5 years ago, I was deep in the financial hole. Lost my job for a year. Every credit card I got was nearing max and I was just barely making minimum payments.And would you believe I was still paying off my college loan?
Now?
1. I am one month away from paying off the last of my credit card debt. I paid off my college loan 2 years ago.
2. I just 8 months away from paying off my car loan, if I double my payments. Which is now doable. Maybe more since it is now my last major outstanding debt. Which I had to get in 2011 when some moron smashed into me at 60 mph and I was standing still. Because he was texting. *still makes me mad when I think about it.*
So in November 2015, I can declare financial independence. I might be able to up it to July of 2015. Which might be more appropriate.
So whatever date this happens I will finally be free this year from the tyranny of debt. I feel like singing!
Of course the big question is..now what? I'm saving for retirement..check..what else do I need to do?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

So, was musing on music. And I tend to have a few things either in the back of my mind, or when I'm listening along and it comes up and I thinkm that's just perfect.

SS Ciara:
The Furey's = The Lonesome Boatman
Pioneering Yamato
What the crew actually sings. With a few changes and tongue firmly in cheek
The Anthem - When Director-Kun took a trip aboard

KM Lun/Lun Alekseeva:
??????????
What everyone else thinks it should be. If they're being kind
Snova V SSSR What Lun will actually listen to.

Melchizedek:
The Final Frontier - Iron Maiden

Jet Jaguar:
Driving with the Top Down - Iron Man OST. Suggested by Logan Darklighter a long time ago...
Echoes - Pink Floyd - "Best enjoyed on your own, drifting in space, a lightyear from anything but dust with no-one but eternity for company"
Hey Brother - Avici With Mackie....

Ford Sierra:
I'm in Love with my Car - Queen
Whateveryone thinks it should be Despite her best efforts.

Mackie Jaguar:
Titans of our Time - Iron Saviour
Pretty Fly for a White Guy - Offspring

Daryl Haur.
Himmelsturmer - Megahertz
Nurburgring - Rush Soundtrack

Anika Daini:
Purupuru pururin rin -- Anika's really tough. I don't know many songs.

Kotono Daini:
Cold Season of Love - Pink and the Killers
Victory - Kinuuko Oomori

Shinji Ikari:
Shini - Evangelion OST -- What everyone expects when they meet him
Twilight - ELO -- With historical context, this fits perfectly.

Anybody got any other suggestions....
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

Which is the title of an actually quite interesting http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/bizarre- ... ortal.html]article at Vulture.com (apparently a web spin-off/subsidiary of NY Magazine).  Worth a read, surprisingly.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

First, let me begin:

I am what is known as a "weather weenie": That is, someone who loves weather.  In fact, I am currently majoring in meteorology in college.

So anyway, about a couple of weeks ago or so I found this article about a book coming out (What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross) about the devastating tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011.  The article said that the author was going on a book tour and would be hosting a launch party in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 11.

After some talking with my dad, we decided to go down to that launch party and book signing.  Well, we drove down to Birmingham (staying overnight in one of the hotels there).

There, I got to meet not only the author (and have my copy signed), but I also got to meet some of the people who were featured in the book.  That was certainly an interesting experience.

I even got to meet James Spann, chief meteorologist of ABC 33/40 (Birmingham's ABC affiliate).  He's a very cool guy who runs the Alabama Weather Blog and hosts the long-running podcast WeatherBrains.  We got to talk some, and he was notably impressed about my knowledge of the storms that have ravaged Alabama at one point or another (he even signed my copy!).

At one point, I commented to Dad that I was "flying high," to which he responded, "Why do drugs when you can follow your passions?"

Now, how cool is that?

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156
The sun has set on the Discworld forever.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31824040

So, what does this mean for the show? (I suspect Clarkson will end up on a program on some other network...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

As I may have mentioned back when they hired me, my current employers are (even after several years) a web startup.  They are periodically given infusions of cash by their parent company as they approach profitability.  (And they are approaching profitability; break-even and beyond was forecast for this quarter.)  However, for reasons best known to them, the parent company stopped funding them today.  And although on the books the company is doing well, this end to funding means they are now dramatically cash-short.  So much so that they had to immediately lay off a third of their staff in order to be able to pay the rest.
So as of about 4:30 this afternoon, EDT, they are now my former employers, and I'm back on the market.
However, things are a lot better than they were in 2009.  And unlike then, I have been getting unsolicited emails from headhunters about very nicely-paying job openings for months now.  And I have an entire job search mechanism in place that I've successfully employed twice in the past few years.  I think I'll be okay, and employed again far more quickly than I was last time.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Apparently, for the next 24 hours or so, meth, along with ketamine, ecstasy and a couple of other things is perfectly legal to possess in the republic of Ireland. A judge in the appropriately named 'high' court ruled that the 37 year old law used to actually ban them, and a bunch of other 'legal' highs, was unconstitutional. And always has been.

This is of course, so absurd as to be hilarious. The whole world turns as one and goes 'Whu?' The absurdity of it all is highlighted by the Rubberbandits on Newstalk
http://www.newstalk.com/player/home/The ... bout_yokes

Salient and fairly serious points about mental health made here

Now then, the Dail is going to go into an emergency session to ram through a bill to correct this minor fuckup, but by the time the gears of the Oireachtas grind around and it slithers through the Seanad to the President's desk, at least 24-48 hours will pass.

But, until then....



Time to get cooking.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

... I offer this decidedly atypical installment of Hark, a vagrant: The Adventures of Tiny Hermione

(Although, if somebody flubs a spell while listening to Steve Martin's sketch about getting small, it might fit here.)