Would you believe a post a month?

I plead tax season.

Mostly I'm scared to post about oil. Either I post something that will look foolish in a month, or something useless.

Anyhow, to be useful:

NEW or EXTENDED for 2011

• The American Opportunity Tax Credit for tuition expenses was extended for 2011 with a credit of up to $2,500.

• Employees will pay only 4.2% payroll taxes for 2011, while self-employed individuals will pay only 10.4% on income up to $106,800.

The Child Tax Credit of $1,000 per child has been extended for 2011 for married individuals earning less than $110,000 and for head-of-household filers earning less

So go somewhere exciting

A Post a Day

And maybe I'll be able to beat a 10-year old's MAP scores -
http://pickens.it.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/374410/File/MAP/Norms2008.pdf?sessionid=14d1e9266e4482d198ebc39c6e6bc9c3

They really make it hard to find what these things mean.

Anyhow, it was a nice quiet day in the fall of civilization.

Since I have been linked

& may now be getting as many as 2 hits a week, might as well finish the story of ANWR oil.

Y'all remember how this was one of the big clubs against treehuggers? All this oil that could save us? And they were keeping it off the market?

Latest estimate is that it could supply all the US oil needs for about 45 days.

Which is to say, we had a temp at work a few months ago. Somebody ran into her socially yesterday. Turns out that in 2 weeks of being ignored while making copies & suchlike, the woman had learned pretty much all there is to know about our operation.

In case you were wondering.

The Hunting of the Snark: Honeymoon Hints

The Hunting of the Snark: Honeymoon Hints

(Blogger is getting weird. I have no idea where/if this will post)

I liked in the comments where she said no to the Carribean because it's June & hurricane season.

How can Megan be so clueless on so many subjects?

EIA weekly, 4/17/09

Crude oil in storage is up to 370 million barrels. US consumption of oil is down over 10%, to just over 18 million barrels a day.

Aint got no more room. And 10,000,000 additional barrels a week need someplace to sit.

So this is still here

And I haven't had anything to say for almost 2 years.

Still don't. So I'll look back at the oeuvre.

I was wrong on natural gas- we were just about to ramp up into a new era of increasing production, & a major price crash. Looks like that era is going to end fairly quickly, because the increase was built on really expensive production.

I was right about the market about to crash. Big woop.

Tax seasons haven't gotten any better. Custodians just don't give a shit anymore.

Looks like 2006, or maybe 2007, was the peak for holiday traffic. 2006 was the last time we took a long car trip. Might take another in 2012.

I think I'll turn this into a cooking blog. Dinner today is a chicken & chickpea stew that'll take at least 2 hours. It also requires a lot of wine, a small amount of which may end up in the food.

Rock of Love. cold sober

I let the house go dry, forgetting that tonight is the big finale.


Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Assessment time

The start of second grade for the little one is proving to be a very weird time. The class is getting lots of tests, & there's a plan to install some sort of math rich environment.

The weirdness is that her teacher has already decided that shes about 2 years ahead, and is haing her do multiplication & division instead of the addition & subtraction on the papers. It makes for for very weird homework.

At least there's lots of reading time. Harry Potter, what else?

No learning curve

So when my ankle was feeling better we went to Salisbury Beach. It's September, so I can't burn, right?

Wrong, but that was the minor issue. The big one was that I shouldn't be getting into competitive hole digging. Should be able to stand up stright in 2 or 3 days.

Today's PSA: Browns on 286 has gone downhill. Get your clams elsewhwere.

Still, yesterday was a fine day at the beach.

Move-in day

This is the day every small truck & van in the world converges on Boston. Best ever! The little one & I spent all morning tooling around on bikes. We hit 4 yard sales & the school garden. Nothing but smiles. Our loot was OK - tomatoes, hot peppers, parsley, 750 pc puzzle, paper doilies, a bowl, & a really bad Ray Charles cd.

Back to growling in a few days.

First the embarrassment

Then the pain then the nuisance. I'm way too damn old to be trotting thorugh subway stations, but cant help it, so when I made a loud show falling on the stairs, there was nothing to do but get up & show the stiff upper lip.

Looks like the ankle will be messed up for a while. No serious damage.

Its my birthday, dammit

Suggest a topic or something

Parental potlatch

Local customs involve gifts for teachers, extavagant birthday parties, etc.

Every time we think we're catching up with the way things are done, somebody comes up with a new level of generous. This season the soccer team was given a post season feast by the back up coach, and flowers by the regular coach.

Its getting to be impossible to say anything nasty about people.

The library booksale is today!

& yes, I'm really excited. Hope to see Arlene & Max there.

Open Studios

There are 100 stops on the Somerville Open studios tour this weekend. I only did 5 yesterday, plus a yard sale. Didn't get any art, but did manage 7 beanie babies & a Groovy Girl for $2, total. The little one will be at a birthday party most of the afternoon, so I can run through about 40 - go in, say Hi, eat a cracker, leave.

40 crackers - I won't need dinner. We're most likely going to Mikes or whatever they call the Hometown though, so maybe not.

They're dying, I'm working

This is about the most depressing post-tax season ever. Instead of pushing out all the returns that came in at the last minute & went on extension, its all estate, all the time.

On the positive side, I'm healthier than ever. When I was 12, I got horrible headaches, a lot. Over the years, I learned the triggers, avoided them and they stopped completely.

For any teenagers reading - some helpful health advice:

Sleep regular hours, but not too much.
Don't get too much sun. Sun & beer don't mix.

Don't wait for nocturnal emissions.

I'm just full of PSAs.

& it's over

For 6 weeks I havent even read this thing. Gotta restart now to get in the new subway trash paper. Soooooo.....

Everythings falling apart now, idnit? The economy, the administration, Iraq - all according to plan.


Or didn't you realize Blofeld was running things?

Tax season

Our beloved custodian bank decided to fuck us over good this year. Into March, & we still don't have everything we need. Going to have to extend almost everyone.

Could be worse. Could be on the investment side, with the long expected meltdown just cracking the ice.

The Middlesex Fells

A couple miles from me there's a big woods full of rocks & a couple of ponds. Went there yesterday & the ice from a storm had coated the shrubs & weeds.

In the past year there we've climbed rocks, picked bluberries & mushrooms, skated, been to the zoo, hiked all over, slid on mud road, & hauled blocks of ice.
When I was a kid we had relatives who owned farms. None of those left.

After things collapse, there'll be more space, but whoevers left will be too cold, tired & hungry to enjoy it.

Name that tune

Toasted oats & shredded wheat,
I have covered you in milk
for you'll soon belong in me,
your box will be back on the shelf.

January 26 - 4 degrees

I haven't posted for a lot of reasons, most of which are some form of nothing to say.

January 7 - 69 degress

I just want it to be recorded that I got some sun.

Cheap lunch out

Why are foods that can be called breakfast so cheap? An egg, bacon, cheese bagel is barely more than my cholesterol count.

The Iraq Survey Group

From the moment I read the first recommendation from these clowns, solemnly telling Iraq how to run its affairs, it seemed strangely - well, stupid is the best word. (Arrogant & clueless would also be good)

Today we learn that their experts were passing around and chatting about - year old spam e-mails. http://p200.ezboard.com/fnfisgetoutthevotefrm3.showMessage?topicID=4941.topic

Oy!