tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3371505665171391732024-03-05T15:54:08.972-08:00Bitter Man BlogBitter Man, Bitter Life.Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-72202075692695132522017-12-04T15:08:00.000-08:002017-12-04T15:08:11.793-08:00Million dollars is sure as hell enough to retire on so piss off.How many fucking times do I have to read an article on how a million dollars isn't enough to retire on... Always written by some fucker who makes their living by getting you to give your money to them to invest.<br />
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What a crock of shit.<br />
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Median income in the us is about 59k. Typical ss is 14k so if you can pull 40 - 50k from your retirement fund you are pretty much on the money.<br />
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Second - the 4% rule assumes that you want your money to last a really long time. I have no interest in leaving an inheritance for anyone so if I die at 90 after blowing my last 50k on one hell of a party I figure that for a win.<br />
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To wit - fuck you you stuffed shirt overpaid con artist assholes.Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-88299144060904715702016-03-12T23:58:00.002-08:002016-03-12T23:58:33.708-08:00The older I get the longer the list of things I don't give a shit about gets.Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-77848990775576294272015-10-28T15:36:00.001-07:002015-10-28T15:36:22.205-07:00Ben CarsonAre we seriously about to elect someone who thinks the earth is only 6,000 years old, evolution is a lie and vaccines are not a good idea? Our country is seriously fucked. Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-66583919834542981322015-09-20T19:24:00.001-07:002015-09-20T19:24:28.215-07:007 billion and countingThere is no possible way to justify pushing out another life into a world with over 7 billion people. Dear delirious "oh my god, I'm pregnant" women. Get a grip - adopt if you need some sort of life justification but trust me -the world doesn't need another one of you no matter how much organic crap you fill your $2,000 fridge with. Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-2397090982710955662015-09-02T05:17:00.001-07:002015-09-02T05:17:53.288-07:00No lives matterHere is a newsflash for all you fuckers waving about #blacklivesmatter flags or now coplivesmatter or maybe just livesmatter. <div><br></div><div>They don't. No one fucking cares. There are over 7 billion assholes and mouths on this planet that eat and shit every day. That is at least 2 billion more than matters. Let the pious and relatives, friends and family grieve but at the end of the day no one really gives a shit. </div>Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-33235177569778312192015-06-25T23:12:00.001-07:002015-06-25T23:12:11.889-07:00Life sucksAnd then you die. Grab the few moments of joy and hold on to them. Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-50307751375477418242015-06-22T13:37:00.001-07:002015-06-22T13:37:58.904-07:00The author of Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans is a dickAfter reading Lee Siegel's piece on "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/why-i-defaulted-on-my-student-loans.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans</a>" I can only conclude that he is a dick.<br />
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Lee comes across again and again like the arrogant self entitled little prick that he most likely is. While I agree with part of the piece (namely that colleges are raping the ignorant by inflating the tuition) he is approaching the problem by absolving himself from all personal responsibility for the choices he made. Yes, the overpriced university is (or has already) fucking him over - but Lee invited them to do so. Does Lee really think that there was no other option than overpaying for a private university tuition bill in order to become a writer? Maybe only expensive universities can teach you words like <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">reprehensible</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;"> and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">impecunious</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;"> but I doubt it. Simply allowing idiots like Lee to walk away from their debt is as moronic as rewarding the idiot home buyers who fed into the housing bubble.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="line-height: 23px;">No... the solution is to bring market forces to bear on the universities of the world. Do we really need as taxpayers to line the pockets of the million dollar/year university presidents and ranks and ranks of administrators? Making debt easier to get, and easier to get out of will simply continue to fuel the inflated prices that universities think that they can charge. Lee should be jailed and forced to break rocks with his puny girly-soft writer hands at minimum wage.</span></span></span></div>
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Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-51062404794872656362015-06-20T22:59:00.001-07:002015-06-20T22:59:50.551-07:00Happy fucking Father's DayWhen ever I hear a couple gleefully announce an impending birth my first thought is always the same. Good fucking luck. Good luck keeping your relationship with your wife intact. Sex will be rare and rushed. Good luck with no sleep and college savings. Good luck with adolescents - little bitches on hormones. Good fucking luck - like a world of billions really needs another asshole filling the world with shit. Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-80573278686472889142015-06-08T10:54:00.001-07:002015-06-20T23:02:36.678-07:00Marriage SucksSo you're getting married. Congratulations, felicitations and best wishes. May you be blessed with a long life, happy kids and pets that behave. Before you walk down the aisle with your lovely bride, here are a few words of advice from an older you - words of advice that your well meaning friends won't give you.<br>
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<h3>
You are probably going to get divorced.</h3>
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Not tomorrow and not next year. But with nearly 50% of marriages ending in divorce at some point, you are highly likely to have to deal with the big D at some point in your life. Think it won't be you? Think you'll beat the odds? Try this little though experiment. Find a 3 cylinder pistol and put one cartridge in - spin the wheel and then point it at your knee and pull the trigger. You've got a 66% change of walking away unscathed. On the other hand, you might just end up blowing off your own knee cap. You probably won't die, but you'll never be the same. Trust me, getting divorced as a 40 something with two kids is probably more damaging and painful. Think I'm exaggerating? Look up suicide stats for divorced men and realize how many of us end up pointing that gun at our own heads.<br>
