How can they stand that?

Judge Paul W. Sacco has gotten tired of parents just paying the fines for their children’s violations of the noise laws.  I can agree with that.  If the parent pays and there are no repercussions directly affecting the violators, then what have they learned?  Absolutely nothing other than “money talks.”  So Judge Sacco has started sentencing them to a one-hour session of music.  Of the music he likes — Barry Manilow and Barney the Dinosaur.  They, among other artists and music genres, are usually not going to be found on the iPods of the offenders.

Now that’s creative punishment!  And is it effective?  I don’t have any statistics on it, but one of the teens said he didn’t think Manilow was all that bad after hearing it.  Hmmm….maybe a Ray Coniff jubilee or Lawrence Welk marathon would be better?

American automakers do too little WAY too late

You’ve probably already seen the article, but here it is again.  General Motors to return two leased jets amid criticism.

Wow.  What a great and charitable move by an industry giant.  And, yes, the sarcasm meter is turned WAY up in that statement!

Not only is it incredibly naive of them to believe that the American taxpayers are going to accept their move as an act of contrition regarding their overspending, narcissistic, carefree millionaire attitudes but it’s way too little, way too late in the game.  And, you just can’t help but pick out how they’re really not trying to do more to show that they are getting their affairs in order before they bite the big one.

They’re giving back two planes.  TWO??  Out of a fleet of how many?  GM refuses to provide the name of the company they lease from.  Is it because the fees are exorbitantly high?  Is it because they agree to pay more than the regular rate?  No one really wants to answer that.  And they’re leased jets.  So how many do they actually own??

My favorite statements in the articles are these:

He [GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson], however, said the company has not decided on what mode of transportation [GM CEO Rick] Wagoner would take if had to travel to Washington again.  Wagoner and Ford CEO Alan Mulally are required by their companies to fly by private aircraft for security reasons, according to company documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

What?  What security reasons??  I wouldn’t recognize these bozos on the street if they walked up and gave me a million dollars (which I wish they would, but there you have it)!  Hell…watch Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking” on The Tonight Show and see just how uninformed most of the American public is.  Many can’t recognize their own State Senator or Representative for whom they claimed to vote.  So who’s stalking all these auto execs?  No one I can think of.  Well, no one unless you count the mind-numbingly large numbers of former auto workers who have been fired over the past years because CEO salaries have gone up while benefits, consumer trust, and caring for your employees has plummeted.

Toyota and Nissan aren’t really having the same problems that the American Big Three are.  I was in San Antonio, Texas, back in 2005 when Toyota was preparing to open their new plant there.  People were really excited about the new jobs and the hotel I stayed in was hosting some of the Japanese executives who were there to finish ironing out the deals.  Now, I’m certainly no millionaire who can stay at the ritzy hotels of any city.  Heck, I’m lucky if I can get a room at a Super 8 some days.  But these guys who make lots of money and represent one of the largest corporations in the world were staying at a regular hotel just like the rest of us.  I didn’t see security details around the hotel, so I guess they’re not as “wanted” as the American CEOs are, huh?

Maybe it’s because their employees come first.  When the very same Toyota plant they were building had to slow production this year due to decreased sales of the Tundra pickup they make, they didn’t fire their employees.  They shut the plant down for three months and paid, yes paid, their employees full salaries to attend training and complete community service projects throughout the city.  In addition, while the employees were working to better themselves and their community, the company implemented new improvements to safety and quality.  And employees who didn’t work on the one shift that was restarted?  They’re still getting paid to do program and self improvement projects.

Isn’t that what the American dream was?  Work hard and make yourself and your community a better place??  And the Japanese are having to teach us that in our own country??

So thanks, but no thanks to the “generous gesture” given by GM.  My confidence isn’t bolstered by it.  In fact,  I bet you’ll be hard-pressed to find many taxpayers who will say, “Oh, two planes?  That’s fine.  Now you may have all the money I and the rest of the country’s working class toiled hard to make and paid the government to use for national security, services, etc.  That’s fine with us now.”

Yeah…when it comes to overpaid executives sticking it to the little people, that sarcasm button doesn’t release lightly.

Is the new administration overstepping its bounds?

Disclaimer — This blog simply includes the educated and irritated ramblings of just one person and has no way been influenced by anything other than her personal convictions.  It has not been created to cause any embarrassment to the President-Elect or his administration.  It is purely for informational and entertainment purposes only.  So there…

Holy crap!  What the hell is happening in the US now???

Okay…I live in a really economically depressed area.  When Bill Clinton was elected, many felt that the midwest would be the best area for him to pick employees from because (1) we’re all like him and (2) he “feels our pain.”  He did take some of his closest friends and advisors with him to Washington and they got high-level jobs in the government.  And, I know this time around, Barack Obama will take many of his friends and associates with him — and that’s all well and good.  If people are qualified for the job, they should have it.  How you become the most qualified for the job but never having held that position before is still a mystery to me…  But, no one is ever qualified to be President of the United States until they’ve been in that position, no matter what each side of the ticket says.

