leh-nerd skin-erd

I had responded to you, considered what you wrote after taking care of some other tasks and realized what you were talking about with respect to the op allowing me to complain. While I did not intend to complain (and didn't, not about compensation anyway) I can see where it appears that was my goal. My bad there. Part of that was actually in response to your post just prior to mine, and an attempt to offer perspective as to why parents (customer) expect certain things from a teacher/school (service provider), whether fair or not. I think it triggered me when you painted a vivid portrait of working in a school akin to walking the yard at Attica, and who might or might be able to handle a day. Pursuit of enlightenment and higher education is a noble goal for the right person. Pursuit of higher education to achieve a more stable employment situation with regard to salary and benefits is noble as well. Did we disagree on this issue?

"Qualified" to be recognized as a world renown expert on the subject of "Is Being a Teacher Hard?", no. Qualified to offer an opinion on a message board where the question posed was "Do you think teaching is a hard job?", where you yourself wrote several paragraphs on the relative nature of hardness (gross--and damn you for making me type this), love for ones avocation as it relates to hardness (disgusting) , and your days as a pizza delivery man, I'm as qualified as anyone in the world. To the bolded, I understand--emphasis on 'to me'. So, when considering and contemplating the job being hard, it's a presumed 10-12 hour day, every day. There is downward pressure on efficiency ("More, we need more, we need faster"), the risk off accident and/or injury a daily occupational (and thus employment) hazard, a high likelihood of physical impairment due to repetitive motion, gps tracking of whereabouts, time spent at a given stop/on break etc and the downward pressure of management on reducing time across the board, and in this particular case, concerns about guarantees as it relates to income once retirement commences. Don't get me wrong--I'll mention the drive along the ocean with the air pods, tank top and breaks for sun tanning next time I speak to my relative, but I got the feeling that wasn't the vibe in the upstate NY city in which he operates. So--my definition of what constitutes hard employment may be different from yours because we have different perspectives. That does not equate to real easy, no big deal, unworthy or anything else. I respect the job and the people who do it, I really don't know how else to say it. People have opinions on everything, from politics to lifestyle choices to cell phones to cost of the gas bill and so on. Why would you assume that wouldn't be the case with education? Again, let's be clear: I can't speak to the folks on the big Island, but I never said, suggested, or implied that teachers are lazy and terrible. I've had no interaction with any educator and administrator that remotely came close to that sort of conversation, rather, I interact respectfully and expect nothing but the same in return. My children had teacher's that they (and we) loved, I've had them in my life and they are a gift indeed. Does that mean nothing else can ever be discussed? Last weekend, I hung out with an old friend who is a middle school math teacher. We have conversations about these subjects and miraculously, we got through it without punches thrown, tears shed or anguish in our hearts. His general philosophy is that there are some very good teachers and some very soft teachers, and he respects the good ones and the soft ones bug him more every year. So...you wouldn't use the word 'hard' based on your definition, I didn't use the word 'hard' in my definition, but we make the skip, hop and jump to "teachers are lazy and terrible" when I said nothing of the sort? Next poll question: Is teaching a challenging job? My answer: Yes! Of course it is. Most jobs are challenging. I own a small business, I manage expectations, people, salaries, unexpected diversions, supply chain logistics, regulators, the odd creepy individual, retirement plans, terminations, hiring, facility management, and pressure for production. My job is challenging, but I wouldn't describe it as hard. Maybe that's just an attitudinal thing. I had to come back and edit my response here because with regards to the spirit of the original post, I got off track and should have stayed on track. Kudos to @SoTier for pointing that out. I'm not all that complicated. I read the proposal. I noted the plan with respect to infrastructure and things like air conditioning (I'm not anti-air conditioning, plumbing, roofing or security for our children btw) , and noted the line item of $9,000,000 just in case. When I read the part where they indicated "If we don't need it, trust us we'll just spend it" I came to the conclusion it was a slush fund. My assumption was that since we were dealing with professionals and budget referendums, the $34,000,000 quite righteously included projections for cost overruns and unforeseen events, so the actual need was probably 10% less than the ask. I understand that. So, actual cost $30m, with cushion $34m. Slush fund $9m. Too much. Then again, when my house was built and the agreed on price was $255,000, I probably would not have even blinked had the builder told to give him $320,000 just in case. I'd have just given it to him so he didn't call me cynical. Yup--drug cartel. That's obviously what I was thinking. I actually confronted a teacher from the middle school, but did so in the aforementioned rational and reasonable approach. "Hey Mrs. Smith. You teach math. I saw the $9m the admin is shaking us down for. You're setting up a meth lab in the catacombs below the gym, right?". She didn't answer, honestly she looked a bit concerned and my wife was like "No cartel talk in church!". Bonus to employees on a budget referendum for building and facilities would be bad for the same reason hidden and deceptive bonuses are bad in other industries. The appearance of impropriety is obvious. It is perfectly understandable that you would see 'choice' with respect to cost and choice of schools as a silly argument. You're a beneficiary of the system, and I'd likely think it a silly argument if I was in your shoes. I already indicated what might constitute a hard job, Transpy. I'll add a few others. Nurse. Trauma nurse/doctor. Commercial fisherperson. Farmer. Corrections officer. Police officer. Bomb squad bomb dude. Fireman. I'm not sure why you see my comment as at all outrageous or offensive? A small percentage of individuals can do a job well, but that doesn't make the job innately hard as I see it. Based on your criteria, btw, I'd have been an exceptional teacher. I don't think you're confused...I think you're being argumentative. I think that mostly because, as I mentioned previously, you wrote several paragraphs about the same subject when a simple "Yes, being a teacher is hard!" or "Not hard, but challenging!" would have sufficed. By the way, I never said the UPS gig was the only hard job in the world--and just in case you think my secondary list is all-inclusive, for the record it is not.

