Randomness XVIII: Ex-Vee-Triple-Eye

[PaganMegan]

Grump is tormenting students.

 

We just got an e-mail from the retreat.

 

Emergency meeting tomorrow night at nine. An effing game night, nine is about halfway through. Grrrr.

 

We will be deciding whether we want the Unitarians to take the retreat back over, since it looks like the Pagan group pretty much folded when Rich died.

 

The other option is to shutter it.

 

Amazingly, to me, the finances are all in lovely, lovely black ink. Covid did not sink us!

 

Resources are low but stable, we will need to inject some funds to start it back up, but the amount is less than preregistration brings in, so it is doable, even if preregistration is lower than our worst year.

 

We might need to cut back on events and presentations. But !ost are pretty cheap, only Ritual Magic needing much for resources, and RM and CM are not a huge presence anyway.

 

The real expenditure will be time, and that's what the meeting is about.

 

One of the agenda items is bringing back Grumpy as CFO. He THOUGHT he escaped that, two years ago.

 

I will happily throw him back under that bus!

 

Say what you will about Unitarians, they are very, very fond of keeping accurate financial records and paperwork!

If anyone is wondering, I am in the YES column on bring back the retreat, with the Unies in charge.

[Chaoswolf]

10 hours ago, Glitterwolf said:

just a few more hours, then Vacation!!!

Going anywhere special, or just relaxing at home?

 

1 hour ago, haldir said:

Anyone that has owned a hockey jersey aka sweater:

 

I've never owned but debating on getting one, do you use the same size you normally wear or is there a big difference in sizes?

Let me check with my wife and get back to you.

[sumbloke]

4 hours ago, Inarah said:

5 hours ago, Green Eyed Monsty said:

Which is no where near as dangerous as sleep big rig driving.

Have you ever seen big rig skid marks that look like they start in the center lane and then go off the right hand shoulder, maybe with a wobble?

That's evidence that somebody fell asleep behind the wheel and got woken up by the rumble strip, over-corrected, and put it in the ditch.

GEM

 

Seen a steel and concrete overpass get shifted 2ft off center by a driver who fell asleep and never woke up.    Also there's a black sooty spot on the concrete embankment across town where another driver tried to pass on the right and met a concrete divider for an off ramp and went up in flames.  

One time I was in a group driving to Melbourne for a tournament. We'd gone in three cars, the first two convoying and the third was coming a little after us. The first two had stopped and were thinking of grabbing dinner, but we weren't sure how far behind the third car was and whether we should wait for them, so I rang them.

 

Me: We're thinking of getting dinner. Should we wait for you?

Him: Where are you?

Me: Wagga

Him: What the #^@$ are you doing in Wagga?

Me: Ah, you haven't got to the detour yet...

 

We found out a bit later that the main highway was shut down because someone, using some combination of tiredness, excessive speed and/or drugs, had crashed in one of the small towns the highway went through. The detour added probably at least 45 minutes to the trip. And they would have been at least 40 minutes behind us, given they hadn't got to the detour yet.

[Chaoswolf]

[Mad Jack]

18 minutes ago, sumbloke said:

 

One time I was in a group driving to Melbourne for a tournament.

 

 I once had to drive twenty minutes out of my way because some knucklehead in a truck hadn't been paying attention to the height sign on the stone overpass and peeled back the first twenty feet of roof on his trailer.       It was literally rolled up like the top of a sardine can.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Mad Jack

[ManvsMini]

2 hours ago, haldir said:

Anyone that has owned a hockey jersey aka sweater:

 

I've never owned but debating on getting one, do you use the same size you normally wear or is there a big difference in sizes?

 

I wear the same size as I would buy a hooded sweatshirt/hoody, fit just fine (tshirt size for me varies by the brand, sometimes L sometimes XL, but always XL in hoodies). I've got long arms and didn't have a problem with sleeves. If you are a little more barrel-shaped in the torso and/or have very broad shoulders you might want one size up, but most people I know who have bought one get their normal size.

[Green Eyed Monsty]

1 hour ago, PaganMegan said:

Grump is tormenting students.

