Yeah, OG, the whole way the world works thing sucks...if I just took 2 more sips of coffee before I left, she would have already turned before I got there. Or conversely, if I took two less sips of coffee I would have turned before she was at the intersection.
No. All drivers must [legally] carry insurance for personal liability... or we can use a large bond in lieu of insurance, but either way, it's a requirement for all drivers.
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-- Thomas Jefferson: American Founding Father, clairvoyant and seditious traitor.
Ugh, overslept for the first lecture of the semester. But who the hell plans lectures at 8.45 on mondays
Oh well, it was videotaped so it should be online within a day or so
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
Texas is on fire. D:
Second picture was taken near my university. All the counties nearby are strapped for manpower and have started asking for ex-firefighters to volunteer their time to help control the wildfires.
Your search had no results.
That looks scary.
While at work, the vacuum in the cyclotron suddenly increased by a factor of ~20, causing alarms to go off and the current to drop massively. Turns out that somehow both cryopumps failed simultaneously.
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
Hope is the denial of reality
Originally Posted by Loki
Carthāgō dēlenda est
How is this playing out in Latvia? I know Skrastins was one of the best Latvians to ever play hockey (in the NHL anyway). And I believe there's a KHL team in Riga.
Hope is the denial of reality
He was indeed. It's a tragic loss. A commemorative gathering of hockey fans was organized earlier this evening - sadly, I couldn't attend it as I only found out about the disaster when I got home, and the meeting was already over by then.
Carthāgō dēlenda est
Working two jobs to pay the rent is really messing with my groove, my health, and everything else for that matter. Having to use PTO days just to catch my breath and spend a little quality with the family, or read a handful of posts here ... just another day in paradise I guess.
The worst job in the world is better than being broke and homeless
Sorry rummie, that sucks, on so many levels.
Makes me feel like a whiny brat to admit it's way late on a Saturday night (Sunday morning by now) and my biggest complaint right now is nobody else posting in a sloshed state, besides me.
Real shame, losing a bunch of talented hockey players... plus I'm thinking it's gotta be awful for the Russian pro league (not to mention that teams owners and fans), losing a whole team in one swipe.
And even in Russia, how the hell does something like that happen? A plane hitting a radio mast??? WTF????
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-- Thomas Jefferson: American Founding Father, clairvoyant and seditious traitor.
The air travel industry there is pathetic. The planes aren't properly maintained, the airports aren't properly maintained, and many of the pilots aren't properly trained. I'd say this might make the people wake up, but that would be too optimistic.
Regardless, this is a sad day for hockey.
Hope is the denial of reality
God dammit. Someone jumped in front of my train, so I'm stick in a hot train, filled with annoying school kids.
Guess I've had enough rum to post here now.
My kids have an idiot for a father. The male role models from his family are bummed out we live so far away. They've expressed some guilt and regret they couldn't have been more involved or helpful. My family is too small and too far away to have been much help for these boys.
After their dad was officially remarried, both sons pretty much said they're done with him. They don't want "visitation", and don't feel "obligated" to visit him....even though they're just a mile away. They're finally old enough to say NO, but their dad doesn't care or understand. He somehow views his own sons in the same light as his new wife's ficking yappy dogs....external clothes to wear and take off, depending on whims of the moment and what Image he wants to project.
These (wonderful, beautiful, smart, loving and lovable) boys also think his new wife is a joke. They don't get along with her, and have lost their patience for being polite to their own father. More importantly, they have no respect for him. They've tried to tell me how hard it's been to placate their father, when he doesn't give a shit about them, and they've reached their limit.
Hard to know how to process these emotions, or know how to proceed. Making matters even harder, their Paw Paw (their dad's dad) has Alzheimer's disease. He's become quite feeble and forgetful, but thankfully he still knows they're his "kin". What disturbed my sons was seeing how their father didn't really care for his own father----put him on an airline flight all by himself, didn't want him in his own home's guest room (it remained empty), made reservations at a hotel but didn't ask for a handicapped shower with grab bars, separate beds or adjoining rooms.
