September 30, 2008
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The Daily News
1 Top Five World’s Worst Jobs:
#5 Cobra charmer.
#4 Roadkill collector.
#3 Crime-Scene Cleaner
#2 Ape Urine Collector
#1 Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders
Source: Mostly classesandcareers.net but really, a little out of order, and two aren’t REALLY up there: Cobra charmer and Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders. I added those two and moved them into position.
2 In my view, those two clearly were accidentally left off the list. The REAL top five worst jobs according to that website are these:
#5 Pest Control Worker (Ape Urine Collector IS number six, and IS an actual job.)
Website observation: “Pest control workers use their knowledge of pests’ biology and habits along with an arsenal of pest-management techniques–applying chemicals, setting traps, operating equipment, and even modifying structures–to alleviate pest problems. In short, pest control workers have to think like pests and go where pests go–usually to places that are dark, damp, and dirty. Plus, they get [to] deal with chemicals.”
#4 Crime Scene Cleaner
Website observation: “If not the dirtiest, this is definitely the most mentally disturbing job. Crime-scene cleaners wear hasmat suits, respirators, and chemical-spill boots; still, they must have strong stomachs as they brave blood, decomposition, and the loose remains of human bodies once the police have left the scene.”
#3 Portable Toilet Cleaner
Website observation: “You had to know this one was coming. First of all, I have serious reservations about using portable toilets, much less cleaning one. Portable toilet cleaners pick up leftover toilet paper, spray on a de-greasing solution, hose the entire unit down with scalding water, scrub, squeegee, dry, and then finish it off with a deodorizing spray. And yet, even after all of this, I would rather take my chances in the woods…”
#2 Manure Insector
Website observation: “Animal manure is an important natural fertilizer, but first it has to be checked for contaminants like E.coli and salmonella. That’s where manure inspectors come in: not only do they get to search for bacteria that causes bloody diarhea if ingested, they also get to wade through animal waste. Quite a 1-2 punch.”
#1 Roadkill Collector
Website observation: “Pretty self-explanatory. Roadkill collectors not only have the job of peeling remains of dead creatures in various states of decay off the road, they also get to do it while braving oncoming traffic.”
3 Here’s the link to that site if you wish to see more:
http://www.classesandcareers.net/education-careers/2007/07/03/top-10-worst-jobs/
4 If any good has come of the Oakland Raiders it’s that the rest of the nation is becoming sympathetic with the guys on the team, with their amazingly faithful fans, and the entire Raider Nation. You’d think as a 49er fan that I’d be gloating right about now, but AS a 49er fan since birth, I completely understand how you stay with your team, with its history, and all of that.
5 I partially went through that with the Giants, and with the entire Bonds/Balco stuff. As a diehard fan, that was a tough pill to swallow, and I felt lots of anger and betrayal by the entire organization.
6 This baseball season brought the game back into my life. It became my favorite worst season ever. I love the new team; I love the youth movement in baseball, and like anyone who even watched one game, I LOVE watching Tim Lincecum, who almost single-handedly turned a losing season truly into a Cinderella season.
7 To the Raiders’ fans out there: you hold your heads up. It’s a team with an amazingly awesome history, and nobody will ever take that away. Al Davis always was a sleaze, and the team seems to be at its worst hour. But I also watched how they played the past two weeks, and there’s definitely some heart and old-school Raider soul out there.
8 I saw Lamonica and Otto and Stabler and all those guys. Theyr’e a huge part of my memories, and that kind of thing won’t ever go away.
9 So hang in there. I’ve thought the Giants were done twice in my life, and it really was like having someone’s heart ripped out. Your team left and came back, and hopefully this will blow over, maybe sooner than you think.
10 Moving on: It’s tough not commenting on the bailout, and all that goes with THAT one. One thing you might consider before voting is this: which candidate is more likely to get a REAL investigation going on this?
11 What else?
12 I’ve never seen a Presidential race in which the Vice-Presidential candidates are almost more important than the Presidential candidates.
13 I’ll back off politics, at least for today.
14 That one always causes a lot of heat, and I’ve been reading Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the greatest books ever written. One great piece of advice given in that book is this: You can’t win an argument.
15 How simple.
16 You can THINK you’re right.
17 And you just might BE. Facts and figures MIGHT prove that everything you have to say is amazingly right on the money. You could have absolute proof that the moon is made of green cheese, for example. And even if you somehow got into a space capsule that travels at the speed of light, landed on the moon, stepped on its cheesy surface, and brought back sixteen tons of green cheese, which was everywhere you looked, you would never win an argument with someone who didn’t believe you.
18 You can’t win an argument.
19 It’s so refreshing in a way.
20 Wonderful book. On those rare days when I hit the gym these days, I read that while working out on the elliptical, a fun sweat for a guy who usually kicks it in this corner habitat where I’m usually chilling.
21 Anyway it’s good ol’ Wednesday already. I LOVE Wednesday’s because for all intents and purposes I get off work at 11:55 in the morning. I could pop on KNBR and spend most of the afternoon chilling in The Cathedral, enjoying some Starbuck’s and poring over students’ papers.
22 So I’m gonna go in, get out, and take care of a goodly amount of business.
23 Wake me up when September ends.
24 Peace.
~H~