Interestingly, there are no mandatory q restrictions when folks from adjoining states travel into/out of NY. So, guy from Danbury heads to Fla, parties with Will in Miami, flies back home. Guy from upstate flies direct, stays put in a private residence, largely avoids crowds but does dine at an outdoor establishment , distanced & masked a night or two. Three days before returning home, he dutifully goes to a Walgreens, waits his turn for a nasal swab, performs the function and returns to vacation. He too flies back home, along the way learning he’s COVID free. The next day, the guy from Danbury drives into NY, stops at a deli and grabs a bac/egg and cheese, pumps gas, heads to work, eats lunch out at a restauranr, hits the local Walmart and heads home. The Upstate guy is handled differently. He’s tracked like a flight risk, harassed with texts that make no sense and appear to be spam, he quarantines for 4 long days, drives to a local college and has a baton shoved up his nose and two days later finds out he’s not a super spreader. He returns to work. My theory is that NYC residents and those from surrounding areas looked at the bs surrounding our gov regulation and said “F$&@ this”.

Alas, it’s squirrely, and you can’t trust anything reported. From start to finish it’s been a pandemic no one can trust.

This is an interesting topic, glad you started it. I think it gives us the opportunity to reset a bit from the haymakers thrown at each other. Just yesterday @transplantbillsfan implied/inferred that I had a major issue with the NY public school system. To be fair, I can understand why he might feel that way. Between thoughts exchanged, the occasional busting of chops and some personal feelings I have on this subject, I can understand his perspective although that's not accurate. First--we start at the beginning. I have a healthy respect and admiration for any person undertaking an honest days work for an honest days pay. Janitor, dentist, Walmart greeter, postman, civil servant, construction worker, plumber and of course, teacher. I've benefitted from some excellent experiences with teachers/professors/coaches, I appreciate the time and effort they put in, but for me it was always less about the job of being a "teacher", more about the individual. As with every other walk of life, I've encountered my share of average to apathetic teachers, and a precious few were just nasty people. Most weigh in at just about average. For me, it's not so much about teaching being 'hard', it's about it not being easy. As Deek pointed out, there are many. many professions that I personally would consider 'hard', and teaching doesn't fall into that category. I have a family member who works for UPS, and I would classify what he does as hard. Long hours. The occasional difficult customer. Very difficult management structure. The cumulative tens of thousands of jackasses on the road each and every day playing frogger with a big old box truck. On the other hand, he'd probably tell you he is well-compensated and he rarely if ever actually complains about it. Before insulting anyone, let me also state that teaching isn't easy. Part of the challenge is that regardless of what the individual teacher might want to believe, the reality in NY is that it's a benefit rich job with virtual cradle to grave entitlements and as a result, with funding by way of school tax going directly from taxpayer to teacher (at least in part) and the expectation is that the service provided should be exceptional. Whether it is or isn't is in the eye of the beholder, one would assume that a non-teacher will have a different perspective on what success looks like than a teacher will. My own thought process is that far too often, the tail wags the dog. A few years ago, our district was looking to do some improvements, add some teachers, upgrade