But I’m not here to rehash the recent election…  I voted the way I wanted and that’s that.  What I am shocked about is the new questionnaire that the Obama Administration is requiring all applicants to complete before they are considered.  And, the bigger question is, where is a citizen’s expectation of privacy guaranteed and where can the government shoulder their way into your diary without precondition?

Obviously I’m not going to get a job with them because I have to answer too many questions in the way they wouldn’t like.  I don’t remember every single place I’ve ever given a public speech, made a statement, or trained a group of people.  I don’t have copies of every resume I’ve ever given for a job application for the past 10 years.

Question 13 gives me pause — “Electronic communications: If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict or interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect if it were made public, please describe.”  Why would I want to tell something embarrassing about me?  Does the President-Elect really need to know if I got lost and I missed an important appointment which caused me not to get a job I wanted?  That was pretty embarrassing to me, anyway…

Okay, I understand wanting financial disclosure statements…you want to make sure they’re not going to try and bilk the taxpayers by stealing money to pay their own debts.  All government jobs ask for them, even if you’re not in the “secret circle” of the White House.  But to ask if you’ve ever received a gift of $50.00 or more from your immediate family or close, longstanding friends on your birthday or seasonal holiday?  I don’t know many people who keep 10-year receipts for every yard sale they’ve ever had…so there’s a lot of money floating around unaccounted for,  huh?

But…we’re all screwed when it comes to 58 — “Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g., Facebook, My Space, etc.)”  Well…hope you never said anything anyone might not like…  And I’m totally screwed with 59 — “Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”  Do they want them classified by caliber or type (single-action, semi-auto, full-auto)?  And I guess all the targets I’ve qualified on could be considered damaged property and my thumb getting caught in an action once was a personal injury…

Laugh if you want and say that I’m overexaggerating, but the questions are really open-ended and the criteria to jugde your answers isn’t given.  So, that means the person who reads them can impart his/her own feelings and opinions to each one.  They might read the questions very literally and be extremely radical in their interpretations.  Or maybe not.  I don’t have that job, so I can’t say.

If you work for the government or any business that has email or Internet connections, you more than likely see a disclaimer that you have no expectations of privacy if you use their systems to conduct any business, personal or private.  I don’t remember the journal I bought at Wal-Mart having that kind of disclaimer.  If I were running for president, I could understand having to lay my life bare for all to see and examine with a fine-toothed comb.

If you’d like to read the questionnaire yourself, you can find it here.  Oh, and if you live in California, Minnesota or Oklahoma, don’t miss the last two pages!  They’ll look at you even closer!

Comment if you like.  Please just keep it civil.  We can set a good example for others, can’t we??  I’m Sacha Kinksky and I approve this blog post.

What the hell happened to Veterans’ Day???

I remember when I was a kid the schools would have us take time to remember our veterans.  If any teachers were veterans, we made posters and cards for them.  Veterans were invited to the school to have lunch with us and we’d put on a musical program for them of patriotic songs.  In junior high and high school, we’d march in the parades and attend assemblies to honor those still livng and remember those who had passed on or never came home.

What’s happening today?  I can’t find a parade or assembly anywhere.  All the stores are running ads telling me how great Veterans’ Day would be to save money on a waterbed, barbeque items, or a car I can’t possibly afford.  The kids are whining they have to go to school while the banks and post offices are closed.  And maybe, just maybe, a Girl Scout or Boy Scout group will visit the local Veterans’ Home or nursing homes to say “Thank you” to a veteran.

I put some flowers on my grandfather’s grave today.  He served in WWII.  None of the other military graves had any flowers or flags.

You would think (at least, I think that you would think) that people would be more respectful of the history of Veterans’ Day and respectful of our veterans of wars past and of today’s conflicts.  Today’s veterans deserve just as much adoration as those from the past.  Just because it’s an unpopular war doesn’t mean their service meant any less to them or the friends and family they left behind.  I thought we’d learned much more since Vietnam…  I guess not…

If you agree or disagree, feel free to comment.  Just don’t be hateful or try to get on your political soapbox.  The elections are over — you’re not going to change anything by being mean.  True, our veterans fought and died for your right to speak your mind.  But this is my blog and I’ll run it how I like.  Thanks for understanding.

The wonderful world of eBay…

Holy cow!  I’ve been on eBay for years but some of the items out there are really strange!!

Okay, you ladies in the crowd might remember what an EpiLady was from back in the 1980s (dang, I feel old now!).  It was that stupid thing we plugged into the wall that yanked the hair out of our legs by the roots.  The idiotic things we do for men, huh?

Well…I had one.  I say “had” because I found my old one in the back of a drawer and wasn’t sure what to do with it.  Another friend of mine said she’d sold one on eBay years ago to a collector.  A collector??  Who would WANT it??  Eeww!!  I mean, no matter how much you tried to apply heat or cold — not even a stiff drink — could keep that slice of Hell from hurting!

Anyway, I gave it to her to try and flog on eBay for me.  I figure when she gets the chance I’ll see it up there.  I’ve put a few things up myself and had them sell pretty quickly.  I’ve put a few things up there and had them go absolutely nowhere.  It’s that great cyberspace yard sale!

Any weird/wonderful items you’ve bought/sold?  Feel free to comment!  I’m going back to surf a little longer and see what I can’t afford to buy!