An important message from Consumer Reports
8 years ago
Friday, August 22, 2008
Finished Objects
Okay, well, this one's a semi-finished object, only because it's one of a pair.
I finally finished one of my Natalya mitts.
I finally finished one of my Natalya mitts.
Money sucks
This week started out shitty. Didn't get much better.
Monday morning, DH calls me up while he's working. Neither of us had noticed that his license plate tags had expired in July. We both thought he'd gotten two-year tags but apparently not. Of course, we still hadn't paid our personal property taxes (fuck you, Missouri, DIAF), and with me out of work for now we couldn't afford it. We ended up having to borrow the money from his parents; they also gave us the money for both inspections (safety and emissions (again, fuck you, Missouri).
His PPT (based on the value of his truck) was over $300 (after all the late fees, which actually aren't that much).
Check gets deposited Tuesday, DH goes and pays the PPT on Wednesday morning, and then has an appointment for the inspections.
His truck doesn't pass. It needs new rotors, new brakes, and a new shock in the back. Total damage? $463. Again, we have no money, and we've already asked his parents for help (plus we're pulling on my mom). He calls his parents, who are out of town, and after some haggling they agree to put it on a credit card, and we'll pay them back.
I hope to Moses that the rule of threes passes quietly by.
Monday morning, DH calls me up while he's working. Neither of us had noticed that his license plate tags had expired in July. We both thought he'd gotten two-year tags but apparently not. Of course, we still hadn't paid our personal property taxes (fuck you, Missouri, DIAF), and with me out of work for now we couldn't afford it. We ended up having to borrow the money from his parents; they also gave us the money for both inspections (safety and emissions (again, fuck you, Missouri).
His PPT (based on the value of his truck) was over $300 (after all the late fees, which actually aren't that much).
Check gets deposited Tuesday, DH goes and pays the PPT on Wednesday morning, and then has an appointment for the inspections.
His truck doesn't pass. It needs new rotors, new brakes, and a new shock in the back. Total damage? $463. Again, we have no money, and we've already asked his parents for help (plus we're pulling on my mom). He calls his parents, who are out of town, and after some haggling they agree to put it on a credit card, and we'll pay them back.
I hope to Moses that the rule of threes passes quietly by.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Knitting update
Working on this pattern currently, with this yarn.
It's not a complicated pattern, though I'm hoping that when finished and blocked it'll look better than it does on the needles. Cos nothing every looks good on the needles.
I need to stop being a lazy bum and finish the second Natalya gauntlet. It's not that it's hard, it's just that, yeah, I'm lazy. This project is being made with Patons Classic Merino Wool in black. I think I might do a pair of Knucks with the leftover yarn; what can I say, I like black? Might embroider the fingers with "NERD CORE."
I also need to update my progress of Lady Eleanor on Ravelry. That's another one I've let go, though I'd picked up on it for a while a few months ago.
Obviously, I'm fickle and lose interest easily.
It's not a complicated pattern, though I'm hoping that when finished and blocked it'll look better than it does on the needles. Cos nothing every looks good on the needles.
I need to stop being a lazy bum and finish the second Natalya gauntlet. It's not that it's hard, it's just that, yeah, I'm lazy. This project is being made with Patons Classic Merino Wool in black. I think I might do a pair of Knucks with the leftover yarn; what can I say, I like black? Might embroider the fingers with "NERD CORE."
I also need to update my progress of Lady Eleanor on Ravelry. That's another one I've let go, though I'd picked up on it for a while a few months ago.
Obviously, I'm fickle and lose interest easily.
WTH
So I'm reading celebrity news, checking out photos and this one pops up:
My first thought is: why the hell is there a photo of my BIL on celebrity sites? Cos he looks an awful lot like my BIL.
And then I find out that it's Bono. Y'know, this dude:
Yeah, not really what I was expecting.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Should rapists receive the death penalty?
I'm going to start by answering the question: No.
I understand the motivation behind the movement, I really do. It's a human, visceral reaction to an abhorrent crime that should never happen, even more so when the victim of said crime is a child. It's hard to control that reaction. We don't want to think of a defenseless child ever enduring such a horrible experience (which more often than not is perpetrated on them by someone they're supposed to be able to trust).