a computer lab and so on. The cost of the project was $34,000,000, but the district included a $9,000,000 slush fund 'just in case', and incredibly advised voters that if the money wasn't needed, it would just be used for whatever else the district thought made sense. Just prior to the referendum, a number of concerned citizens conducted a grass roots campaign to defeat the referendum, and it worked. The superintendent was disappointed and felt the vote was mischaracterized, but as far as I can tell, all that happened was a light was shined on the district and some questionable business practices were revealed. I'd think--like most jobs--a relatively small percentage of the general population can be a successful teacher. The offshoot (NY specific) is that compensation is good, benefits exceptional and career shelf life very attractive. 30 years and out, retirement at 55, a financial obligation on the tax payer to fund the retiree for another 32 years (actuarily speaking) at a cost of a couple million dollars before we even talk about health care is an awesome package--but ultimately unsustainable. By the way--another issue that drives frustration for me on this subject...with business large and small struggling to simply stay afloat during the pandemic, and scores of businesses (often the enemy of the left) doing their level best to give back, forgive, reassess and reallocate to help the American people...I found it quite telling that when it came time to pay the tax bill to fund the government, the ONLY accommodation made was that the local town tax offices had reduced (or non-existent) hours to serve the public. To boot--tax was due, on time, postmark date required under penalty/threat of law. That's just the system we live in, and it's part of the reason there can be some animosity directed towards it. That is all. Humbly, I suggest that you may have lacked the temperament to be an effective teacher over the long haul.

Eliot Spitzer engaged in trafficking and prostitution while governor, there would seem to be any number of state and federal laws along the way. I mean that was before people cared about that sort of thing, but still, he was allowed to simply go home and live his best life. Cuomo isn’t going to jail, and he’d probably make a pretty good show of it if he decides to run again. That’s NY politics.

“Tibsy could not be here today as he thought the ceremony was a week from Tuesday. He did want to say “All the other nominees are losers and can *&$# a big *&$#”.

Damn. I did not see that coming, even if that’s what she said. Your point.

Sure. Colon blow.

Spread it around, but be wise. We have discovered @Chef Jim and @SoCal Deek are old as F, so they'll just buy Metamucil and prune juice. My boy @transplantbillsfan will just do something level-headed, like buy those chunky pencil erasers (because he's old school) or pay down a debt that the Cancellor King Biden is going to forgive by executive decree and by uttering the following words "COME BEFORE ME, BOY, AND THOUST DEBT SHALL BE VANQUISHED". @BillStime has a curfew and mentioned once that he is an investor in Mallow Cup dollars--he calls it "the original crypto-currency", but where's he going with that? Magic Xray specs? He can't be trusted with that sort of power. @Over 29 years of fanhood has some game, this is true, he swipes at those on the right and those on the left...but one must wonder who shot his avatar? That was no accident and coincidentally, he lives in Maryland. No, the way I see it, it's down to you, @I am the egg man, @B-Man, and me. I'm the easy choice. I have nothing bad to say about Eggs (drinker) nor B-Man (also drinks), I just think we split up that stimuli fitty/fitty and see what it buys us.

I’ve been alive in excess of 21,000 days and this may be be the high water mark of my existence. I’ll take it.

