Taters and FCM, your complicated financial systems confuse me. Just FYI.
Yes, Wyckoff is a rather amusing name. Wyckoff when you can sneeze? But hey, it’s Dutch, so it’s okay.
You know, Wallflower’s blizzard aside, it hasn’t snowed enough here. Unlike last week, when my desired frozen precipitation outcome was achieved ( gt), this week the only thing the snow has done is melt. If it’s going to be cold enough that I can not only see my breath, but see it freeze solid and fall to the ground with a crash, the least it could do is snow enough to make it a real winter. (Apologies to those with driveways.)
Oh, and FCM - Not the comfy chair!! Anything but the comfy chair!!
No one expects the Doper induction! Our chief weapon is hijacks! And lots of innuendo. Our two weapons are hijacks and lots of innuendo! Oh, and recipes. Our three weapons are: hijacks, lots of innuendo, and recipes! And pet descriptions, I suppose. Our four weapons are … Amongst our weaponry are … Oh hell with it.
:: quietly eats chocolate ::
Nope, I’ve been told that once NSPS is fully implemented congressional colas go away. Oh, there’ll be a LOCAL market based adjustment every year, based on your occupation, so there is a danger that your pay could eventually go down. It’s a given the health insurance will continue to rise, so I am afraid of flattening. Let’s face it; certain fields are more in demand.
Unfortunately, although I have 22 years and then some in, I need to work for at least 17 more years before I can retire. My minimum retirement age is 56 and I’m only 41. I am very screwed.
Finally, you have a much rosier view point than I do regarding those in charge. It’s all about A-76 and privatization, baby. They want less of us workers. One of the reasons they switched to FERS from CSRS is that CSRS retirees were costing them a bundle. I’m under FERS. I’m not really sure how I feel about that, I do need to contribute more to the TSP, but my little “pension” part of FERS is really, really sucky.
Oh crap, I’ve gone off on a wild tangent here. I’m so sorry. I’m very pessimistic about this whole business. Most of the changes they’ve made to our pay, our retirement, the personnel system, have not been more favorable to the employees.
I can’t fret about it (well, overly much), because it’s coming whether I want it or not. Look for your name to change to Ben D. Over soon.
Okay, TOMORROW I’m going to come in here with a sunny, positive attitude and will be nothing but sunshine and sweetness. I hope.
Welcome, Wallflower! Watch out for the cats - they’re always underfoot around here.
Went to the last pottery class tonight and glazed all the stuff I’ve done. A couple of the pieces are actually pretty decent. I’m taking a wheel-throwing class starting in Feb. It will be interesting to see if I can actually get the damn clay centered in this century - I couldn’t back in the '80’s.
The studio I use doesn’t offer a scuptural clay course, so I’m going to take handbuilding again under the same instructor and concentrate on sculpture. He’s making a special exception for me - I’m special!!
Got 10 inches of the cold white stuff yeserday, but it’s not too bad for Hubby and I 'cause my driveway is only 50-60 feet long.
Hey, no extra initiations! Just because I haven’t posted much in the last five years doen’t mean I haven’t been around. Hey, MPSIMS is my homepage! I’m one of those MMP looky-loos that Ex was complaining about a couple years ago.
I was fighting centering up until my teacher mentioned a trick - hope I can say this so it makes sense.
First off, we start with wedged clay - it looks like giant Hershey’s kisses - centered the best we can. Tina said when you have big hunks (it works with smaller hunks, too) it’s easier to center the clay by “coning” - using both hands to squoosh the clay to the center and up. Then you can smoosh it down and open.
Sorry for using all that technical jargon…
Anyway, I found that worked great for me - rather than trying to center a squatty lump of clay, I let it form itself in the center. It was pretty easy once I saw how Tina did it. Hope I don’t forget before class starts again in Feb.
Taters, I’m FERS too - hired in '85. The rest of my years are active duty Navy time. So I’ve got the TSP blues as well. I’ve already decide that when I go out the door, I’ll only take a month or 2 off before getting another, non-Fed job. I’ll be 56 in 2010, but my retirement will be determined by when we hit our target savings account goal. Once that dollar amount is achieved, I’m outta here!
Drae when ACBG gets bitchy I just slap him around a bit til he snaps out of it. Ok, I don’t actually do that but I’ve threatened to. I do stick my tongue out at him and ask him if he needs a nap though. For some reason that makes him laugh everytime I do it. So, now when one of us gets all cranky/bitchy the phrase is" “AWWW… does somebody need a nap!”
It’s rainy and icky and tornadoey looking today. This means, of course, things will go all to hell and crankiness/bitchiness will be rampant at work. Maybe I can just declare nap time if it gets out of hand. I have leftover chicken 'n dumplin’s for lunch so that will help make things better. Yesterday I ate the left over spicy orange chicken from the good Chinese place that I had on Friday night. This Friday a bunch of us are going out to dinner then go back to the swampcave for dessert. Dessert is going to be ice cream cake from the DQ. YAY!
