-=> Quoting Damon A. Getsman to Nancy Backus on 31-May-2015 05:54 <=-   
      
    DAG> Yeah I had a pretty atypical situation growing up around those ages,   
    DAG> so I don't really know what I can compare to and not.  I've been   
      
   There's always some variation in what plays out... and how... ;)   
      
    DAG> explaining to him how finances are working, though (as well as the fact   
    DAG> that they're currently getting better-- albeit slowly from being in the   
    DAG> hole over 6 months).  He gets it, it's just the shinies at that age are   
    DAG> so enrapturing...  ;)  He's gonna get something nice really quick here,   
    DAG> though; his 9th birthday is tomorrow.  ;)    
      
   Shinies etc can be quite distracting at any age... ;)  And birthdays   
   (and other special occasions) can be a good time to scratch the itch, as   
   long as one doesn't go overboard...  :)  Happy Birthday to the kid.. :)   
      
    DAG> They're doing unbelievably well at the moment.  I'm still only   
    DAG> getting about 50% of the work that I'd like to have carved off given to   
    DAG> me in slabs I can take right now, but it's getting better.  Much like   
    DAG> you alluded to later on in this message, I'm also that much more able   
    DAG> to handle bigger projects on this suite as I become more familiar with   
    DAG> it.  Hell, we paid rent EARLY this month, though.  That's sign enough   
    DAG> of improvement for me.  We're well on track to being able to do it even   
    DAG> earlier next month now, too.  Things are definitely stabilizing, and   
    DAG> we're settling into a pattern of productivity that I'm hoping cements   
    DAG> pretty soon here.    
      
   That all sounds simply GREAT...  :)  Work that you can enjoy, and a   
   steady cashflow...  :)   
      
    NB>> Yeah, as you get more familiar with the whole project, you'll be able   
    NB>> to handle bigger chunks at a time...   
    DAG> It's happening.  ;)  Slowly, but I'm getting there.  That's what I   
    DAG> get for having no choice but to take almost a decade off from this IT   
    DAG> junk.  ;)    
      
   As with any technical field, there was bound to be some having to catch   
   up with new developments... but with the basics in place, you shouldn't   
   be having too much trouble fitting the new stuff in...  :)   
      
    DAG> Heh. It's amazing how well my son has always been with   
    DAG> those situations.  I suppose being on the road for so long when he was   
    DAG> still 2-2.5 years old really helped prep him for it a bit, though.  Not   
    DAG> to mention the wilderness camping in the mean time (though there's no   
    DAG> way in hell I'd go back and repeat that stuff if I had any choice in   
    DAG> the matter).     
      
   Some things you do because you have to... some because you enjoy them...   
   and it's nice when it's some of both...  ;)   I'm sure though that the   
   no other alternative sorts of things can get old real fast, as the sense   
   of adventure wears off...  ;)   
      
    DAG> He's always just been great about it; only recently has   
    DAG> he started getting more imperative about things when he's road   
    DAG> tripping, and that's out of sheer electronics addiction and subsequent   
    DAG> withdrawal when we're on a trip where I haven't let him bring his   
    DAG> tablet or it's long enough so that battery runs out on him at some   
    DAG> point. I've seen bits of how some kids are affected by being spoiled   
    DAG> on matters like these, though.  That...  well that just sucks when it   
    DAG> happens.  Inconsistent parenting really makes life rough for everybody   
    DAG> around those kids when they don't get what they want.   
      
   A good lesson in why consistency is so important... One doesn't have to   
   be a martinet and deny the kid everything, but it still is important to   
   have the boundaries and keep to them pretty much, so the kid is secure   
   in knowing where they are...  Saves a lot of trouble in the long run...    
   The kids that have learned that a tantrum will get them what they (think   
   they) want generally aren't actually happy with the results, either...   
   not that you could get them to admit it, though...   
      
    NB>> How old was the kid that was having the meltdown(s)...?  Some kids just   
    NB>> don't travel well, either... ;(   
    DAG> He was 5.  He had an older brother with, at early 7, who was doing   
    DAG> pretty well with it.  It was actually kind of funny, because most of   
    DAG> the time they're in the exact opposite roles.  This time around,   
    DAG> though...  Whoa.    
      