 

We just got an e-mail from the retreat.

 

Emergency meeting tomorrow night at nine. An effing game night, nine is about halfway through. Grrrr.

 

We will be deciding whether we want the Unitarians to take the retreat back over, since it looks like the Pagan group pretty much folded when Rich died.

 

The other option is to shutter it.

 

Amazingly, to me, the finances are all in lovely, lovely black ink. Covid did not sink us!

 

Resources are low but stable, we will need to inject some funds to start it back up, but the amount is less than preregistration brings in, so it is doable, even if preregistration is lower than our worst year.

 

We might need to cut back on events and presentations. But !ost are pretty cheap, only Ritual Magic needing much for resources, and RM and CM are not a huge presence anyway.

 

The real expenditure will be time, and that's what the meeting is about.

 

One of the agenda items is bringing back Grumpy as CFO. He THOUGHT he escaped that, two years ago.

 

I will happily throw him back under that bus!

 

Say what you will about Unitarians, they are very, very fond of keeping accurate financial records and paperwork!

If anyone is wondering, I am in the YES column on bring back the retreat, with the Unies in charge.

Having been involved in the financials of a 501.c3 as Chairman of the Audit Committee [basically doing all the work and getting the rest of the committee to spot check my work then sign off] Grump has my sympathy and understanding.  Once they get their claws on you they won't let go unless you completely fumble the job.

GEM

I managed to get out of the job by moving to a different state.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Green Eyed Monsty
Tentacles

[TheAuldGrump]

Just finished what may have been the longest and most brutal battle I have ever run for an online Pathfinder/D&D game.

 

More than two thirds of the combatants are unconscious, including most of the PCs.

 

Because the cleric had Cure Minor Wounds (heals one point of damage, stabilizing and stopping bleeding) as well as Channel Positive Energy - none of of the combatants, on any of the three sides, was killed.

 

Over forty people, thirty of them taken below 0 HP, and none of them dead.

 

The cleric and the paladin are getting commendations over this. As will the wizard and the witch - the wizard used some non-lethal fireballs (substituting subdual damage for the normal fire), while the witch had a hex to put people to sleep. The entire squad did yeoman's work.

 

All in all, the cops did a far better job of deescalating the battle, and keeping it from becoming a slaughter than I could have reasonably expected.

 

We ran over the time limit by a few minutes.

 

The jail is going to be full - but the ringleaders, aside from Queenpin, have been arrested, including Ahngish - the orc heir to the dwarf Mafia.

 

Things are going to be tense, the PCs are likely to be targeted, and a recent request for a training liaison to a city in another nation has become much more convenient.

 

So, next week they head off to beautiful Viacanali - a city of canals, intrigues, and dark secrets. (You know a place has problems when the leader of the local vampires thinks that the city is overly corrupt.)

 

The Auld Grump

56 minutes ago, Green Eyed Monsty said:

Having been involved in the financials of a 501.c3 as Chairman of the Audit Committee [basically doing all the work and getting the rest of the committee to spot check my work then sign off] Grump has my sympathy and understanding.  Once they get their claws on you they won't let go unless you completely fumble the job.

GEM

I managed to get out of the job by moving to a different state.

I cannot stress enough just how helpful the IRS was in getting the whole financial mess cleaned up.

 

We still bring in the CPA they recommended, every year, to make sure everything remains in a clear and easily accounted record.

 

Well, almost yearly - no retreat for the past couple of years meant not needing a CPA.

 

The Auld Grump

[Chaoswolf]

3 hours ago, haldir said:

Anyone that has owned a hockey jersey aka sweater:

 

I've never owned but debating on getting one, do you use the same size you normally wear or is there a big difference in sizes?

My wife sys to go one size larger than you usually wear, 'cause they're made to be worn over another shirt.

 

YMMV.

[Green Eyed Monsty]

8 minutes ago, TheAuldGrump said:

Just finished what may have been the longest and most brutal battle I have ever run for an online Pathfinder/D&D game.

 

More than two thirds of the combatants are unconscious, including most of the PCs.

