Mood: crushed out
This is for the teachers out there. What do you think?
Probably still a few schools teaching like the 50's and without calculators but it does make one pause. Where do we go from here?
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This is for the teachers out there. What do you think?
Probably still a few schools teaching like the 50's and without calculators but it does make one pause. Where do we go from here?
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One week ago, I was on a LONG ass bus ride back to Orlando to get back and do my stuff.
Greyhound had different plans, as online it said 2 bags on the bus and 2 checked-in. It's one and one. Still pisses me off! I have stuff still in Orlando waiting for me right now.
After the... 8 hour or so ride, I got to my friend's house (around 4:30 am), and slept for about 2 hours. As Thursday began, I had my camera ready to take pictures of places around town (some new, some old, some gone but I didn't take those pics). Shopping I did, and remembered what I missed.
Friday was pretty much the same, although, I didn't get to go to Cocoa Beach/Melbourne/Merit Island. Maybe next summer (I'm still pondering Megacon in March).
Saturday: I made my former sidekick take ME out. It was going to see a friend at a comic book store, Bad Apple Comics. He knew more about Dr Who than The Dum-Dum! OY! The two had a nice chat as I searched for what to buy! So, finally at 1pm, we got to the GoG party!
I fixed the TARDIS console (more or less; gonna get a EASY button for it next year), dealt with the same old stuff (a few more people which is always nice), I WILL be auctioneer from now on (still waiting for MORE people to POST on my Dr Who newsgroup on Google), Dum-Dum watched 5 episodes of TORCHWOOD (really dark I heard; haven't had time to watch the original showings), Watched Time Crash (twice), took some pictures, re-did the epilogue for my film (mentioned some names as well), and though my episodes of Solid Ground were not seen (time restricted, children around, typical mis-planning), to attend a Guardians of Gallifrey gathering once a year is fine by me. Funny thing was, because all the memories rushed back, I became "The Valeyard" again, all dark and gloomy. Such is life.
Sunday was the time to get back here. I didn't see some people (either in LOS ANGELES for vacation or time restrictions/location problems), and though it will be a couple of years before I get back to what I'm used to (and have to find a full-time job, as I didn't win anything in the Florida lottery, again), it was important for me to leave this place for a few days.
I hate being back. Getting to work, being treated like garbage, dealing with all the stupid people that obviously don't know how to read (or have a conscience, I mean, look what happened to my friend, Chace's, Spectre-1)! My right arm still feels like it's asleep. I haven't found any new Star Wars stuff (but it's still better here than in Orlando). I just feel that even though I had my problems in Orlando, I was still able to venture out and feel free. Here, not so much.
I have to clean up everything. I've got boxes and stuff lying everywhere. I just can't focus. I still haven't finished my story yet, though I have just thought about not doing one scene I was planning, especially since one of the people who "portrays" one of the characters is now in a new relationship (and though I knew it would eventually happen), it's good that I decided to change it. I do have an idea of being Davros and even a Cyberman for different stories.
But I'm a creep. I'm a loser. I don't belong here.
Why is it the The old timeline version of The Valeyard the same as me!? Yet, if I was the new timeline version. Too scary to think about. Damn voices in my head. Why do I ruin everything? That's why I write. Talk about getting too far into character, yet, they are my stories, so they do reveal a whole lot about me that, well, I just thought about it, as it's all true. Look at my Dr Who website, and see my Doctors/Valeyards. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Tom does mean "twin" in Arabic (though some woman asked me why I don't speak Spanish, as my name is Thomas. Mmmph!). Yet, why is it the evil side. There is no real good side to me, there is only both sides of the spectrum.
I am technically and literally a Doctor (seriously), but when I finally got the title (called myself "Professor" for years), I created The Valeyard soon after, and I stuck with that.
There are too many "Doctors" around, and mine is a legal title. But being "The Valeyard", it only enflames my disgust for people, try to destroy any sense of happiness I want as I can't have it, and pushes me to be alone, in front of the computer, in front of the TV, not wanting to talk to anyone, etc., et cetera, and so forth....