He expected the boys would sleep on the sofa or the floor (which they did), help shower, feed and dress his father, drive him to the wedding and "keep track" of him during everything (which they did). He ignored his own father's needs, and his own son's needs at every twist and turn----expected our kids to "take care of his father" so he could (in essence) ignore them.
His brothers noticed, and were also very uncomfortable in this entirely weird scene. Thankfully, they could accompany the Patriarch on the plane ride back home, and make sure Paw Paw's needs were tended. I was pulled aside with whispered voices, during our pancake visit before the wedding, to talk about Paw Paw's immediate housing needs, and asked my opinion. While it made me feel part of the family, the whole damn thing was filled with too much confusion and hurried words, while the ex and his new wife were calling Territorial pissing rights. Much like she did with her fucking yappy dogs and visitation rights. Similar to what he did with his parental custodial rights and our sons. Neither of them actually care, or want to be caretakers.
To them, it's all about the outward Image. Treating parents, siblings, children, or even pets.....as wearable, interchangeable, or disposable "things". Subjects of their whim and whimsy. Pawns in their Game of Life, dressing for success, valuing everything external but nothing internal. That's what shells of people do, I suppose. Otherwise they're ugly in their nakedness.
If your sons are now saying; enough; perhaps your ex can now be finally and totally out of your lives?
Your only connection was through the boys, no?
Your ex wants a new life with his new lady, has a small enough heart not to really care for strings to the past, including his own children. So bollocks to him and let him have his new life.
It is a damn shame for your boys, but you've been selfless and have had the patience of a saint in letting them get to know their Dad. Now that they are a bit older and are starting to realise as near adults what kind of adult he is, they want out of his new life too.
You could even make the move away that you've discussed previously ...
No, the ex hasn't let go. That's the irony. He could have remarried and relocated into "her" territory, but he didn't. It's hard to explain, but all things seem to be about protecting his Image. [Only dead beat dads choose to move away from their kids during their formative years.] Friends have tried to tell me for years how he operates and what motivates him, but it didn't hit me in the face until recent events. He told our kids several variations of, "I'll always be here for you, just down the road", even though it's far from the truth. He's never around when his sons need him. He doesn't even know when his sons need him. Whether it's buying jock straps for sports, talking about birth control, or showing up for academic awards...he's never present.
Shell People operate that way. They are always looking for ways to look their best, in the things they wrap around them. It's a variation of the Disney Dad. But it gets tough when it might look better to be an Opera afficionado, wrapped in the fancy cape of culture, having spent every other weekend in NYC instead of every other weekend as a soccer dad.
No, I won't move away just yet. Youngest son has three more years of HS, wants to stay in the school district and graduate with his friends. Good school, great friends. It's not like a mandatory business transfer, where kids and families move together and muddle through. If I moved now, he would have to live with his dad and new step-mother. He's adamant, he won't do that and I won't leave him to do that. He'd rather live a couple of blocks away with his best friend's family until graduation, than live with his father. I'm adamant that I won't/can't agree to that scenario, either. It's just too weird.
But thanks for your reply, Tim.
I believe you can go to court, have your children tell the judge they don't want anything to do with their father anymore, and have the judge cancel any visitation rights.
Hope is the denial of reality
In our state kids can do that when they turn 14 yrs old, but I've tried hard to keep them from having to be involved with courts and judges, testifying "against" their father. These aren't legal visitation rights we're talking about. Even though he's a jerk and a clown, he's still their father....and only lives a mile or so away. He's neighbors with their friends' parents, we "bump into him" at the grocery store or local diner, his house is on the way to/from the High School.
