Cold. Or at least chilly. Damp. Then less of both until it’s sunny and warm-ish. Because most days are like yesterday. Except when they’re not.
Did my running around. Spent a few hours at my storage unit going through stuff and loading bins. I’ve got some good stuff in there.
That will be my plan for today too, although I may start here. Family returns in the early afternoon. They’ve been having a blast so far.
——————————————————————-
Last night you should have “fallen back” by turning your clock back one hour, in most places in the US anyway. I don’t mind it although I do have a bit of trouble with sleep. It was much worse traveling across time zones when I was working and I survived that. The 12 hour offset to the middle East was about the worst. I always had the most trouble when I came home by traveling west. East, not a problem. West, messed me up. I was usually in a location for long enough to adjust, and then had to adjust back. LIVING in Central time had lots of advantages while working with both coasts. I could work productively many extra hours in the day! Hooray!
——————————————————————
The other part of ‘falling back’ is about culture. Civilization. Mores, manners, trust. We’re falling back in those areas pretty quickly. Rule of law and a high trust society were essential for building the culture of Western Civilization. The more Rule by Law, and the less by Men, the more the west prospered and western people with it.
In the US, Rule of Law (ROL) has been under attack for some time. Recent events suggest that on a macro level, we’re already WROL, but still have Rule by Men. On a micro, or local, or day to day, level we still have some ROL, in most places. We still ape the traditions, mouth the words, for now. This won’t last. As the big picture, so too the small.
The left politically is doing everything they can to reduce ROL. They crave Rule of Man, because they think they will be the ones Ruling… they are puppets on a string. History shows us that once the revolution is complete, they’ll be on the chopping block just like those they led to it. The true Rulers will emerge to benefit from all their hard work.
For some ordinary folks, not much will change. If you live a life of dependence and meanness, it will probably continue. But if you don’t, you will be ‘falling back’. All of the progress you’ve made in your career, your financial life, your health, will be taken from you. Little by little or all at once, they will try to break you.
Plan for how you can fall back on your terms, gracefully if you can manage it. Everything around us will be falling back too. Healthcare. Available food. Jobs. Service. Culture. Performers celebrated for singing about their W.A.P. fete’d for bragging about choking on … something, and the rise of rap music is just one indicator. Rising crime, failing systems and infrastructure, fewer choices in the stores- more indicators. Weirder crimes, more explosive violence, and decreased tolerance of anything someone doesn’t like- more indicators. Extremism in all its forms- another indicator.
I don’t know how far back we’ll fall, but I know that once you damage something, it will never be the same, and it’s easier to break than repair… so give it some hard thought, and prep.
Stack some things.
nick
Working with time and time-zones is difficult. Still, you'd think professional programmers could pull this off…
It's a minor thing, but we have an EcoVacs robot vacuum cleaner. For the past week, the thing has been starting an hour early. Why? Because Europe went off DST, but the US had not yet. Also: all previous times shown in the log have now shifted by an hour.
Again, dealing with times (and dates) is ugly. But it's really not *that* hard: if you're working across different time-zones, then either you store the local time-zone information or (generally easier) you store everything in GMT, and the translate for local display.
Pretty normal stuff for vaccines: they lose effectiveness over time. The mRNA tech is doing a lot better than the traditional J&J vaccine. Anyway, I’ll happily get the booster when it arrives – right now, it’s only available here for people over 65, but that will change soon…
@brad:
Again, I refer you to Tom Scott's Youtube opus, here.
G.
I mailed my wife and my passport renewal application in the middle of August. Mid September the wife's was returned because the passport office did not like the photograph. I used their web tool. So I redid the photograph and sent the application back to the passport office in Philadelphia. Her passport arrived at the end of September. Mine was still being processed. I have now been informed that my passport will arrive about the 14 of November. That is almost two months after my wife's was received and hers had to be resubmitted.
Why the significant difference in processing time? Both arrived the same time at the processing facility according to USPS tracking. The department of state website said expect the processing to take 12 weeks. My wife's took six, including the resubmission, mine is taking the full 12.
My wife doesn't post anything anywhere except birthday wishes on Facebook. I am wondering if the government is doing more searching of the web for nefarious postings against the government. Looking for anything that would trigger suspicions. I post in several places, some postings not so kind to the government. Nothing about overthrowing or other insurrections. But enough for the state department to know I don't trust the government. Maybe something I posted required a more thorough look by the government and they are doing that for all people that apply for passports.
Do you have a significantly longer travel history than your wife?