Yet, I'm no bigger a screw-up than most people! Look at the news (ah, they're lying about this and that! If you believe that, and want to continue to live in your little bubble, then don't bother me! Yet, don't push your politics on me either! Let's agree on somethings, but not let it consume...). Look at how unhealthy people are, and not care.
Churches and Televangelists that constantly take people's money! If you believe, you don't have to go to church and listen to what you can read yourself. If you don't, then that's you're choice.
Live your life. Try to be happy. I wish I can stop screwing things up, but I guess I'm not supposed to be happy. Narcissistic, pessimistic, yadda, yadda, yadda. I guess I will work on my story notes now. I hate this life. I'm sorry I upset and hurt the people I care about. Maybe once I get done with the writing, find a better job, sell the majority of my stuff, and live 'til my 70s wanting nothing out of life, then I'll be okay.
But for now, I have a story I'm working on, and it shows how my new timeline Doctor came to be, and what he had to do to start over again....
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer Fri Oct 19, 7:51 PM ET
NEW YORK - The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.
Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It's starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.
Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help.
While economists debate whether the country is headed for a recession, some say the financial stress is already the worst since the last downturn at the start of this decade.
From Family Dollar to Wal-Mart, merchants have adjusted their product mix and pricing accordingly. Sales data show a marked and more prolonged drop in spending in the days before shoppers get their paychecks, when they buy only the barest essentials before splurging around payday.
"It's pretty pronounced," said Kiley Rawlins, a spokeswoman at Family Dollar. "It seems like to us, customers are running out of food products, paper towels sooner in the month."
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen, though the drop-off wasn't as steep in August.
And 7-Eleven says its grocery sales have jumped 12-13 percent over the past year, compared with only slight increases for non-necessities like gloves and toys. Shoppers can't afford to load up at the supermarket and are going to the most convenient places to buy emergency food items like milk and eggs.
"It even costs more to get the basics like soap and laundry detergent," said Michelle Grassia, who lives with her husband and three teenage children in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Her husband's check from his job at a grocery store used to last four days. "Now, it lasts only two," she said.
To make up the difference, Grassia buys one gallon of milk a week instead of three. She sometimes skips breakfast and lunch to make sure there's enough food for her children. She cooks with a hot plate because gas is too expensive. And she depends more than ever on the bags of free vegetables and powdered milk from a local food pantry.
Grassia's story is neither new nor unique. With the fastest-rising food and energy prices since the 1980s, low-income consumers are stretching their budgets by eating cheap foods like peanut butter and pasta.
Industry analysts and some economists fear the strain will get worse as people are hit with higher home heating bills this winter and mortgage rates go up.
It's bad enough already for 85-year-old Dominica Hoffman.
She gets $1,400 a month in pension and Social Security from her days in the garment industry. After paying $500 in rent on an apartment in Pennsauken, N.J., and shelling out money for food, gas and other expenses, she's broke by the end of the month. She's had to cut fruits and vegetables from her grocery order — and that's even with financial help from her children.
"Everything is up," she said.
Many consumers, particularly those making less than $30,000 a year, are cutting spending on nutritious food like milk and vegetables, and analysts fear they're further skimping on basic medical care and other critical services.
Coupon-clipping just isn't enough.
"The reality of hunger is right here," said the Rev. Melony Samuels, director of The BedStuy Campaign against Hunger, a church-affiliated food pantry in Brooklyn.
The pantry scrambled to feed 5,000 new families over the past 12 months, up almost 70 percent from 3,000 the year before.
"I am shocked to see such numbers," Samuels said, "and I am really concerned that this is just the beginning of what we are going to see."
In the past three months, Samuels has seen more clients in higher-paying jobs — the $35,000 range — line up for food.
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which covers 23 counties in New York State, cited a 30 percent rise in visitors in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2006.
Maureen Schnellmann, senior director of food and nutrition programs at the American Red Cross Food Pantry in Boston, reported a 30 percent increase from January through August over last year.
Until a few months ago, Dellria Seales, a home care assistant, was just getting by living with her daughter, a hairdresser, and two grandchildren in a one-bedroom apartment for $750 a month. But a knee injury in January forced her to quit her job, leaving her at the mercy of Samuels' pantry because most of her daughter's $1,200 a month income goes to rent, energy and food costs.
