Too posh to make sense

OK...it's' been bugging me all day and I'm too lazy to look it up.
I need to know: How many pounds are in a stone?

I keep hearing the british researcher down the hall exclaim about how her husband msut have put on a stone over the holidays. Like it's bad.
Now that word is bouncing about in my head (mostly as I have no idea what it means...*ahem*) and I must know...what stone? Was it once based on a stone? Was it a *shiny* stone? A valuable one at least?
Did it have teeth?
What?
Is it just a polite way of making a weight seem smaller than it is?
I imagine it's linked to what some King did once with a rock or weighed or threw at someone before he died...am I getting warmer?

At least try the METRIC people.
Come on. Kilos maybe?
A whiffin of a tonne?
Sheesh!




But, Seriously tho. Anyone?
I'm dead curious...

All work and no play

Hey! You!
Want to know what *isn't* boring?
Entering 15 consecutive years worth of data.
Yeah, yeah...in fact, I can just tell that these last 3 years remaining will be gripping, edge of your seat sort of data files...
The kind you make legends and myths out of...I can just tell.

Hrm. What to do?
Well there's nothing for it I suppose...

All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl
All work and no play makes Geo a dull girl


*ahem*
Hrrm...noone finshed up while I was away.
*sigh*
Well, back at it then...

All Yingy and Yangy with wobbly spurts in the middle

This weekend was both utterly amazing and totally annoying.
There was a dance party- a Star Wars themed one, and the music was amazing. My mellinium falcon was a tiny part of the decorations and the music was fabulous. The whole building was decorated up with rooms for Endor, The jedi palace, Mon Calamari and other themed rooms with comfy furniture. 4 different rooms of music all night...very good.
On the downside...still on strike, broke as hell now weekend and some prick put 2 dents in our car that must be fixed (and I can't really afford to but can't not do it)...and a friend's dog ate one of JJ's favorite shoes. I know money shouldn't be a problem, but it is getting to be...I don't even want to know the cost of car repairs.

So yeah...ying and yang all in a few days.
We did get to see Beowulf in 3D IMAX (really fantastic) and the weekend was an overall good one...we tried to be "normal" for a few days. It's just that being back here in "real life" and picketing in -20ish with snow and wind is daunting...but it can't go on forever. We had our vote today on our crappy offer form the University. I hope it was voted down "no" very strongly and we can end this soon in negottiations. We'll know by the evening.

I will try my best to be optimistic...we'll see how it goes. And I'll post some photos from the Star Wars shindig in a little while...I didn't make a big costume this year...no $$ or time, but I did dress up like Luke on Dagobah and have a lightsaber on my belt and my yoda on my back. It really was a great time all in all...one of the DJs kept playing all my favorite songs in his set...and there were performing bellydancers that were amazing - one girl danced with 2 swords balanced on her head. Wow.
But now, I must go do some data entry. I picked up a bit of work I can do at home for some $$ and should get at it so we can pay some bills...I am trying to avoid going to retail...we'll see.
Later tater...

Tired. of. it. thank. you. very. much.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

OK...we've been off work 20 days now.
20 Freaking days.
Our negotiators finally convinced our employer to meet with us....and after 2 days, there is no change in anything and we were actually given the same offer as before that we went out on strike on...it actually has a few things *less* in it.
And...AND the union offered to the university to go to arbitration to settle it all...and to go back to work WHILE this was being done. The university said "no, let the union members vote on the offer first". So basically after being off work 20 days our employer is hoping we'll be broke enough and tired enough we'll just accept the same offer we wouldn't before. They haven't budged...but I say we shouldn't give in? Why should we vote yes on something we already refused?

I say to my employer - How stupid do you think we are? Don't you want us back helping the students?
YES I'd like to go back to work.
YES I want this all over with....but I'll be damned if I just froze my ass off for a principle over 3 weeks to give in, go home and have done it all for nothing with an entire month of debt hanging over my head.
Bring on the arbitrators. Whatever they say I'll take...it's the only way out and I'm tired of beurocrats playing parlor games with my life.

All I know is it'll be at least another week before we get our vote over with and (I hope) the arbitrator called in to hammer out a deal for both of us to take...meanwhile the students are being royally screwed over...and so are we. If the university really cared about the students and wanted it over they'd just go to arbitration...but them being unwilling to do so just...well...it stinks. It shows why we're out here in the first place.
I have to say...I love my job, but right now I am just plain tired of it all.