Don't ascribe to malice that which can be explained by too many people working from home in their jammies. Before and after my wife's televisit weeks, there is a massive shuffling of paper and computer accessories in our home office, and I've missed a few bills.
The VA is pretty high tech post-Trump, but my impression is that the State Department is not. Some paper may have been left on a guest room bed for too long — that's what would happen at our house.
The VA is currently "threatening" to take away televisit weeks since, except for my wife, productivity among the GPs is way down.
My spouse's response is "Do it." Televisit weeks are 12 hour days plus record keeping in the evening. In person days have a hard stop for carpool at 4:30 PM.
Within a few months you'll be treated exactly as if you'd never gotten the clot shots at all.
47 F and very foggy here in the fall back area of west Fort Bend County. The dog and the cat went outside for an extended stay, almost ten minutes !. That six inches of hair on the 14 lb white Siamese is totally poofed out so he looks like a big furball. He came back in, ate some more food, and went back outside for another five minutes.
That seems a bit much.
Huh. My experience was the opposite. My family always tried to arrange westward travel. Those times when we had to go the other way were always the worst.
>> I am leaning towards the Moderna booster on top of the Pfizer base shots. I am chicken though and delaying the decision.
@lynn, I am considering the same approach and also on the fence. Please let us know when you decide which you chose and why.
Anyway, I had my (Pfizer) booster late last month. It was the same, nothing-to-report experience as the original two doses were, barring a little soreness at the injection site. So I'm happy about Pfizer's work, even if the protection decays with time. Even unto yearly boosters. After all, there's the yearly flu shot.
Question: are the CoViD shots charged for on the left side of the pond? They aren't, here. It's all under NHS auspices, so free at point-of-use.
Booster shots are free for moment here in the USA. The J&J shot is apparently being taken off the market for some reason, probably the blood clots. My parents took the Pfizer booster in August with no ill effects even though they are in their 80s.
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2021/11/06/biden-admin-cancels-deal-with-jj-vaccine-producer-n427392
I will let you know when I get one of the shots and which one. I have severe heart issues and am fat, two comorbidities. And apparently the Koof really likes fat people so I am going to take the booster.
I mailed MrsAtoz's PP on Sat. She let it expire, but it was in April so it should not matter in processing time. I'll post how long it takes. I did pay for expedited processing. I added a PP Card which might take longer.
My PP expires in '26 so I'll renew the year before.
Catses do not care about daylight savings times.
"Booster shots are free for moment here in the USA."
No one has the Pfizer trade name shot which can be marketed in the usual way and billed. If the vaccine mandates stick, I’m sure that will change after Thanksgiving when the time frames get short.
So is all the malarkey with a vaccine *card* now moot? If you got two clot shots and pass on a booster are you unclean again? If I don't get a booster this year, do I have to get two clot shots to reboot my vax status?
There appear to be no standard rules. I can mix clot shot makers just because plugs says so. Isn't that another level of experimentation with the mecho-gene splicing pseudo vaccine?
I'm confused. Please explain.
It's stomach o'clock!
A year from now, there'll be humans with untampered-with genomes … and zombies.
plugs upping the LOL count and embarrassing the whole country:
Duchess of Cornwall Can’t Stop Talking About Dear Leader Biden Farting While Talking to Her: ‘Long and Loud and Impossible to Ignore’
Maybe that's what happened when plugs met the Pope only it was a shart.
There goes my Passport.
Time and zones, and file systems. I noticed that when I traveled across time zones, always keeping my DSLR's clock on local time, that it handied everything OK, until I copied the files from the SD card to my computer. Then, if it was DST or Summer Time, the files' time stamps would shift by an hour. I never figured out if this was the difference between the FAT and EXT file systems, or if it was the camera. It was the same with two different brand cameras. This can mess up certain backup schemes. I noted that in all cases the EXIF info in the files was correct.
Add this to the list. China had (still has?) only one time zone. Maybe they are on to something.
I originally intended to get the vaccine, but by the time I was eligible, I kept putting it off because of the 2 days sick from it.
I don't take the flu shot, because it does not work but does make most people sick for a few days from the shot. And I never get the flu. In 40 years, I've never had the flu. I get other things, but not the flu.
So at this point, that's where I am with the COVID shot. Why would I do something almost guaranteed to make me sick that does not prevent something I've still not caught?
The only reason I've ever noticed needing a time zone was back in the old network TV days : "Tomorrow night at 8…. 7 Central".
