The Individual blog, No. 78 for the week starting March 24, 2008.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
It's Thursday and a Parking Game
Yeah, Work on Saturday and Sunday!
Boondocks is about farms, rural life, and power toys.
Energy looks at high energy prices and our future.
Enviroman looks at man and the environment.
Hayseeds looks at politics and life in our nation.
Outblog is all about my outdoor experiences.
Transit looks at the changing ways we get around.
Truck gives you stories and trips in my Ford Ranger.
Got My Taxes Done. Yes, I did and I am now happy about that. It looks like I will getting back about $800 that I overpaid, or basically all the taxes I paid last year.
That was largely because I was unemployeed for a while last year, and then for the rest of the year an underpaid intern, living at home. But I still made too much money to be a dependent on my parent's tax return, so I couldn't really help them out much either. P'Link
Busy Morning at Work. I spent a number of hours getting some files straightened up and collected some data together. Usually, it's a little bit slower at work, and although things are getting crazy with budget season in full-swing.
I don't have any idea when the state budget will be done. I'm as much in the dark as everybody else is, and I know about as much as the blogs are telling you. In other words, it looks like not much is happening, but who really knows what deals are being done behind the scenes. P'Link
The Weekend. Easter was great at my parents house. I enjoyed getting out and the March for Peace on Saturday was great. Rode 35 miles on my bike on Saturday—more in the outblog. Sunday I hiked around at Huyck Preserve, took a bunch of pictures up there and in the mountains. P'Link
I Hate Making Phone Calls. To people I don't really know and are not sure exactly what I am looking for. It's scary and I procrastinate. But then you get into it, and it becomes a lot of fun, especially if the reason for the calls is to dig for information and get things back in response.
Investigative work can be so much fun, as is anything that is a challenge, but is rewarding when you have something physical back in your hands, to make you feel as though you've accomplished something, as unimportant as it may seem. P'Link
Good Evening. So they are grinding along behind the scenes on the budget bills and in the chambers working on Small Business legislation among other bills.
It's been a long day, and I'm now glad that I'm getting out and going home. I look forward to some sleep, and getting through the session tomorrow. P'Link
It's Thursday and a Parking Game. Nice morning out. I tried to find a parking spot in Center Square this morning, and I found two or three 16 foot spots.
Which is really great, if you have a 16 foot car. My almost 18-foot Ford Ranger regular cab ranger, won't fit in such a spot. Physics says, even with the Boston Bump, you can't put a 18-foot truck in a 16-foot car. This is especially true if the cars near the spot have their parking brake firmly set.
I prefer to call it tactile parking and not the Boston Bump. You use just your clutch and not the gas while parallel parking. You try to get a straight and park normally, using your mirror. You know when you've reached your maximum backing up spot when the engine starts to stall. You push the clutch in then quickly, and shift into first. This method works pretty well at putting my truck in small spots.
The problem is all these damn people in the city all have small cars. Nobody drives a pickup truck in the city (well except for two people will monstrously big egos and a absurdly big trucks for the city), although a few people have SUVs. But of course, none of them are leaving this morning to go to work, at least when I was searching for a spot around 8:45 AM.
I gave up on Center Square and found my favorite parking spot up near SUNY. Its so easy to park up there, and on a nice day like today, a good walk. I'll take the bus—be it 12 or 10 back up there if I get out after dark or it rains like they are promising. P'Link
Yeah, Work on Saturday and Sunday! I am looking forward to coming to work on Saturday, when the meters are free and there isn't all those STUPID parking regulations in Center Square.
I knew there was upside to working on a Saturday. That and it will mean more time I can take off at a later date if my boss lets me take it—I get a 1.25 hours of a time for every hour worked over 35 hours. Of course, that isn't quite time and a half, but I didn't right the legislative employee law.
The weather looks cold and crappy this weekend, and I don't really care. P'Link
Copyright ©1999-2008 Andy Arthur.
All mistakes are intentional or otherwise.
Mind where you step in a cow pasture or legal mindfield.