I am tired of having people yell at me from cars while I picket, give me the finger and tell me to go back to work (altho today a group of students said we should all go home and have sex so we'd be happier and strike a deal...that was the most reasonable thing I'd heard all morning...). I'm tired of being broke. I'm tired of having to tell people why I'm off work and can't afford to go out and why the students are suffering from this. I'm tired of having to resort to this in order for the university to treat us fairly. I'm tired of walking about on eggshells hoping nothing else goes wrong.
ENOUGH already.
End this.

*sigh*
Can't we all just get along???

PS - I'd like to add that this post is in no way inspired by assembling a tricky, half missassembled model and inhaling fumes from entire tubes of crazy glue and super glue. Nope...none whatsoever. I'm almost done in fact. Had to break form the fumes.

Warning - rant ahead...

I just have a few things to say to very few people:

When picketing in a province where the cold can freeze your limbs off - WEAR A F*CKING HAT AND GLOVES! I am not your mother with a bag full of warm wrappings to keep you toasty. Yes it's cold - you may notice my winter boots, long johns and thermal hat and gloves - why? Cuz it's damn cold and windy and we'll be here for 4 hours at a time! It's only -6 and it's only gonna get colder. No I can't guarantee if there will be hot coffee for you. No there isn't a tent for shelter and no you can't have an hour off your 4 hour picket shift to have freaking lunch. No you can't bring a lawnchair and blanket and hang out for 4 hours just drinking coffee. Whining is not cool OK?

GAH!

We are here picketing to protest people. Yes it sucks and yes you must put in 20 hours a week to get paid a very small sum, but I am in this to help it all go smoothly, and because I strongly believe in what we're doing. If you don't want to be here then DON'T. It's a work stoppage, not a lounge session! Noone is making you picket. I know this isn't easy...but we have to band together if this is going to work.

(deep breath)
*ahem*

There. Ah. Better. Sorry about that. I've had a few days of a few winey people really bringing down morale.
Things are slowly coming together and most of the people on the picket line rock hard with disco lighting...but we're gonna be lame protesters if we don't get our act together - whining doesn't inspire respect.
It only takes a few whiners to bring down morale.
We just started people!
Lets get together and shout and yell and make some noise until they hear us and we get a fair comprimise of a deal.

We are the people of the People's University - we deserve some respect.
Rock on.

Countdown

We're right on the line...picket teams are set and ready to go and we could go out on strike at any time.
I just can't believe it's come to this...why won't people just negotiate fairly with their workers?
Why are we forced to do this?
I and many others can't afford this...and yet we can't just give in to blatant infringement on our basic rights and earned wages and benefits. I'm not even very prounion and I can understand what is driving us to this.

This sucks.
I'm gonna go mope in the lab...

To squeam or not to squeam...that is the question

Nothing like watching some schlocky scary movies to make you a bit paranoid.

Now I know I know there *probably* isn't an axe wielding maniac in my basement or a haunted wooden man in my yard named Morty (yup these were some *BAD* bmovies!) but I had an odd conversation with J the other day and the thoughts been prowling in the back of my head - just how much personal information should I be spewing out on here? I'm careful to not post anything to get me introuble with work/people I know...but just how much personal info is too much? I can't be too private. I'm careful to keep the blogger me separate from the "real" me from the "facebook" me. Not that I think you're all out to get me...it just doesn't seems like a smart idea. And really - noone cares :) I do blather on a lot about my real life and anyone who knows me knows me...but I do leave the odd bit of personal info out so that, hopefully, noone gets the idea to stalk me or otherwise make my life creepy or inconvenient, by oh, say robbing me or getting me in trouble at work or something. Having my ebay hacked a while back has made me a little more paranoid about such things. I don't pretend to think my average life is one to take fanatical interest in...just maybe a theif watching and figuring out where I live to rob me or maybe someone have too much personal info about me. I'm rather reluctant at the moment to post about certain things...and yet the whole point I started this ages ago was as an outlet for me (I never thought anyone would bother to read it) and to keep in touch with friends far away. I (to a fault) believe the best in people and assume their interest are also in line with mine. I sincerely hope I never have reason to think otherwise. In fact I really don't want to think otherwise.

Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

I'm onto you el creepos.
Beware the geeks among you!
We're paranoid *and* we're smart.