 

Because the cleric had Cure Minor Wounds (heals one point of damage, stabilizing and stopping bleeding) as well as Channel Positive Energy - none of of the combatants, on any of the three sides, was killed.

 

Over forty people, thirty of them taken below 0 HP, and none of them dead.

 

The cleric and the paladin are getting commendations over this. As will the wizard and the witch - the wizard used some non-lethal fireballs (substituting subdual damage for the normal fire), while the witch had a hex to put people to sleep. The entire squad did yeoman's work.

 

All in all, the cops did a far better job of deescalating the battle, and keeping it from becoming a slaughter than I could have reasonably expected.

 

We ran over the time limit by a few minutes.

 

The jail is going to be full - but the ringleaders, aside from Queenpin, have been arrested, including Ahngish - the orc heir to the dwarf Mafia.

 

Things are going to be tense, the PCs are likely to be targeted, and a recent request for a training liaison to a city in another nation has become much more convenient.

 

So, next week they head off to beautiful Viacanali - a city of canals, intrigues, and dark secrets. (You know a place has problems when the leader of the local vampires thinks that the city is overly corrupt.)

 

The Auld Grump

I cannot stress enough just how helpful the IRS was in getting the whole financial mess cleaned up.

 

We still bring in the CPA they recommended, every year, to make sure everything remains in a clear and easily accounted record.

 

Well, almost yearly - no retreat for the past couple of years meant not needing a CPA.

 

The Auld Grump

Sometimes you get lucky and find somebody who is not only competent but motivated.

We had a similar experience with our 501.c3 application.

The organization was formed as a spin off of our Fraternal Order, having functioned as a regional committee since the 1950s.

So there was already a functioning organizational structure in place to make the transition easier.  The biggest problem was shortly before the need to spin off the committee became apparent the ramrod for the committee for several decades expired of old age.  His daughter has stepped up and is doing a quite competent job of keeping the organization running, even though some people find her personality somewhat abrasive.  She doesn't have the "good old boy" mentality but always puts the needs of the Rose Float ahead of the desires of any other component of the Fraternal Order [Odd Fellows and Rebekahs].  She has an excellent working order with our builder, Phoenix Decorating, which is a family owned business whose primary income is from the design and production of floats for the Rose Parade on New Years Day. The family has been involved with the IOOF for multiple generations so there is compatible interest there.

Best of Luck with your Retreat.

GEM

[Mad Jack]

 

 I'm going on a Retreat myself this weekend.

 

Saturday morning when my alarm rings, I'm going to turn the damn thing off, pull the covers up over my head, and retreat from the rest of the world for another three hours...

 

[Green Eyed Monsty]

4 minutes ago, Mad Jack said:

 

 I'm going on a Retreat myself this weekend.

 

Saturday morning when my alarm rings, I'm going to turn the damn thing off, pull the covers up over my head, and retreat from the rest of the world for another three hours...

 

Yes sir, I definitely like the way you think.

GEM

[TheAuldGrump]

3 minutes ago, Green Eyed Monsty said:

Sometimes you get lucky and find somebody who is not only competent but motivated.

We had a similar experience with our 501.c3 application.

The organization was formed as a spin off of our Fraternal Order, having functioned as a regional committee since the 1950s.

So there was already a functioning organizational structure in place to make the transition easier.  The biggest problem was shortly before the need to spin off the committee became apparent the ramrod for the committee for several decades expired of old age.  His daughter has stepped up and is doing a quite competent job of keeping the organization running, even though some people find her personality somewhat abrasive.  She doesn't have the "good old boy" mentality but always puts the needs of the Rose Float ahead of the desires of any other component of the Fraternal Order [Odd Fellows and Rebekahs].  She has an excellent working order with our builder, Phoenix Decorating, which is a family owned business whose primary income is from the design and production of floats for the Rose Parade on New Years Day. The family has been involved with the IOOF for multiple generations so there is compatible interest there.

Best of Luck with your Retreat.

