Of Pens and Swords

I also am getting rid of all the old surplus IT crap in my closet here as well. I’ve made a significant dent in the amount of old crap, broken and unused parts, phones, equipment….But, working for a Gov’t agency, most processes are just painful. Getting rid of old stuff is no different. Next week though, when the team comes in to install all the new systems, there is a clause hidden in the pile of paperwork and instructions that says the team is also responsible for disposal of all old IT equipment on site…WOO HOO!

This is the last couple of days for this half of the semester of school, and it’s going to leave me a little bit more free time this weekend. I guess I’ll have time to put that bug shield on the Stomper, probably shoot bad guys in a virtual battle or two, have time to brainstorm programming idea’s with Zen…and probably relax a bit. More importantly, maybe convince Jess to relax a little too, take a few naps, not run around trying to clean everything. I doubt I’ll be any more successful in convincing her to relax, but maybe I can kid myself into believing that I’m wearing her down :)

I’m going through a carrot thing. Not cooked…I’m kind of going through I Wish I Had A Beer phase this week too. It is Friday though, and well, I get one :) Been a long-ass-week, and man, it just sounds good. A nice Titan IPA, good and hoppy.

I’ve been dealing with the ex this week, though Jess is the proxy. Nothing big, just routine stuff. Reading the emails though reminds me of those shows when the teenager walks into a store to buy condoms, and ends up buying a toothbrush, a snickers bar, a flip-flop, q-tips and a truck magazine along with them, so to kind of hide the fact that he’s just wanting to buy condoms. I could be wrong, just an impression. It’s just the way the actual point of the email is hidden in there. That and it’s fun to see idea’s she had turn into my ideas when they’re not working. Case in point, going through Jess as a proxy. The ex got mad at a posting I made about Feb 16, a few days later asked to communicate to me through Jess. Ok, no problem. To make it easy, I just auto forwarded email. The biggest stink has been over the taxes this coming year, and specifically me claiming my daughter. This year is my year I can claim my daughter on taxes. It’ll be the first time I actually might see taxes since 2001, though I’m not excited about it. I most likely will break even on taxes, which is my ultimate goal anyways. For the Ex, since it’s apparent she reads my blog…the reasons why I’m going to claim Rae.
1. It’s in the divorce decree; meaning it was signed off by both of us as an agreement. You’re still getting the better deal, since I can’t claim her for the years I’m deployed.
2. I am supporting 5 people on one income, an income that’s maybe twice as yours, but more people that I have to support ratio wise.{ 2.5:2}
3. 1/3 of income slated for family support goes to Rae. 2/3 support the other 4 people. Up until she started school the was 47% of those available funds going to Rae because of daycare expenses were involved.

Other factors are involved as well, such as the 20K+ debt that I’ve been paying off since 2002. The debt that I didn’t even get to enjoy getting into. This is slated to finally be paid off in January, and not only is it effecting me positively, but you, since your name is on the debt as well. The reasons you give for ‘needing’ the money, and the fact that it’s not just about the money to you…I could be reading this situation wrong, but historically, whenever there was a few extra dollars that I made, you seemed to have a debt that was for the same amount at the same time…same with the end of year tax monies. Or when I was making twice as much for 5 months when I went to GA, and instead of getting bills paid, somehow we got twice as far into debt, and I almost got my truck repossessed, along with a few thousand dollars in bounced checks in my name. For me, what I have seen, it is about the money in your case. Homie can’t afford to play dat game anymo’, and doesn’t see the need to either.

Here’s my solution if you want to help Rae financially. Take 10% of that child support and put it into a savings account for her. If you’re still using the bank that is through the insurance company, they have great interest rates for traditional savings, as well as funds for saving for a child. I myself am going to start these up for the kids at the beginning of the year. The caveat is that you can’t dip into those savings. This might not pay off for her now, but think in 15 years, there will a nice chunk of change for her to go to school, get an apt, whatever. Or if she’s smart, turn around and reinvest those funds into 40 year IRA’s so she can retire a millionaire.
Eat in more often. Yes, Rae dimed you out on the fast food deal. It’s easy, and I agree that you’re a busy person, but trust me, it’ll save a quite a bit of money to make simple things at home, and for about the same amount of time.
There are probably other ways to save $20 a week too, which translates into 1k/yr. It means that you would have to start, be and remain a little more reliant on yourself by buttressing up your will power and impulse spending.

Anyways, I have to finish up one thing, be bored for an hour, and go home. Maybe I’ll leave an hour early, since I’m going to be putting in unpaid overtime in next week as usual. I don’t feel bad about leaving early for all you ethics mongers out there.

This is probably long enough to were nobody will read past the first para. anyways hehe.

What am I talking about? This story…A school in Mass. is banning games for kids that include running and touching more or less. They don’t want the school to be held liable in case a kid gets a scraped knee, or emotionally distraught from being tagged “IT” too many times…

There is also a blurb about banning Dodge ball, not so much because kids can be hurt with a 60mph ball <<<WHAM!!!>>>, but because the kids might feel down because they got out. So, the balls were modified, as well as the rules, so kids don’t have to be out…

Talk about having some hippie parents. Don’t let my kid be either physically or emotionally hurt, because well, bla bla bla…Fuck that, I say let the kids get down…it’s the only way they’re going to learn the coping skills when they’re older. The parents need to be the coaches and mentor’s on how to deal with such emotional crisis’s so that when the kids grow up, it’s just child’s play. Don’t teach your kids how to be weak, just because your parents taught you to be weak…

If the kid cries because he was the first one out in dodgeball, tell the kid to either quit playing, or practice having quicker reflexes. If they can’t catch the ball, teach them to avoid the ball. If a kid gets a scuffed knee because they’re playing tag, give them neosporin.

If the teacher pushes the kid, then blame the school. Other than that, letting a kid not learn how to cope with small issues in life at a young age is just going to make an adult who cannot cope with small issues. It’ll create adults that put all the reliance on someone else to blame, because they’re too weak to accept blame themselves.

For crying out loud, quit teaching your kids what your parents taught you. There is no way to be a strong person by being a weak person.

I updated the blog a bit, just in formatting and fixing a couple of links. Since I very rarely actually visit the blog, since my posts are done via email, I have let this slip. I’m relatively sure that only one or two people will notice this.

Rice in Tokyo…Rice in Asia…Headlines this morning. Seems to be a very funny notion, since, it’s a DUH…Maybe it should say Condi in Asia. Even if it said Ms. Rice in Asia, people might just assume that it’s sort of the like Ms. America…

Work is completed for my first half semester. Next half semester starts in a week and a half. Yee haw. I like the 7 week format, because it’s right at the limit of losing interest in a class. Perfect.

Next week, I’m going to be busy as hell. It sounds like a couple 12 hour days. Yee haw. It should only be a couple though, no more than 5 I’m sure ;)

I’m in yet another conference call…only a few more for the week.