Monthly Archives: October 2012

MORE OF A SAD TREND

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Newsweek magazine is stopping print and will be online only. In the past 12 years it’s circulation has dropped 50%. In contrast, Time magazine’s has been 10%. Of course it makes you wonder about similar announcements coming in the next 5 years for any of the mags that have been print leaders in years past.

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MANUAL SEZ: NO YOUTUBE VIDEOS!

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I downloaded the form for converting ET to cash. One of the four stipulations is that you can’t convert 80 hours. Okay, that still leaves me with 50 to use. Two of the stipulations were okay for me. Then the fourth stipulation is that you have to declare your intent the calendar year BEFORE! Which means I could do this if I had declared my intent back in 2011.

However there are two payment periods per year, July and December. Which means if I declared this year by December, I could have money the first week of July 2013. This does me absolutely no good for getting the Mustang, but I’ll just consider it in case I need some kind of cushion which may or may not come in handy by that time. I got a month to think about it.

My boss came by my desk and was talking to me about the Mustang, and was surprised to learn about the ET conversion and didn’t know about these details, but she’s only been here a year anyway. I gave her a copy of the form to peruse. She half apologized for giving me the suggestion, but of course I told her it had nothing to do with her as neither of us knew those details.

Funny thing, there are 3 women here who are pretty jazzed about the Mustang, and two for sure want to go for a ride, likely all 3. My male buddies are supportive, but aren’t as demonstrative as the females. Of course I’ll give any of them rides, as once I have it I’m sure some will want to check it out.

I have to admit as time goes on here I’m starting to get jazzed about it, as much as I’m trying not to. I think I’m pretty confident about pulling it off as at least the stripped version, though I’m still shooting for the optioned version.

I downloaded the owner’s manual, 437 pages. I’m a two thirds of the way through it.

The manual is so big because it has a lot of legalese boiler plate to protect them from idiots, often inside gray boxes. You know, the stuff like:

  1. Do not haul a U-Haul trailer full of concrete sacks up Pike’s Peak.
  2. Do not put it in neutral and relax with a jug of moonshine on the way down.
  3. Do not piss in the fuel filler pipe if you run out of fuel, thinking that it will work as well as gas after drinking moonshine.
  4. Do not let your 8 year old thumb 25 miles to the nearest gas station to fill a jug with gas after you realize pissing in the tank won’t work.
  5. Do not let your 8 year old reprogram the car’s computer.
  6. Do not put your 8 year old on your lap to use as an air bag. Do not entice them to sit on your lap by letting them steer the car.
  7. Do not let your kids play under the car after having them jack it up to change a tire.
  8. Do not refuse to use the seat belts because your tits might get squashed. That includes guys with man tits.
  9. Do not let your dog drive the car so you can make a cool YouTube video.
  10. Do not tie Grandma to the roof of the car, aim a GoPro camera at her face, and run at 150 mph to make another cool YouTube video.

 

EARNED TIME INTO CASH

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My boss found out about my plans for the Mustang. She suggested I convert my earned time into cash. About every November we get that opportunity. I thanked her for the great idea, didn’t occur to me.

The money would just sit in my savings for a down payment. If I was ever out sick I’d still have the money to use just like I would normally to pay bills.

If I took all of it, it would be about $1400 after taxes. Between the time I take it out and when I actually transact money for the car, I’d build up another 4 to 6 days worth of ET, which isn’t a lot, but would be something.

Essentially I get a day off for every 2 weeks I work. The only bad part is by the time I pay for the car, I would only have about 5 days of ET. My goal all along would be to have a month’s worth to cover bills. Right now it’s at 3.25 week’s worth.

I have to hold some money back when I buy the car so I can cover registration, etc. Probably I’d hold back enough to cover being out of work a week beyond whatever I have accrued at that time.

Anyway, that money will be helpful to some degree.

I sent her the “Alcatraz” clip of the car in action. Turns out she watches the show and actually saw that episode!

HUMOR TO TAKE THE STING OUT OF SAVING MONEY

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 A friend wrote after I said I bought some pants:

 Thank you for treating me to your mind blog.
 The upshot is that Chuck transgresses. At least it wasn’t really big bucks!

Glad you liked it. True, it’s not as expensive as that audio interface that killed two thirds of my Sweetwater card.

A few years back saw skinny Levi’s in bright green. Thought they’d be a good alternative to the gray ones you always see me wear. You’ve never seen me wear my jet black super skinny’s. Can find stuff like olive green, camo green.

I also decided when I go to the Green Day concert I wanted to wear skinny jeans that aren’t gray.

Anyway, was looking around for the bright green ones. Don’t exist anywhere anymore, just bright yellow and bright red. I do an internet search for bright jeans and see Hot Topic as the website for different colors.

Some pretty cool colors and even very cool patterns. No bright green. But there’s a sale on and I get a pair of purple for just under $32 shipped. Probably not as good quality as Levi’s, but it’s not like I’m wearing them every day.

I see the Hell Bunny jeans towards the top as being the real you:

http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Denim/Girls.jsp

You can scroll down that page for more. The Pink would be good for dog training classes, would get the attention of dogs, owners, surveillance satellites.

Anyway, tonight another transgression. Maybe I should use you as my witness to lack of willpower so I do better. Maybe not. Could be annoying for you.

What I really need is one of those archetypal dominatrixes at about 6’3″ tall, muscular, zaftig, Amazonian Nordic goddess build, black straight hair with bangs, severe and precise makeup. In the suitable costume. Wielding suitable instruments of persuasion.

Not my thing at all, which is probably why I actually need that scary specter over my shoulder every time I’m on a website! She’d whack my pee pee every time I start to copy and paste my credit card number.

Or maybe just hire some real life Amazon to stand behind me while I’m on the Amazon website. There are a few up at the hospital. They would probably only agree to smack me in the head. Find one that likes to beat up men and she’d do it for free.

“Hi, I’m going on Amazon tonight.”
“Okay, I’ll be right over, I demand that you don’t start until I get there.”

The trouble is, after 10 trips without transgressions, she’d finally be fed up with having no fun and beat the crap out of me anyway, then take me up to the emergency room, push me out of the car onto the parking lot near the door, and drive off.

EXTENDING MY WILL POWER

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 A friend wrote:

 You are not buying an album until you get a car?

For the next 6 months or whatever:

No new concert tickets.

No Panera bread, no eggs on Saturday.

No software, Newegg, Amazon, Kindle. I delete the nearly daily Newegg emails as they come in without opening them.

I eat in the Karner cafe about every other Tuesday when they do a special meal. This is separate from the cafeteria, which I haven’t been to in about 4 months.

New calculations about once a month for the car and for the budget.

Currently planning how to rust proof the car, which is not undercoating, which I’m not doing as it’s more harm than good.

Know for a fact I can’t keep the Buick, gotta trade it in. Or at least a 95% probability of that.

Hoping like hell Ford goes as late as possible for the last month of manufacture of the 2013’s in the year 2013, which will be between January and April as best as my salesman and I can tell.

Hoping I can order as late as February, and March would be wonderful. More time = bigger down payment.

I’m really only buying my green tea and nutritional supplements beyond food basics.

There’s a 20% chance my brother will buy my Buick, depending on what’s happening with one of his cars later this year. If so, that would be an extra $1000 for me towards a down payment beyond what I’d get for a trade in. He already drove it and we put it up on his lift. Car is in really good shape.