I disagree with the movement for one reason: if a rapist knows that the penalty is execution, what will stop them from just going the extra step and killing the victim? Murder the victim and there's a window of opportunity for escape from being caught and convicted; if your victim is dead they can't point the finger, can they?
I've heard the term "soul murder" applied to those who are victim of violent crimes, and certainly rape is violent, even in cases where there is no physical abuse. You don't need to be bruised and bleeding in order to be traumatized. It's something that does kill a part of the victim, usually their innocence, their hope, or their sense of self-worth.
And I say no because I am a victim of repeated acts of rape. My mother's husband began sexually abusing me when I was 13 and had begun developing the body of a woman (making him an ephebophile; he'd already begun abusing me in other ways before I was a "woman grown"). Certainly there was the risk of him being caught, which he eventually was, but he didn't fear for his life and in turn, I didn't need to fear for mine.
Can you imagine being in that situation and knowing that the person raping you could just as easily kill you? It's a terrible situation, certainly, but I'd much rather be alive and able to heal than dead and unable to do anything at all. And of course my family and friends would have had to mourn me instead of being able to surround me and support me, able to enjoy the rest of my life with them.
Do I think punishments for rapists (child rapists and otherwise) should be harsher? Sure. I think the Sex Offender Registry is a joke: if these people need to be monitored after they're released from prison to prevent recidivism, they shouldn't be released in the first place. Some can be rehabilitated and become productive members of society, and if they re-offend they can just as easily be tracked by their criminal record through police databases. The convicts that can't be rehabilitated, however, should remain imprisoned until they die.
A knee-jerk reaction to an awful crime doesn't do the victim any good.
I understand the motivation behind the movement, I really do. It's a human, visceral reaction to an abhorrent crime that should never happen, even more so when the victim of said crime is a child. It's hard to control that reaction. We don't want to think of a defenseless child ever enduring such a horrible experience (which more often than not is perpetrated on them by someone they're supposed to be able to trust).
I disagree with the movement for one reason: if a rapist knows that the penalty is execution, what will stop them from just going the extra step and killing the victim? Murder the victim and there's a window of opportunity for escape from being caught and convicted; if your victim is dead they can't point the finger, can they?
I've heard the term "soul murder" applied to those who are victim of violent crimes, and certainly rape is violent, even in cases where there is no physical abuse. You don't need to be bruised and bleeding in order to be traumatized. It's something that does kill a part of the victim, usually their innocence, their hope, or their sense of self-worth.
And I say no because I am a victim of repeated acts of rape. My mother's husband began sexually abusing me when I was 13 and had begun developing the body of a woman (making him an ephebophile; he'd already begun abusing me in other ways before I was a "woman grown"). Certainly there was the risk of him being caught, which he eventually was, but he didn't fear for his life and in turn, I didn't need to fear for mine.
Can you imagine being in that situation and knowing that the person raping you could just as easily kill you? It's a terrible situation, certainly, but I'd much rather be alive and able to heal than dead and unable to do anything at all. And of course my family and friends would have had to mourn me instead of being able to surround me and support me, able to enjoy the rest of my life with them.
Do I think punishments for rapists (child rapists and otherwise) should be harsher? Sure. I think the Sex Offender Registry is a joke: if these people need to be monitored after they're released from prison to prevent recidivism, they shouldn't be released in the first place. Some can be rehabilitated and become productive members of society, and if they re-offend they can just as easily be tracked by their criminal record through police databases. The convicts that can't be rehabilitated, however, should remain imprisoned until they die.
A knee-jerk reaction to an awful crime doesn't do the victim any good.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Elizabeth Hasslebeck ... Again
This woman just needs to sit down and shut up. It's obvious she has no clue.
In Soviet Russia, harassment sexuals you
So sorry for that joke, I know it sucked. I couldn't think of anything better.
Apparently in Russia, sexual harassment in the workplace is okay because "If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children." Yeah, the judge actually said that.
Only two women have been able to successfully sue their employers over sexual harassment claims.
Women also report that it is common to be browbeaten into sex during job interviews, while female students regularly complain that university professors trade high marks for sexual favours.
Apparently in Russia, sexual harassment in the workplace is okay because "If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children." Yeah, the judge actually said that.
Only two women have been able to successfully sue their employers over sexual harassment claims.
Women also report that it is common to be browbeaten into sex during job interviews, while female students regularly complain that university professors trade high marks for sexual favours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