   Maybe it was just not a very good day for him... ;)   
      
    DAG> Now we're coming up on the last planned   
    DAG> trip of the season (at least for this initial stretch) where we're   
    DAG> going to go down to Cali and hang out in the giant redwood and sequoia   
    DAG> forests.  At this stage I'm honestly pretty close to wanting to just   
    DAG> sit here and cement in the routine along with the income pulling that   
    DAG> needs to get done, but my friend has wanted to take me to this area   
    DAG> (what he calls A+ wilderness, as opposed to the B+ wilderness [which   
    DAG> still blows my frigging mind] around here).  I've got to say, I know   
    DAG> it's going to blow my mind being around plant life like that,   
      
   Sequoias and redwoods are pretty awesome...  :)  I can't blame him for   
   wanting to share those with you...  :)   
      
    DAG> but I'm pretty leary after that one trip...  Not to mention the fact   
    DAG> that the one after that I caught some bronchitis on.   
    DAG> Good point on the bronchitis, though: my immune system has gotten a   
    DAG> whole lot better over the last few months, apparently.  I was able to   
    DAG> kick it off myself, and within a really short period of time, fever and   
    DAG> all.  I was never able to do that without a doctor before, so it was a   
    DAG> huge, and quite welcome, surprise.    
      
   I can certainly relate on the bronchitis issue... I get that   
   periodically... Nice that your body could just fight it off on its own   
   this time..... ;)     
      
    DAG> If I get sick or something horrible   
    DAG> happens on this next trip, though (though my son will be the only kid   
    DAG> on the trip), I swear I'm not camping again for at least a year,   
    DAG> despite how much I normally like it.  The last couple of trips have   
    DAG> perhaps overloaded me a little bit on that little facet that I   
    DAG> normally so enjoy.   
       
   Pluses and minuses to camping... and too much at a time can definitely   
   be a put-off for more...  ;)  Plus you have other things on your plate   
   now that have more than minor benefit to them...  ;)   How long is this   
   camping trip to be...?   
      
    DAG> I've found a massive increase in my ability to deal with free   
    DAG> floating anxieties like that, especially since I've gotten up to the   
    DAG> range of being able to meditate for 12-14 minutes at a setting.  It's   
    DAG> ever creeping up, too.  The last time there wasn't that bad (not the   
    DAG> tantrum trip, the other one since then).  I had a few short anxiety   
    DAG> spells, but by and large I was able to just divert my attention   
    DAG> elsewhere thanks to the jedi training and it was all good. ;)    
      
   That sounds like good progress... :)   
      
    DAG> The fever was a little harder to get over, though.  Well, that, and   
    DAG> the fact that I wake up at the buttcrack of dawn whilst everybody else   
    DAG> there likes to sleep in until at least 9-11.  Ruined a pack of playing   
    DAG> cards out there last time after I got the fire stoked back up from the   
    DAG> coals because there was too much condensation on every surface to be   
    DAG> able to play it somewhere dry!    
      
   The minor hassles of life... ;)  Guess you need to pack a waterproof   
   surface to roll out onto the picnic table to protect the cards... ;)   
      
    NB>> Partly, and mostly by choice.  I don't get along well with mice and   
    NB>> other tracking devices, and I am quite content with command line... This   
    NB>> computer has some extra commands, some from *nix, and some from small   
    NB>> utilities my resident wizard has written... And I have some good   
    NB>> software for the things I do... :)   
    DAG> Gotcha.  Sounds like you've probably got a good setup.  :)  I used   
    DAG> to have a heavily customized DOS/4-DOS environment that I used and it   
    DAG> was perfectly sufficient.  Much better for avoiding the distraction of   
    DAG> being able to have 2 dozen web browsing tabs all screaming for   
    DAG> attention when there's correspondence that needs to be returned.    
    DAG> *grin*    
      
   It works for me.  :)  My web browsing (little enough as it is) is kept   
   separate from my other computer pursuits.. And when I do, I can avoid   
   ads and popups etc simply because I'm using a text browser usually.. ;)   
      
    NB>> At the very least, I suppose you'll just have to be sufficiently   
    NB>> efficient to finish composing the message in the one sitting...   
    NB>> apparently the bbs is seeing too long of a period of inactivity...   
    NB>> that's probably the setting, wherever it might be hiding...    
    DAG> Heh.  I'm working at it.  ;)  I still have yet to track down that   
    DAG> damn setting.  Something that the shell I'm working on changes goes   
    DAG> through and makes it so all of the accounts that normally aren't   
    DAG> allowed to idle out start idling out all over the place.  Yet another   
    DAG> bug to have fun with...    
      
   Yeah... aren't bugs fun...    Gotta find it and smush it... ;)    
   Another reason for only doing one thing at a time, though... things in   
   the background can't time out if they aren't active in the first   
   place... ;)   
      
    DAG> I'm gonna see if I can't catch up on Fido   
    DAG> today.  No promises, though.  I've got coding and some other stuff that   
    DAG> it needs to be interspersed with and I'm pretty sure I've got half a   
    DAG> dozen, easily, of unread correspondence sitting in the different echoes   
    DAG> for me right now.  :) More later; best wishes!   
      
   Nice effort...  I note that there are two more from you here in DADS...   
   but I'm off to do stuff myself now... those will have to wait...  :)    
   We'll get caught up soon enough...  ;)   
      
   ttyl          neb   
      
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