GEM

One thing that has amused me, since my first involvement with the first incarnation of the Retreat, is just how far they/we have wandered from the original intent of a retreat.... Not so much seclusion and contemplation, more of a camp out, with presentations, sing-alongs, and D&D...

 

In my less cynical moments, I kind of suspect that is what Dave was aiming for when he made the ill-considered attempt at making the retreat an adults only event.

 

Then I crash into the fact that he was also hooking up with a pro-cannabis group, and realize that, no, he was just an idiot.

 

When three fifths of your attendees are families, going adult only, with a side of drug culture, is a recipe for failure.

 

Weird as it sounds - that drug connection was part of what brought in the Pagan/Unitarian coalition - there had been an attempt to take over one of their events as well. (That same group had also been chased away from Hempstock - which is (was?) a cannabis oriented event. Somehow they were too drug culture for a drug culture event. Which makes me think there were ties to organized crime. But then, I am a cynic.)

 

*EDIT* I am wrong - Hempstock is still going on. My own ties to Hempstock are long distance and long ago - I know some folks that performed there, and otherwise have zero interest. There was one year where the folks running Hempstock were bitterly disappointed by the local police chief - he decided that going to his kid's birthday party was more important than showing up at Hempstock to hand out citations. He, and his department, completely ignored it.

 

The Auld Grump

[strawhat]

4 hours ago, haldir said:

Anyone that has owned a hockey jersey aka sweater:

 

I've never owned but debating on getting one, do you use the same size you normally wear or is there a big difference in sizes?

 

The only person that should have a snug hockey jersey is Shania Twain.  And that's mostly because hers were sparkly.  I mean have you seen Kentucky's hockey posters? 

 

Slightly more seriously, though: It's tough to go too big when getting a sweater.  Those guys are usually not very bulky, but they've usually go thick pads.  I'm a big guy (have been most of my life), and even when I was a smaller sort I often had XXL or 54s (some are in standard sizing, others are in for the chest measurement).  If it's a chest measurement, go up a couple inches.  Standard sizing and I'd go up one.  It's part of the look.

[WhiteWulfe]

Yay, turns out it wasn't a survey follow-up thingy from Service Canada now that I'm back to work.

 

...Yup, another fraudulent claim put in with my info, and of course I can't easily call people back because a) the guy isn't on any of EI's lists, so I couldn't confirm he was actually legit, b) he's calling while I'm at work (and usually travelling reasonably quick in an 8,850kg GVRW 2 ton Hino), and c) the hours he's available conflict with that previous mentioned thing called work.

 

The most annoying part is the letter was sent CanadaPost, and says "respond by October 5th".  It got here October 7th.  Wheee, so now not only have they wasted an hour and a half of my breaks, I now pretty much have no choice but to choose to take an Uber tomorrow to work (so there goes $35) so I can call them back, because by the time he's in the office I'm already headed to work (because it takes over an hour to get to work by bus).  If this person had simply put in the notes of my account that they were trying to contact me because of this we could have sorted it all out over a week ago.

 

Now it's a bunch of extra stress and frustration over something I had assumed (because of how the voicemail was left) that it was unimportant, and they didn't actually need me.  Sure, he has my phone number.  A number of people have that.  He also had the email I use, and don't really use for many things.  Okay, that's a much smaller list.  They also had my address, and the letter came in precisely the kind of envelope that stuff from the Government of Canada (and Service Canada in general) comes in, including how the envelope windows are.  But at this stage I'm still suspicious, because c'mon man, if you're part of the investigations team YOU WOULD BE PUTTING INFO IN THE NOTES OF MY ACCOUNT.

 

Sure, I could just call while I'm on a break and not take the hit to the wallet, but this way almost guarantees I can at least call him back - and I kind of want to use my breaks for, y'know, relaxing and break related schtuff.  Won't be providing any actual information beyond "I haven't applied, send it to over to the fraud department" though.  Sure, signs hint that he's actually with Service Canada, but if you work for an organization that THRIVES on it's notes and you didn't put anything in that says "hey, we're trying to get ahold of him", I'm not giving personal information just in case it's someone who's very committed to this and wants those last bits of information.