Maybe now that no one watches television any more, we could dispense with them too LOL
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2021-11-06/using-us-courts-burn-money-free-forever
I would consult an attorney and ask about a proactive approach. File a lawsuit against her in a jurisdiction within the state, preferably a day's travel away. I'd expect a default judgement. File another, trying for the same judge. Rinse, repeat. Dead of winter court dates would be best. Build up a file of no-shows. File again. Go for the “vexatious litigant" designation. Can the court compel attendance by defendant? Can the court require all future communication, including lawsuits, go through the court? Can the court enjoin defendant from filing lawsuits in random jurisdictions?
Yeah, $100,000. Pass the hat.
Might be cheaper to hire a shamus for a week and see if the little darling is on the up-and-up with her claims of poverty.
@MrAtoZ
"Maybe that's what happened when plugs met the Pope only it was a shart. "
If Brandon starts wearing brown suits exclusively, we'll know for sure.
Be interesting to use an IR camera to check for extra layers.
Keep the fear going. If you want to see afraid people, attend a show at the Paramount/State in Downtown Austin.
I’m confused as to how the theater implements a vaccine mandate in Texas. They have a liquor license, the mechanism the Governor uses to enforce his “no mandate” order — implement a vaccine mandate at your bar/restaurant and the TBC yanks your ability to sell alcohol.
In fear of plugs mandating my removal from antiSocial inSecurity, I got my Moderna booster at 1st available day, 2 week ago from yesterday.
@Pecancorner: None of the three Moderna shots gave me any after affects.
Good to know! My dad didn't have any side effects, either. But my doctor told me I should expect to be sick for a couple of days from either of them. I guess it is a tossup.
If the shot side effects are "how you know it's working" then what's up for the people that don't have any side effects??
Was 45F this am, when the dog got me up. Dogs have a very refined internal clock. And it doesn't do DST. It's 73F in the sun, and cooler in the shade. Chilly even. If I can smell the furnace running (hot dust) when I get up, I know it is cold out.
That seems a bit much.
— Abu Dhabi is GMT +4, Los Angeles is GMT -8 currently, don't know if that changes with DST, but that is the spread when I was there too.
–wrt China's one time zone, it's a huge pain in the @ss for a technological society and no issue at all for an agricultural one. Given the overwhelming rural-ness of China, having the whole country use GMT with a fixed offset 😉 for official reasons is fine. Practically, it means some parts are still in the middle of the night when others are in the middle of the day… I don't remember it being an issue when I was in Shanghai, although there must be considerations for all the financial business that takes place there. Possibly Shanghai natural time aligns well with the official time?
n
St Johns,Newfoundland has a weird time zone, they are hours and a HALF different from everyone else… GMT -3 1/2 and they do DST…
n
@nick: (from yesterday)
Yes, it is. As are Moderna and J&J. So we have 4 vaxes available, all same you. That'll teach me to pontificate before I have certain knowledge. Won't stop me, though.
My impression is that Pfizer is the most common here in UK. You're not offered a choice when you pitch up for your shot – you get whatever they're offering, which for me has been Pfizer. I don't know whether mixed boosters are allowed here.
Oh, well, I have my vax cards for all 3 shots – laminated, so they're not going to disintegrate any time soon.
G.
P.S. Oh yeah, from what I've seen online, J&J is the only one that can be called a "clot shot", and that's a rare side-effect. I've seen no credible evidence of any other version having that side-effect. That's not to say there are none, just that J&J is the only one that has shown it.
I always wondered that about my smallpox vaccinations. I never had any reaction, never got the scar that it seemed everyone else got.
If the shot side effects are "how you know it's working" then what's up for the people that don't have any side effects??
I recall chatting with folks while inline for 2nd Moderna vaxx who mentioned uncomfortable side affects. If I suffered from none, was I given a fraudulent, non-Modena vaxx?
Complexity is killing software developers
https://www.infoworld.com/article/3639050/complexity-is-killing-software-developers.html
I used to enjoy reading print Infoworld columns from Bob Metcalfe, Brian Livingston, Ed Foster, and, of course, "Robert X. Cringely".
I thought the clotting issues were limited to women of child bearing age.
As I've stated before, I wouldn't be surprised if the added risk factor there was cigarettes, as is the case with birth control pills and clotting. Of course, that would be politically radioactive to disclose — taking the shot off of the market would be less traumatic.
Watching some LA Marathon and noticed what wasn't there: Diversity, no obese runners. How political incorrectness is that?
