Another day, another nickel...

...but only $0.02 after taxes.

Hey there, how are ya today? Got a little bit of time right now, so I thought I'd drop by and rearrange some electrons. Maybe even post something? Heaven forefend!

OK, ok, enough of all o' that. Time for a Bullet List Of Doom (tm)!

DOOM! Doom, I say!

• Administrivia: Please give a warm welcome to the three newest readers of this little slice of insanity: leaf_kunoichi, jvmatucha, and mummoth, all of who found me through the friending frenzy I pimped yesterday. Pull up a chair and help yourself to somethin' to drink. I generally suggest that people read this post if they want to know more about me.
  
• Me: Doing well. Slept for about 10 hours on Tuesday night, and have felt better since. Looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend.
  
• Family: Doing reasonably well. Still have to occasionally sit on people to get them to do their homework. mousecat0 may be enjoying the next few days of work a little, since the boss will be in the Bahamas. B turns 13 in 18 days. Not sure I'm ready for a teenager yet. ::sigh::
  
• Work: is work. And nothing on the other front, but nothing was expected yet. Have about 2-3 weeks before I hear anything.
  
• Where we've been: Not much of anywhere, really. At home for the most part, relaxing, cleaning, gaming...you know the routine. Got some stuff coming up though, which I will talk about in...
  
• Where we'll be: mousecat0 & B will be at Katsucon this weekend, at least on Saturday. F & I will be at home doing some work, then probably going to stoooooooo & ginabeth's on Sunday for the Daytona 500. I'm not really a NASCAR fan, but F. likes it, and it's a chance to see family for a bit. Monday...is a bit of a treat/surprise for the kids. mousecat0 is gonna take a half-day and we're gonna take the kids to see the International Spy Museum. After that, we've got meetings, and scout functions, and birthday stuff...we'll be good and busy until the end of March. I think.
  
• Wisconsin: I need to take a moment here to talk about this mess. Let's leave aside the fact that I'm looking for a federal job, ok? If we are going to tak a serious look at things, we have to admit one thing: in certain ways, the unions are broken. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in any job where they have to deal with a union can tell you that there are some people who need to go, but you can't get them out because of tenure. And I'm not talking about some worker who has put in many long years and is kinda coasting the last year or two until their retirement - I honestly don't begrudge them that. But I am talking about those people who know that it's damn near impossible to get fired and who use that fact to get away with being obstructionist, petty, lazy, incompetent, burned out, or just plain useless. I've seen it in every government agency I've worked in. Every teacher worth their salt that I've known sees these people too. Yes, there's a place for longevity and not being able to fire people just because they're older, but there has to be a way to get rid of the deadwood. And this whole idea of stripping away the collective bargaining rights is also fucking stupid. Especially from teachers, who are not, and have never been paid enough. The unions may be a part of the problem, but the bigger problem (by far) is the ridiculous idea on the part of the American people that they want it all, they want it now, and they don't want to pay for it. Paying the people who run the government (and I ain't talking about the politicians - they're about as useful as a gnat's fart in a windstorm - I'm talking about the rank and file...the people who actually do the work) a good wage is neither wasteful nor unreasonable. Paying the people who we trust to educate our children a good wage is neither wasteful nor unreasonable. *IF THEY ARE DOING THEIR JOB* The unions need to get off their ass and figure out a way to make merit part of the criteria for tenure. The politicians need to get over themselves and look at people and corporations and say "Hey, you want this stuff? Pay up".
  
• Gaming: Well, we're 3 sessions into the new Pathfinder game. I know I'm not "feelin' it" as a GM as I take them In Search Of The Unknown, but that's in large part due to the fact that this is a straight-out dungeon crawl with little to no story. In this case, it's probably just as well, as we're all learning the system. It's just that I like my adventures to have a little more story behind them. We'll get there. They've only got one more session in here, I think. Then it's on to the Keep on the Borderlands (I think).
  
• WoW: Still playing a few nights a week. Completed the new questlines, just have Dungeons and raids to see. Probably start leveling my Archaeology and Fishing.

I think that's all I got for now.
I remind you all to have a good day. The very fact that you woke up on the proper side of the grass this morning makes it a great start to a good day.

Peas. Out.

Convention Countdown
Origins: 125 Days!
TCEP 18: 197 Days!
Intervention: 211 Days!

An addendum to my earlier thoughts on Wisconsin

The following letter to the people of Wisconsin states it very well:

http://uwmasls.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/an-open-letter-to-the-people-of-wisconsin/