I was somewhat sincere on the question about the use of your stimulus, but I recognize that folks have to do what's in their best interest in this and any other environment. In that regard, for every individual complaining about 'tax breaks for the wealthy', it's apparent that those folks are just following the same course of action that you did. Job 1 is take care of yourself and your family. It certainly would have been helpful for the greater good had you spread that around at local businesses, restaurants, or maybe at those tiki bars we hear all about on the HGTV. Maybe you could have had your hair set in corn rows and thrown the stylist a tip with some of it. That said, I get it. Pay down the debt with the windfall. I spoke with a man today who received his stimulus, didn't really need it as his income was not impacted by the lockdown, and he told me he was going to a local sports book to bet on a Yankee game. That's not my cup of tea, but I suppose if he enjoys it, he's frequenting a local establishment that provides jobs for people and everyone wins. On the student loan cancellation--which isn't a cancelation at all, it's just the govt repatriating the debt obligation to others, I'm perpetually surprised by the people who support such a scheme. I understand the '31 times blah blah blah' and 'average family blah blah blah', but that's simply the fine art of manipulating people into assuming victim status. Here's the deal on a local level--you made a choice to attend school XXX, to pursue a degree in XXX, at a cost of XXX. The choices included community college, night school while working during the day, considerations on commuting or attending school where room and board was required, and the time frame in which you completed your education. You've spoken passionately about your avocation, so surely you knew some of the benefits of your chosen profession. One would assume you knew of some of the limitations. You presumably feel validated in your profession, exchange your services for appropriate financial consideration, and are able to meet your debt obligations. Why is that someone else's burden to carry? This question is rhetorical of course, I have no idea if you followed a prudent course of action or not, but college debt does not simply appear on ones balance sheet. In most cases, it's a 22 year work in progress to obtain, and a multi-year marathon of misplaced priorities, entitlements, and poor decision making to sustain. I am convinced there has not been a weaker, more opportunistic class of educated beggars in the history of our country, and it troubles me. Given the numbers thrown around, we literally can see multiple generations of family members looking to relieve themself of the debt they tripped over themselves to incur by signing up at the soon to be announced Student Loan Soup Kitchen where the Nittany Lion victims go to the left, the Cal-Berkely to the right, and the SUNY NY shoots right up the middle. But sure, $10k off one's debt obligations is a great start for some, a real kick in the jimmy for those burdened with the debt. As for the vaccine, I'm a live and let live guy. I haven't witnessed widespread disturbances by the unmasked that you reference, but I most definitely acknowledge a simmering skepticism about virtually everything we are being told about masks, vaccines and death rates. I think it's highly inappropriate to suggest withholding stimulus checks simply because someone else has a #mybodymyrules set of values different than yours. It's supersized imo by the massive amount of money going to folks who simply do not need the stimulus to begin with, and that starts with public sector and federal employees. Glad you were not impacted financially by the crisis---and I hope that your next contract works the way you want it to go.

Sure, whatever you say of course, but what happens when the next crazed gunman comes in with the 5 clips, someone intervenes between clips 3 & 4 and only 6 souls are lost. The gun control crowd sits back and says...what? I’m personal anti-nuclear weaponry, hand held or mounted on a Jeep Gladiator/2016 Toyota Prius btw. What a sad day.

Good golly. You would support withholding of federal stimulus funds for your fellow citizens unless they acquiesce to compulsory vaccination, take a $1400 designed to “stimulate” the economy and use it for self-serving purposes, and are a supporter of the student loan debt soup kitchen as well? Was your income affected at all by the lockdown? I have friends here in NY who work in govt— the lockdown was really an unexpected windfall for them. Salary continued unabated, but with the shutdown, the money they saved not having to commute was substantial. As for the student loan program, how do you feel it should be addressed? How much debt of those victimized by higher education should be “tackled” and who should be saddled with the debt?