Hot Skillz is killing software development. Nothing else matters to the young'n's beyond building the resume for the next gig.
The complexity comes from the Hot Skillz of the moment, including AWS.
They'll probably shut it down for white supremacy.
In the UK, hill walking and hiking were declared racist a few years ago because allegedly only white people partake. The amazing logic in that is unfathomable to me.
It's an attack on western civ, ie. white people and what they like to do, and how they live their lives. It's been going on for a long time.
Like everything else they've tried, I hope they have misjudged the timing and 'jumped the gun' revealing themselves before they are secure.
They're like the B-movie villain that can't help monologue-ing.
n
How rare?
Comparatively, how dangerous compared to not having the shot at all? Please show your math.
Regardless of maker, all the shots have declining effectiveness over relatively short timespans. If there is any effectiveness at all, which "breakthrough" infections seem to be disproving.
The way this example of rhetoric works: Bundle all the side effects of all the shots together, and call them "Clot shots". So blood clots, sure. Production of spike proteins that escape into your system and transit the blood-brain barrier or cause myocarditis? You bet. Sudden, "unexplained" deaths of young athletes and fit people middle aged and younger? I got this. It's a "clot shot".
My post above was supposed to be a numbered list, and appeared as such in the editor. Not so much after I submitted it.
Just FYI. Doesn't change the semantics.
SteveF says:
My wife has long called it "tummy o'clock".
No, we have both traveled together on trips that require a passport.
Football and basketball must send shivers op the political correctness ladder. Except, the wrong direction.
They'll probably shut it down for white supremacy.
Nope. plenty blacks among whites, first three across the finish were blacks, Kenyans and other African Africans.
I'd chalk it up to paper sitting too long on the guest room bed of some State Dept. dweeb living in … Loudoun County, VA! 🙂
>> My wife doesn't post anything anywhere except birthday wishes on Facebook. I am wondering if the government is doing more searching of the web for nefarious postings against the government. Looking for anything that would trigger suspicions. I post in several places, some postings not so kind to the government. Nothing about overthrowing or other insurrections. But enough for the state department to know I don't trust the government. Maybe something I posted required a more thorough look by the government and they are doing that for all people that apply for passports.
@Ray, are you not posting on FaceCrack? If so, that's definitely suspicious and cause for the delay!
>> There appear to be no standard rules. I can mix clot shot makers just because plugs says so. Isn't that another level of experimentation with the mecho-gene splicing pseudo vaccine?
I'm confused. Please explain.
Refer back to your comment – lack of rules is what the puppet-masters indended.
>> Maybe now that no one watches television any more, we could dispense with them too LOL
I'd rephrase that as 'no one watches network television any more.' Plenty of great series to watch on the streaming channels.
If anyone has any money with State Street Global Advisors, time to get it out…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10174235/Bosses-one-worlds-biggest-investment-firms-need-special-approval-hire-white-men.html
I guess they don't have an EEOC there.
Clearly NOT focused on making money for their clients.
So posturing? Who are they hiring when they are closing offices and laying off people? Or are they culling the non-diverse from their ranks to later be replaced?
And holy cow, from further down in the article…
London is 40% non-white?
n
What a F'd up and unhappy life.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10174609/Founder-Americas-gun-control-movement-kills-prison-DU-charge.html
Gay but has a son. Addict. Anti-gun but parents owned a gun store. Clinically depressed. Alcoholic. Killed or injured someone while driving drunk and fled.
Just exactly the kind of person I want to take advice from on
constitutional and policy issuesanything.n
>> The way this example of rhetoric works: Bundle all the side effects of all the shots together, and call them "Clot shots". So blood clots, sure. Production of spike proteins that escape into your system and transit the blood-brain barrier or cause myocarditis? You bet.
I think most of the known side effects have been clearly communicated. Take the myocarditis for example, Moderna's EUA request for children 12 to 17 has been delayed pending further investigation by the FDA. Pfizer's vaccine potentially can also cause myocarditis but their EUA for children was approved. Possibly related to the higher dosage in the adult Moderna vaccine vs. Pfizer (100 mcg vs. 30 mcg).
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/10/31/1050985458/the-fda-is-probing-whether-the-moderna-vaccine-can-cause-a-rare-side-effect-in-t
https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-lower-dose-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-fewer-side-effects-2021-9
>> My wife has long called it "tummy o'clock".
Our three dogs know within a few minutes when it's feeding time.
>> Or are they culling the non-diverse from their ranks to later be replaced?