"I need it. Without it, we wouldn't survive," Seales said as she picked up carrots and bananas.
John Vogel, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, worries that the squeeze will lead to a less nutritious diet and inadequate medical or child care.
In the meantime, rising costs show no signs of abating.
Gas prices hit a record nationwide average of $3.23 per gallon in late May before receding a little, though prices are expected to soar again later this year. Food costs have increased 4.5 percent over the past 12 months, partly because of higher fuel costs. Egg prices were 44 percent higher, while milk was up 21.3 percent over the past 12 months to nearly $4 a gallon, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The average family of four is spending anywhere from $7 to $10 extra a week — $40 more a month — on groceries alone, compared to a year ago, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.
And while overall wage growth is a solid 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, economists say the increases are mostly for the top earners.
Retailers started noticing the strain in late spring and early summer as they were monitoring the spending around the paycheck cycle.
Wal-Mart and Family Dollar key on the first week of the month, when government checks like Social Security and public assistance generally hit consumers' mailboxes.
7-Eleven, whose customers are more diverse, looks at paycheck cycles in specific markets dominated by a major employer, such as General Motors in Detroit, to discern trends in shopping.
To economize, shoppers are going for less expensive food.
"They're buying more peanut butter and pasta. And they're going for hamburger meat," Flickinger, the retail consultant, said. "They're trying to outsmart the store by looking for deep discounts at the end of the month."
He said the last time he saw this was 2000-2001, when the dot-com bubble burst and the economy went into a recession after massive layoffs.
For now, low-price retailers are readjusting their merchandising and pricing.
Wal-Mart is becoming more aggressive on discounting. It announced Thursday it is expanding price cuts to 15,000 items, ranging from Motts apple juice and Progresso soups to women's fleece tops, heading into the holidays.
Family Dollar, whose food offerings were limited to candy and snacks until two years ago, has expanded its mix of groceries like fruit cups, cereal and such refrigerated items as milk and ice cream while cutting back on shoes. This summer the chain began accepting food stamps.
Food pantries are also getting creative. Samuels said her church, Full Gospel Tabernacle of Faith, just started offering free cooking classes to teach clients who are diabetic or have other health conditions how to prepare vegetables like squash. It's also offering free exercise classes.
"We are trying to make them health conscious," Samuels said. "It's not right to give them just anything. Our mantra is eat well and live well."
___
Associated Press Writers Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, N.J., and Terry Tang in Phoenix, Ariz., contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071019/ap_on_bi_ge/stretching_paychecks
Deductibles: there is now a separate hurricane deductible of 2% of whatever the house is insured for; ex: house is insured for 300,000, the hurricane deductible would be 2% of 300k, or 6,000; the other peril deductible covers all other perils (except flood & earthquake), such as fire, wind damage not associated with a hurricane, theft, water damage not associated with flood. You are probably correct in stating that you previously had a 500 ded, and that is still available for "Other Peril". Due to government interference, a number of well-known companies have filed to pull out of the state, and a number are dropping a large number of policies. State farm is dropping a number of coastal risks, but nothing in the central part. As far as staying here and continuing to write policies, Management has assured agents that State Farm in here for the long haul. As far as warning goes, state law requires at least 45 days notice to drop or non-renew a policy. In 2004-5, insurance companies in the state paid out over 14 billion in claims, so that is one reason for the large rate increases & policy non-renewals. The governor correctly points out that the industry made a profit of 2.7 billion in 2006, but ignores the previous 2 yrs losses. That is why some companies are pulling out, the blatant political posturing by the governor. As far as premium increases, no one can guarantee anything there, as rates are based on the previous years experience, and submitted and approved (or denied) by the Dept of Insurance.
I need to get back into posting here, but maybe later. I should be writing, but I do need to take care of things right now. At least I'm posting something!
Not 100% sure, but, we maybe moving back to Central Florida, but HOPEFULLY the housing market will continue to fall, as ALL the homes are way too high, and of course, people are stupid to believe they can sell it for that much!