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If you still think that divorce isn't something that will happen to you and doesn't warrant any planning on your part - congratulations. You're an incurable romantic. On the back of your dress shirt is a large $ sign that divorce lawyers will flock to like moths to a flame in a few years, but congratulations. The rest of this piece is for those of you who are a bit more realistic.<br>
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<h4>
1. The deck is stacked against you.</h4>
Simple fact. In most states, you are going to draw the short end of the stick when it comes to child support and child custody. You are going to end up on the losing side among all your 'shared friends' and you are going to be the homeless one. The courts will argue that they are acting in the best interests of the children - and since the courts still operate under 1950's ethics, as the man you aren't considered an equally competent parent.<br>
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2. Alimony sucks</h4>
Literally. Your lovely wife who probably has as much (if not more - given trends in female college attendance rates) education and job opportunities as you - and who will argue loudly in favor of equal pay - and who is at the time of marriage probably taking home a comparable paycheck will be in some states entitled to lifetime alimony from you. LIFETIME. Kids will come and in most cases, it will be your wife who takes time off from work and who drops out of the job market to watch the kids. Doing so drops her pay. Once divorce is final, your wife will have an opportunity to continue her part time (or no time) work schedule while you suddenly have to work double time to pay for her trips to the Bahamas, new car and home renovations - all while she tells the kids that you have abandoned the family and are doing nothing to help. Alimony sucks more than money, it sucks lifeblood.<br>
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3. Divorce disrupts everything</h4>
Trying to manage a divorce without the social support your wife enjoys - while working an extra job or two to pay alimony and child support - while living in a crappy appartment and trying to keep your kids happy can crush the best of us. I've heard countless cases of this pressure impacting work and your job performance - which in some cases leads to no job. If you are used to traveling around the world for business - guess again. In your post divorce world, business travel is almost impossible when you have limited chances at seeing your kids. Don't count on your job or current level of income persisting past the point of divorce. On the other hand you can count on your current salary being used to determine how much alimony and child support you can afford.<br>
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4. You won't see your kids as much</h4>
Here is the most ironic part. Remember your lovely wife telling you that you need to spend more time with the kids? That you need to help more with kids chores? That you should take them to the movies more often and work less? In the most ironic twist of fate, the big D instantly revokes all of this. Your ex (with the blessing of the courts) will tell you to work more and see the kids less. In my case, I was offered 4 nights per month with my own children. In my state you (as a male) stand no chance at getting sole custody and shared custody has to be agreed on by your wife (the courts won't grant shared custody in the event of disagreement on either spouse's part).<br>
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Once you don't have any custody in place you can't:<br>
pick your kids up from school without preapproved permission (I'm still listed as not permitted to pick up my 17 year old daughter from high school<br>
take your kids with you on vacation without a permission slip - which she doesn't have to give.<br>
sign permission slips for school activities<br>
bring your kids to counseling (my ex sent a cease and desist letter to the family therapist I was seeing when I started bringing my daughter with me to try and get us talking again).<br>
ask the courts to enforce visitation. My ex has often taken my girls away despite visitation schedule. Because I have no custodial rights all I get by complaining (or going to court) is a sympathetic "too bad for you".<br>
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So what to do? Probably too late to return the engagement ring, and the wedding is already scheduled so forget calling the whole thing off. Besides, if you do want to have kids, getting married is probably a good idea anyway - and hey, maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who celebrates their 63 wedding anniversary surrounded by adoring grandchildren.<br>
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<h3>
If you are going to go for it here are my top 6 things to do before and during marriage:</h3>
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<h4>
1. Get a prenuptial agreement</h4>
The ironic thing is that you probably don't have much in the way of assets to protect now, so the prenup seems overkill. But it isn't! You or your wife can't sign away statutory rights (like the right to child support) but you can agree on how to deal with the house, business ownership, inheritance and potentially child custody. If you get married without a prenup then you are an idiot. I did and I was.<br>
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<h4>
2. Maintain your own network of friends</h4>
Over the years, my friends stopped visiting the house (my ex didn't like them and didn't like surprise visits). When we divorced the "our" friends all turned out to be "her" friends and I was left without any social network of support. You don't know lonely until you are spending the first night at your crappy apartment with no kids, no friends and no where to go.<br>
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3. Maintain a separate "work" vs. "family and friends" network</h4>
It is easy in today's world to confuse coworkers with friends and blend your wife into your work relationships. In the event of a divorce this suddenly turns coworkers into haters and can be corrosive to your working environment.<br>
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4. Fund your wife's retirement account separately</h4>
When you divorce the court will seek to divide assets equally (unless you have the prenup written carefully). If you have funded you and your wife's account separately you stand a chance at keeping something intact.<br>
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5. Learn how to be a caregiver to your own kids.</h4>
