She wants to help people. My wife has a save-the-world complex. It was all I could do to get her to charge in the first place. It’s not a job (she works as a baker), it’s just something she does to help people out. I think she’s nuts, but oh well.
She didn’t used to charge, but I put a stop to that when it started getting out of hand. I’m an ass. 
Sure thing. Try maybe a neck brace. (Or a knee brace?) 
O he can try skipping over posts that interfere with the ability to skim the thread effeciently. That’s what I intend to do.
A experiment here – I prefer proper fonts with serifs, etc. – but I need to specify a size to get something reasonably legible on my screen.
Or he can try skipping over posts that interfere with the ability to skim the thread effeciently. That’s what I intend to do.
But you do get the joy of being able to say you have the cheapest wife in town!
And yes, the example people in your OP suck ass.
As you’ve just demonstrated. Twice. 
One of my company’s big clients is a household-name Fortune 500. We do some high profile and time-sensitive work for them. . . and yet sometimes getting them to pay can be like pulling teeth. We’ve had ongoing, six figure delinquencies. They do always pay eventually, but they drag it out as long as possible. The worst one only got paid when my boss ordered all current production stopped dead.
My father was an independent contractor for auto equipment, tire balancing machines, that sort of thing. He actually put Firestone on COD because they were so bad about paying. One company rep actually told him, “It’s my job to delay paying you as long as possible.” He was put in the awful position of having to take out personal loans to make payroll.
As far as charging $3 an hour, may I suggest that with such a low rate, you may be attracting, shall we say, a less discerning customer base. I would suggest your wife charge $10-12 an hour. That’s nearer the going rate for babysitters, and may weed out some of the more egregious deadbeats. That’s not to say you still won’t get some, but if may help.
I am right there with you. I still work doing the stuff I love, but without having to do collections on deadbeats, manage payroll, and do all the sales work myself. I may have made a lot more in a shorter amount of time as an independent firm, but working for someone else is way better for my emotional well-being.
Sorry for continuing the hijack, but I just wanted to third (fourth?) the sentiment of “Liberal - your new font is jarring and distracting.” I know you’re gonna do whatever you want, but it makes your stuff hard to read. I wish you’d go back to normal and just keep lobbying the powers that be to change the font.
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that all you are accomplishing is making it easier for you to reread your own posts. Narcissus, much?
I have found the perfect font for responding to* Liberal’s ** posts*.
Freakin’ hilarious!!! (And not that you asked, Lib, but it bugs the hell out of me as well.)
You know it’s bad enough when individuals don’t pay, but I’m always surprised at how many businesses don’t pay up. When an individual declares bankrupcy, we generally think that person is a bit of a schlep, at least. But I frequently hear people bragging about business: “oh, every successful businessman has had at least one company go bankrupt before finally becoming successful.” It’s like you should be proud you established a business, ran up a bunch of bills then declared bankrupcy. “Oops, guess I screwed that up.”
Another vote for Liberal giving up the font thing.
Sorry to join in the hijack of Sofaspud’s worthy rant, but I too find Liberal’s font distracting, but I assumed that was its purpose. Despite the reasons he has given for using it, I thought from the get-go that it was just another way of drawing attention to himself.
I like this idea very much. If the people your wife is babysitting feel entitled, charging $3 is probably helping to reinforce that idea.
My neighbors wanted me to babysit their kids. No way. Why is it that the good kids’ parents don’t ever ask you to babysit for them. . . it’s always that parents of kids that are wild.
Continuing with the hijack, add my vote to the Liberal your font is really annoying camp.
Despite what you say, I think you’re just jumping on a little bandwagon where you believe you’ll find acceptance and approval. 
Will somebody please Pit Liberal for his font choice?! Think of the children!
I certainly respect your opinion, Hippy, but I just can’t get very worked up about people whose sensibilities are so fragile as to be actually annoyed over the use of a perfectly readable font that is superior in every significant way to the one they use themselves.
Do yourself a favor: find something else to be offended by. Surely, somewhere there is a capitalist buying something obscenely luxurious.