-swampbear (maybe I’ll just lock myself in my office and hide under my desk)
It is 8 in the morning, and I got about two hours sleep. Mr. SCL is snoring like a chainsaw. I am very cranky, and was planning on bitching. Then Cricket and Lt. Dax get on the desk and start bathing each other and purring. How can I be cranky and bitch when I have two beautiful fat fuzzy furbabies on my desk?
When Mr. SCL wakes up, then I can cranky and bitch. He’s getting some snore strips today.
Hope everyone got a better nights sleep than I got.
SCL those Breathe Right things are one of the best inventions evah! I won’t call any names, but somebody* can suck the paint off the walls with his snoring. One of those little strips, however, causes blessed, wonderful silence to ensue.
Oops! Sorry about that. I just take my registration for granted. Anyway, here’s the recipe with credit going to the NYTimes food folks:
Molten Chocolate Babycakes
4 tablespoons soft unsalted butter, more for greasing dishes
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (preferably with 70 percent cocoa solids)
4 large eggs
Salt
¾ cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour.
Place a baking sheet on center rack in oven and heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter insides of six 6-ounce heatproof glass or ceramic baking dishes. (If using soufflé dishes, line bottoms with parchment paper; dishes with flared sides will not need lining.)
In a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave oven, melt chocolate; set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat eggs together with a pinch of salt until frothy; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together 4 tablespoons butter and the sugar. Gradually add egg mixture, then vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Add chocolate and blend until smooth.
Divide batter among six baking dishes and arrange them on baking sheet hot from the oven. Bake until firm and dry on surface, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove dishes from oven and immediately invert cakes onto small plates or shallow bowls. Serve hot.
Yield: 6 servings.
I wouldn’t be a bad idea to try them this weekend to see how they are and then make them for Christmas next weekend. And with **Spatial **and **Mika **offering to serve as guinea pigs… but then again, I really need to make my lasagna this weekend so it can sit in the freezer for a week (somehow or other it makes it taste better to sit in the freezer for a while before cooking) and I need to make lots and lots of fudge for everyone on my Christmas list. So I don’t know if I’ll have time to get to babycakes. Hmm… that just sounds kinda naughty, doesn’t it?
Good morning, everybody! I spent at least twenty minutes lying in bed this morning, convincing myself to get up and go to work. I need the money because I’m out of time off, nobody else knows how to do my job these days, the receptionist is leaving early, yadda yadda yadda. I got up … but I refused to do my hair. That’ll teach 'em. :rolleyes:
So last night, I came up with a new euphemism for alternative lifestyle that I think everyone should immediately put into circulation. I was discussing a cow-orker with my best friend, and how he’s closeted and faaaaaaabulously gay, but too Catholic to admit it. In conclusion to a sentence, I said “He doesn’t play for our team.” Then, it occurred to me that my best friend is bisexual, and amended it to “He doesn’t play for my team. Or your team. I mean, you’re not on his team, and you’re not on my … You play winner.”
And that’s it. For Christmas, she’s getting a t-shirt that says “I Play Winner.”
Pardon my bad manners and welcome wallflower. May I call you wally? Everyone gets a nickname here see. I have two dogs also. (There were three but now there’s two.) What kind are yours? Can you do pics?
Oh-I am so upset. I came in here, looking for pleasant time wasting posts and am cut to the quick. <sob>
Woe is me–I am devastated by the lack of sensitivity here. <gulps back another sob> Where o where is my tissue?
Why am I crying so early in the morning? See below…
I am dryer challenged–and all alone, waiting at the window, my face in jar by the door, seeking Scotter MacKenzie.
<wails> And Taters gets to put her laundry in the dryer!
<flails about>
Well, geez rigs you can put your laundry in the dryer. Of course you can’t actuallydry it right now but you could put it in there. Heck, for all we know that’s all Taters did. She didn’t say she actually dried the laundry, now did she?
Thanks for the welcome Puggy . Nicks are cool with me, but I would prefer either Flower or Wall (or some play on those). I still miss WallyM7 , the inspiration for the smiley :wally , so I would rather not appropriate his screenname.
Here are my fuzzbutts Sparky a Rat [del]Terror[/del]Terrier we’ve had since Feb. She will be 2 in March. Got her from a woman who decided to get rid of all her ratties to raise dobermans. And Buffy , a YorkiePoo we got a month ago. She’s 41/2. Her original Mom and Dad were elderly, the wife died and the man went into a nursing home, leaving her with a neighbor who didn’t want a small dog. He took her to her vet, who gave her to a groomer friend who does small dog rescue informally. Not many people in this area appreciate little dogs, it’s all about Labs and other large hunters.
Please pardon my insensitivity to your plight. I didn’t mean to smush your face all up in it. Really, you wouldn’t want my dryer (or washer) anyway. It really, really, really sucks and is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY old.
But hey, it’s Dutch, so it’s okay.
gt), this week the only thing the snow has done is melt. If it’s going to be cold enough that I can not only see my breath, but see it freeze solid and fall to the ground with a crash, the least it could do is snow enough to make it a real winter. (Apologies to those with driveways.)