I'm not certain how we hash out this whole name issue and make everyone happy. On the one hand, for far too long, the tyranny of last name first, first name last has victimized so, so many of us. You're in class, they go through Abramson, Billings, Carter, etc, if you're surname-challenged--by the time they get to you, all the good jokes are taken, all the mispronunciations laughed at, and you're basically an afterthought...a perpetual outlier. Is that fair? Has no one stopped to think what damage that can do to the psyche of a child? On the other hand, the pressure to be first on the list--first in roll call, first to raise your hand, sitting there, knowing with every fiber of your *&^%ing being that once it starts, it's game on. Hell, just think of all the junk mail an A person gets. Not a damn thing you can do about it. It's inevitable. Certainly it must be overwhelming at times. That said--and I'm just working through how I feel about this Florida thing, it seems to me that the very fabric of our democracy should not be imperiled by the administrative decision to list candidates by first name first. Am I alone here? I mean, it's not foolproof---what if every candidate has the same name? That could be confusing. What if the preferred name is actually a nickname? Let's say a guy like our own @Gene Frenkle decides to run for office--he's a solid middle of the packer alphabetically any way you slice it--what if he goes by "Ace"? Is he the number #1 seed and quite frenkly, if he identifies as Ace shouldn't he be? Maybe it's just me, but I think voters should be able to hash this all out at the ballot box. Sure, they would need some time to get comfortable with the format but I have faith in our collective strength as a nation. I don't know anything about this Rodriguez fellow, and whether or not his parents had the foresight to give him an alphabetically entitled first name when he was born. I'd think not, but you never know and as you've not at all arbitrarily suggested, he's 'crooked'. This is a hot button issue for you, So, and while we frequently disagree, on this one I feel your pain. I've never shared this before, but while many here know me as leh-nerd skin-erd...my real name is Arturo Ziebgniewicz. #imattertoo

I got nothing. 🤓

You misunderstood, and now I have to correct the record. I was treated like family, accepted from the get go. I was actually quite lucky beyond any reasonable expectation. I have wonderful in-laws—in those early days my father in law dedicated 18 months of his life to helping my wife and I remodel our first home, and when I say ‘helped’ I actually mean “he remodeled our first home”. I can’t actually recall when the kisses started, probably after we moved away and didn’t see them as much, certainly by the time our children came. Nonetheless, it’s fair to say early on I was just a kid dating his daughter, hanging around his house and it was what it was. As the father of a daughter myself, I understand that. Anywho, if we meet at a future wedding, I’d be surprised if ya gave me the lean in, but I suppose it’s possible. Saluté! Brad Pitt probably plays me in the movie. That’s all I was saying. I’m German, in part, and I rarely contemplate world domination any more.

I was going to take issue with @Niagara Bill and the whole stereotype of Italian men at weddings grabbing everyone by the face and giving them the old double kiss but thought—why bother. This isn’t about a random wedding. I don’t speak for every Italian family, but in the one I married into, the kisses are for close family members (my father in law kisses my cheek every time I see him, though in the early days of our relationship nearly 40 years ago not so much🤣). It’s not some wild double cheek Thunderdome for every man, woman and child that might work with your youngest daughter’s friend from accounting, or the young lady from HR who you take a shine to. On top of that, he’s been a fixture in NYS govt for a couple decades. He’s had every sexual harrasment training under the sun, with deep dives into violating personal space, professional behavior, the power dynamic at play and microagressions by the score. That’s all before he #metoo’d it up.

Ain’t been blowing like that around a democrat since the Lewinsky days!

Good clean American fun.

Maybe the voice sounds different in your head this time, but you’ve typed the same thing twice. That’s still on you. You’re like a petri dish of crazy today. Gold, indeed. 🤣

It seems likely that if that was what I meant I could have grouped those word a together. What I meant is what I said...but how you chose to interpret words that said nothing of the sort speaks volumes about the way you really see things.

A mainstream publication offered an op Ed about whiteness being a pandemic. Men = toxic has been the rage for quite some time. This ugliness is mainstream and it’s a damn shame. Still, most of us go about our daily lives never slugging it out in the streets with our neighbors. Let’s work together, isolate the crazies, recognizing that when 8 people are murdered but only 6 are worth mentioning, it’s an ugly day in America. I never said my idiot didn’t lose, but certainly have said that your idiot is president even though he thinks Harris is president. Then again I’m not afraid of myself as you suggested yesterday, though sometime I do find myself unapproachable.

In fairness I said the same thing about teams after a what by most accounts was a pretty successful flag football career at a small to medium sized SUNY school in the early 80s. Time to man up—I was wrong, probably in part because I was a second string linebacker on a team that went 6-4. I never even got any looks.

The genius of Donald Trump was that he hid in plain sight for all those years, working deals with other business owners, government, local municipalities, unions and the like. He played the long game, under the radar, an enigma, all the while a spy—a Putin puppet positioned precariously close to the pinnacle of power. Or, so says Tibsy.