Also, his lawyer is the father of our son's fellow student and previous soccer teammate, and used to be assistant coach. That man is also friends with my neighbors. Small town crap, with no escape from that. I think he picked that attorney on purpose, knowing that any "legal intervention" would be uncomfortable, socially. Great fun to show up for soccer practice, literally in your dad's divorce lawyer's backyard, huh.
I think you can do that over here, at least. Some of my friends had to do that to qualify for a larger student loan (if your parents make enough money, you get less, but if a parent doesn't pay anything for your education while the state expects them to that is annoying).
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
I don't get the "he's still their father" BS. He's their father as long as he acts like one. Since he has no intention of doing so, I fail to see who your children benefit from seeing him. I think they're better off feeling sad in the short-term over being abandoned than to continue facing neglect and abuse from him.
Hope is the denial of reality
You probably can't "get" most of our family dynamics anyhow, Loki. These boys know I'm not going to force them into---or out of---something they're not ready for, or emotionally mature enough to deal with. We spend a lot of time truly talking from the heart and working through things, and they have had counseling and all that, too.
The eldest has come to terms with "having the parent you get instead of the parent you need or want", and has adjusted to other things. ie, he doesn't blame himself for the divorce---which plenty of kids do in their hearts---and he's learned that sometimes relationships just don't work out, even ones that started in love and good intentions! Because he's more mature now.
But the younger son is still where he wants/needs his dad for certain things, as he figures out what being a teenager means, let alone what being a young man means, or what being a mature man means.
Father/Mother/Child/Family relationships aren't like romantic or business relationships that we pick and choose, or can "leave behind" so easily.
Stupid ranting:
Spoiler:
In the future, the Berlin wall will be a mile high, and made of steel. You too will be made to crawl, to lick children's blood from jackboots. There will be no creativity, only productivity. Instead of love there will be fear and distrust, instead of surrender there will be submission. Contact will be replaced with isolation, and joy with shame. Hope will cease to exist as a concept. The Earth will be covered with steel and concrete. There will be an electronic policeman in every head. Your children will be born in chains, live only to serve, and die in anguish and ignorance.
The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
Not all Love is unrequited. I've known some very happy couples. Some perfectly "mated" at very young ages, that lasts/lasted for decades, with much Love and HappiNess as they grew old together. That whole Death Do Us Part thing. They don't know why it worked, and can't explain it to others. I'm not sure it's a learnable skill, or transferrable talent, actually. Maybe more like dumb luck?
Dumb luck is all it is.
Plus having the balls to grab the opportunity if/when lady luck does show up.
^this
Turns out, later on down the line, that there was a window but I missed it
And so it goes
In the future, the Berlin wall will be a mile high, and made of steel. You too will be made to crawl, to lick children's blood from jackboots. There will be no creativity, only productivity. Instead of love there will be fear and distrust, instead of surrender there will be submission. Contact will be replaced with isolation, and joy with shame. Hope will cease to exist as a concept. The Earth will be covered with steel and concrete. There will be an electronic policeman in every head. Your children will be born in chains, live only to serve, and die in anguish and ignorance.
The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
A very small window I gather?
From my experience, those "hints" usually amount to putting said hint in a lockbox, driving into the wilderness, burying the lockbox 6 feet under and then trowing away both map and key.A very small window I gather?
And then complaining that we don't get it.
When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?
I know what you mean Khen.
There is one girl I know for quite a long time (>20years) and when I got my first girlfriend, she decided that this was the right moment to tell me that she had a crush on me. She told me: "Well you should have found out, I was always staying with you and your friends". Yeah, of course I should get that, how am I supposed to know that I am the reason, and not think it was because she simply enjoyed to stay with us, or maybe liking one of the other guys? On top of that, she is one of the "the guy has to make the first step, always, no exception" girls. Scandinavians have it so much better
Edit: @Nessus, does it make you feel better or worse know that you know that you had the opportunity. On the one hand, you know that it is not entirely impossible, on the other hand it is sad that you missed the window. I was never sure if it is better to know if there was a window or not.
"Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt
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