Lack of diversity is harder to notice when most of your staff are WFH.
Jason Miller, a lamp operator and pipe rigger, was working to wind down production of Rust when he was bitten by a brown recluse spider
Within days, he started experiencing severe symptoms, including necrosis of his arm and sepsis
He has reportedly been hospitalized and has undergone many surgeries
But his arm may need to be amputated
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10174687/Another-Rust-crewmember-hospital-bitten-venomous-spider.html
Because…Florida…
Roger Stone said he'll run for Florida governor just to draw votes away from Ron DeSantis unless the governor pledges not to run for president in 2024.
https://news.yahoo.com/roger-stone-said-hell-run-082536527.html
Lots of people have money with State Street but aren't aware of it. Check the prospectus on your 401(k) — even if the web site is Fidelity, that may not be where your money is held.
Maybe can have a few Dilbert strips to explain it to Joe…
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-mock-americans-intelligence-questions-understand-supply-chain-issues?cmpid=prn_newsstand
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/11/james-okeefe-defiant-after-fbi-raids-his-home-over-purported-ashley-biden-diary-project-veritas-gave-the-diary-to-law-enforcement/
Dismantle the FBI. Burn the Hoover Building. Scatter the ashes. Salt the earth.
>> None of the three Moderna shots gave me any after affects.
>> Good to know! My dad didn't have any side effects, either. But my doctor told me I should expect to be sick for a couple of days from either of them. I guess it is a tossup.
@Pecancorner, no reaction for me either, other than minor arm soreness, from three Pfizer jabs. One thing to consider is the higher "potency" of Moderna vs. Pfizer. (YMMV and IANAD)
https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-lower-dose-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-fewer-side-effects-2021-9
This article also has some good information: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/health/vaccine-side-effects-women-men.html
Looks like Enoch Powell was right.
Always was. It was unacceptable to say so fifty years ago and more unacceptable now.
I mean, I understand, I think, the reasoning for opening the UK to folks from the rest of the Commonwealth and former colonies.
It's a "we all gonna sing kumbaya and be happy" thing and perhaps guilt for some reason for having had the Empire on which the sun never sets".
Doesn't make it right… The US gov did it too. What do we owe folks from South America? Why would we want "the best and brightest" from any nation? They need to stay home and improve /their/ country.
Yeah. We have some interesting restaurants now. Big deal.
Couple of years ago, wouldn't this headline have read "Tens of thousands"?
The Big Apple is well and truly back! Bill and Hillary Clinton congratulate Chelsea on finishing the NYC marathon as thousands turn out for its 50th anniversary
n
DeSantis' wife has cancer. If she is not 100%, he won't run for President in 2024.
Roger Stone knows this.
If Stone runs for Governor and draws votes from anyone, it will be Charlie Crist, assuming Crist is the Dem nominee.
Turns out that ordered and unordered lists were being filtered out of comments. Today's theme update fixed that. Example below.
An unordered list
An ordered list
End of test unordered and ordered lists.
It's a "we all gonna sing kumbaya and be happy" thing and perhaps guilt for some reason for having had the Empire on which the sun never sets".
No. It's based on the fact that we were all British Subjects and as such we had the “Right of Return”. This ended for most Commonwealth countries when Britain joined the common market. Until that time, I, as a Canadian (and British Subject) could work and live in the UK with neither a visa or a work permit. In fact I could work and live in most Commonwealth countries with little restriction.
But those days are long gone. But there was a time when being a “British Subject” had its advantages. In fact I was born a British Subject. I didn't become a Canadian citizen until 1946 when the Canadian Citizen Act was passed.
those days are long gone. But there was a time when being a “British Subject” had its advantages. In fact I was born a British Subject. I didn't become a Canadian citizen until 1946 when the Canadian Citizen Act was passed.
–that is an interesting little tidbit. Thanks for sharing it.
n
most Commonwealth countries
–is that where the 40% diversity is coming from?
n
Even been in FB jail a few times for being honest, but going against the FB agenda.
Why would we want "the best and brightest" from any nation? They need to stay home and improve /their/ country.
+1000.
Rod Stewart's model railroad layout…. breathtaking. And he says he has built most of it himself, except for the electrics.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561
Why would we want "the best and brightest" from any nation? They need to stay home and improve /their/ country.
+1000.
Which is what you would recommended the Mayflower. Right?
@pecancorner,
did you see this in the links below the article?