The first time I packed for a family vacation for my daughters (10 and 5 at the time) I packed 4 pairs of socks and shorts, and forget underwear, pants, jackets, tooth brushes and just about everything else. Do you know what size diaper to buy? Do you have a relationship with the child care provider? Not only will you be better equipped to deal with your kids by yourself post divorce, but you'll stand a better chance of getting shared custody.<br>
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6. Lastly and most importantly - DON'T GET MARRIED IF YOU AREN'T SURE</h4>
Lonely sucks and marriage offers a chance at a stable relationship, economic stability and a warm and loving nuclear family. The pain of divorce pretty much negates all of these. Don't rush into it, break up quick if you don't think it will work out and move on. Getting on with your life is easier before marriage, is easier after only a few years of marriage and is easier after only one kid etc. My aunt died after have been married for 63 years to a man who sucked the life force out of her with years of verbal abuse. Shame on her for not having the will to fix a situation that was never going to get better.<br>
<br>Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337150566517139173.post-11698124706825567562014-06-08T11:17:00.000-07:002015-06-08T11:30:52.695-07:00Guns in School - all in favor say AyeI, like most every other parent in the US, have just received a nice letter from my school's principal outlying the school "security procedures" after the recent shooting. Reading through it makes it pretty clear that:<br />
1. This well meaning man has never spent any time holding or firing a gun<br />
2. He has never been in a hardened facility of any sort<br />
3. Our security procedures would never stand up to a determined assailant.<br />
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Now all those namby pamby liberals looking towards gun control as a solution can go to hell in a hand bucket. First off guns are already out there! Lots of guns. Big guns, small guns and all sorts in between. We love guns. Guns. Guns. Guns. Second off - meaningful gun control legislation will never pass. Hasn't. Won't.<br />
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So - what we really need to do it take a look at how to secure our schools. While I'm not a security expert I have spent time in well hardened facilities - most recently a nuclear power plant. I've also spent a fair bit of time around guns. Cleaning, firing and having a good time shooting things. So while I'm not an expert, I am better informed that my well meaning school principal and most liberal wonks.<br />
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Step 1: Harden the entrance<br />
Our school entrance is "monitored" by the school administrators. Seriously? A 60 year old former librarian wearing felt clogs? We need to start by making the entrance more secure.<br />
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a. arm the receptionist. In a well defended facility first greeters are armed with a loaded side arm, then behind them but within reach are muzzle down safety off M-16's or similar. There is plenty of space behind our receptionist's desk for some effective weaponry. A high caliber hand gun would be hard for her to control so I would recommend a composite smaller caliber semi-automatic with a back up assault rifle within easy reach.<br />
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b. reconfigure the reception area. A determined group of assailants could overpower even the best armed and trained librarian so there needs to be a secondary defense system. In an ideal configuration there is a protected area from which the second line of greeters can get line of sight on a group of attackers. From within this vantage point automatic fire can be deployed allowing a single individual to take out several intruders quickly. Our vice principals office is in a perfect location for this. Her office door could be easily hardened and a slot for a weapon could be installed with minimal expense. Her office has no windows so she can easily be used for this purpose. She was a russian literature major and may already be interested in weaponry so training her on automatic weapon tactics may be easy.<br />
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Step 2: Build a retreat path<br />
Because even the best prepared entrance defense may be defeated, it is necessary to have fall back strategies and defensive positions prepared in advance. Rolling bullet proof personnel shields should be deployed at every traffic corner in a defensive path towards a common area - in this case the cafeteria This would allow the school teachers and support personnel to deploy their own weapon and use the shields to fall back while laying down offensive cover fire. These shields are unobtrusive and would not cause any disruption of normal school routines.<br />
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3. Harden the perimeter<br />
Here we encounter the expensive part. Strategists have long realized that vehicles can be used as battering arms to go through walls and windows, so there needs to be a defensive perimeter established around the school yard. A break through moat covered with gravel and protected by barbed wire on either side would keep the kids off - while disabling any vehicle trying to break through. This would have the added benefit of encouraging parents to not park in fire lanes or drive on any unauthorized school property.<br />
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4. Protect during transportation<br />
Missing in this discussion is that the school bus itself contains children in a densely packed and largely unprotected environment. Many school bus drivers I've met have tended to be older Vermonters - many with former military experience. I would guess that most would welcome legislation requiring them to wear side arms.This would also act as a deterrence for kids who refuse to stop bouncing on the back seats while the bus is in motion. I would also add a course or two in defensive driving to their yearly license renewal process.<br />
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Because it is difficult to shoot accurately while in motion and driving I would also suggest equipping the bus with a secondary shooter armed with an accurate long range rifle. This would also allow the shooter + driver to keep the child under cover during the walk from the bus to the home. It would also discourage anyone from passing a bus while the red lights are flashing.<br />
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5. Reconsider<br />
Maybe the concept of gun control isn't too bad an idea after all.Bill P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16235886204320841261noreply@blogger.com0