–it's an incredible layout. I'm surprised he's a hobbyist, and that Daltrey is too. It's funny that he says he likes the building better than running. Seems like there are a lot of modelers that feel the same way.
n
added – luke towen on youtube, started as a model RR channel, has become exclusively model building.
https://www.youtube.com/c/LukeTowan
Which is what you would recommended the Mayflower. Right?
—we're not a howling wasteland anymore, and with the world as interlinked as it is, building up the shirtholes makes more sense.
n
added — that said, if they are gonna come, I prefer the best and brightest. Unless TPTB who are importing serfs and manual laborers by the metric ton know something I don’t, it would seem to be the opposite of a good idea.
Neil Young is part of the investment group who currently own Lionel, and he has a long history of being involved with the company.
Which is what you would recommended the Mayflower. Right?
Right.
@nick:
It used to be. That did not worry me, because people from the Commonwealth had at least been exposed to British values.
Nowadays, the immigrants, legal or illegal, are mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, or other such shirt(-r)holes, and don't seem to give a flying fcuk for anything except, "Me, me, me", and the attitudes and practices that made the place they came from into a shirt(-r)hole. And they want us to change to accommodate them.
It's getting to the point where I'm willing to say, "Ship them back whence they came. Cattle Class." Especially the illegals. And I'm normally pretty tolerant.
G.
The plugs farting at the climate clusterfark is taking wind on the inner tubes.
Pretty normal stuff for vaccines: they lose effectiveness over time. The mRNA tech is doing a lot better than the traditional J&J vaccine. Anyway, I’ll happily get the booster when it arrives – right now, it’s only available here for people over 65, but that will change soon…
The story going around here in Texas is that they are giving the booster shots to anyone who shows up. Since the booster shot is essentially the same as the first shot, it is a reinforcement of the original vaccine.
I do know that the Moderna vaccine has been modified for the delta case. One would hope that the modifications will also help against the coming omega case. I do not know if the Pfizer vaccine has has been modified for the delta case.
>> The plugs farting at the climate clusterfark is taking wind on the inner tubes.
So Plugs needs a plug??
The Joetato can create his own theme music.
I really don’t like subbing for teachers that think I am an expert in their subject. I have not been in a public school classroom in 52 years. No, I cannot factor an equation, no I cannot do valences for chemistry, no I cannot quote Shakespeare, no I cannot provide significant events of the Spanish American war.
No, I don’t have access to Google classroom, no I do not have accces to the grading system, no I don’t know where the supplies are kept, no I cannot print 50 copies on the school printer. No, I cannot grade papers.
I am a sub, a glorified baby sitter, who keeps students from smacking each other, and confiscates cell phones.
I can also fart like a Biden. In fact, next time I do discharge I will say I “did a Biden”.
@Ray Thompson
"No, I cannot factor an equation, no I cannot do valences for chemistry, no I cannot quote Shakespeare, no I cannot provide significant events of the Spanish American war."
phhtt! Why would you? They wouldn't pay any more.
I can do all of the above.
You know what I can't do? Tolerate a roomful of those little bastards, with "tolerate" loosely meaning "let live through the day". Well, that's overstating it. I don't make a habit of killing teens, neither teen boys (the second stupidest and most annoying thing on the planet) nor teen girls (the stupidest and most annoying thing on the planet). But the fact is that I can barely tolerate groups of teens for a couple hours, no more than every month or two.
Keep on doing what you're doing, Ray, as long as it suits you. Not many can and will babysit a roomful of marginally civilized, marginally sapient not-quite-humans.
I loved volunteering with the 4th and 5th graders. Haven't found the motivation for the 7th graders.
n
The age group of 14-16 seem to be the most annoying. Texting about others where if the same we’re said about would leave them in floods of tears. Sniping behind each others back. Stabbing each other in the back. Trying all manner of tricks to hide cell phones but be quickly and sneakingly accessible. Lie when asked if they have completed their work. Trying not to talk actually causes physical pain.
I do it to help the school. And I am known as a strict SOB who takes no crap off anyone. Get on my bad side and they go to office, no second chances. The freshmen have to learn that. It only takes a couple of examples to have word spread, quickly. Many of the kids don’t like me and that is fine. I don’t want to be their friend.
A couple of years ago I captured a cell phone, second offense. Students gets mandatory 3 days in alternative school. Parents must drop off and pick up, far end of the county, very inconvenient hours. The parent threatened me. I told the school VP, who told the school resource officer, who paid a visit to the parents. No more problems. Student was no longer in the school.