Several kind people have asked how they could donate to help offset our expenses. The outpouring of support has been amazing to me. I signed up for an Amazon Honor Pay Box which can be accessed below. At some point, I'll figure out how to embed it into the main page or the sidebar, but until then I'll sticky this post to the top.

Thank you all again. It's kind of overwhelming still, but in a good way this time.

*UPDATE* Funny, but once I got it to show up in the post, it started showing up in the sidebar and at the bottom of the page.  I'll still be taking some time off from blogging to concentrate on getting these legal matters settled, but my stress is greatly lowered already thanks to some pretty wonderful friends.

*UPDATEx2* I just had to add this update as well.  And I took out the Amazon button from the post since it's working on the page now.

It looks like anyone who donates has up to 30 days (Note: That was according to the confirmation email that people can send.  Some research reveals that it's 7 days from Amazon and up to 30 days to contest it with a credit-card company which, since it's on the "honor system", would be automatic.  However, anyone who changes their mind can contact me and we'll work out how to return a charge with as little hassle as possible.) to change their mind, no questions asked (by Amazon or me).  This is great because I would rather someone cancel than regret a donation.  If anyone selects the option to reveal their information, it sends me an email with payor information.  I'm not going to mention individuals here, but I will be sending emails with additional thanks after giving a blanket thank-you now.  Also, the minimum is $1.00 and the maximum is set by Amazon at $50.00 per transaction and can't be raised (I was asked that... really.  Can you believe the generosity of some people?  Incredible.).  The more I learn about the Amazon system, the more I like it.

The donations are very much appreciated as the extra attorney fees, filing fees, travel costs, and a HUGE tax hit from having to amend the tax returns for the past couple of years because of this, have really driven us into our reserves much earlier than anything we could have otherwise expected.  We hope to be able to re-amend (is that a word?) the income taxes once all the paperwork is filed and complete, maybe recovering some of that extra tax money we ended up paying (that we shouldn't have had to pay in the first place because we did everything they told us we were supposed to do and how can... :breathe: ok, I'm better now. ).

Anyway, thanks to everyone again for their support, prayers, and donations.  All three are appreciated in whatever amount offered.  Bless you all.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 14:23:13 | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 Yeah! Ok, Stash, I'm happy now.
And you know...that's what matters.
:wink:

Posted by: sillyblindharper at 28 April 2008@17:30:58 (5+XEL)

2 um...insert wink above, kplzthx. That comment doesn't work well without it, just sayin'
heh

Posted by: sillyblindharper at 28 April 2008@17:32:09 (5+XEL)

3 Stay in touch, okay?

Posted by: DRJ at 28 April 2008@19:06:49 (wE7Og)

4 Hit the tip jar for the Gerbil Emergency Fund.

Didn't send a notification email for obvious reasons.

I hope things get settled in your favor real fast, at least as fast as the wheels of justice can spin.

Posted by: Sinner at 29 April 2008@09:04:52 (U/yZ+)

5 I posted this too, and hit the tip jar.  You can thank Doubleplusundead for his lobbying on you behalf.

Posted by: Michael at 29 April 2008@18:29:34 (Ph1JO)

6 You betcha Michael and thank you.  None of this would have happened without doubleplusundead.  He and bmac were the prime movers in making this happen and they're both fantastic people.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 29 April 2008@18:49:29 (Q5ggV)

7

Good luck pal.  Ain't much, hope it helps.

Also I am going to kick your ass next year on the NFL pool.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 29 April 2008@19:39:59 (Kz86N)

8 Thanks DiT, it all helps and it's all appreciated.  As far as the NFL Pool goes though... I'ma gonna whip you just like I did.... ummm... oh yeah, you meant "again", didn't you? 

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 29 April 2008@20:12:50 (Q5ggV)

9 I will keep you and yours in my prayers.  If  there is anything else I can do, let me know. ( I have a lot of experience getting birth certificates.)

Posted by: Kate at 30 April 2008@00:51:51 (Basu/)

10 We got ya bro. Good luck with the kids.

Posted by: Old Iron at 30 April 2008@08:04:13 (tD0Cq)

11 You're giving me way too much credit here Stash, DPUD deserves all of it.

I totally understand how you feel about saying thank you, the morons helped me immensly last year when our dog needed chemo, and we couldn't afford it, and I just couldn't find any more ways to say thank you, or really put into words how meaningful the support from (relative) strangers was.

It's nice to know people care, and especially in desperate times, that can be a lifeline.

I'm not able to donate at this time, (lost my business in Febuary) but I'll keep your post bumped, and I'll be happy to do anything else I can.

Posted by: bmac at 30 April 2008@12:56:50 (oRVu1)

12 Still praying, Stash.
 I'll just wave my little bent wand and keep this here thread warm for you. Hope the details are all falling into place...

(((poof)))

Posted by: sillyblindharper at 30 April 2008@20:11:39 (5+XEL)

13 Hope everything goes well. Keep your chin up.

Posted by: eddiebear at 01 May 2008@00:18:05 (ROjYS)

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I've met literally dozens of fine attorneys while in the military and only one that I didn't have respect for.  I've never been arrested, accused of a crime (besides three speeding tickets in almost 30 years, the last one over 12 years ago), or sued for anything.

Patterico, and the lawyers who co-blog and comment at his site, is/are a great example of how I feel about most attorneys.  Excellent minds, strong character, and respect for the opinions of others are business as usual there.

I'm currently at my wits end though.  (Note:  I've deleted this part and re-written it four five six times so far before publishing... that's how difficult this is to talk about.)  We're trying to work through an attorney to fix mistakes our first attorney made when we adopted our two daughters.  This new attorney is ate up from the floor up as well, but we've already paid them over 6,000 dollars and can't afford the time or money to search for another one.  This is on top of the thousands of dollars we paid the first attorney.

These last two day-trips out of town were to try and finalize these legal issues.  It took a toll on my health and today was the last straw.  They sent me an email about 15 minutes before the end of the workday saying they needed a copy of my birth certificate before they could go any further.  My birth certificate.  Which, by the way, we gave them a copy of at our very first effing meeting.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know most lawyers are good people trying to do a good job.  I'm just so disheartened right now that it's difficult to blog or even comment elsewhere.  I'm sick with worry that we might lose our daughters and my health is spiraling down because of it. 

I'm taking a break for a while, maybe a long while, maybe forever.  I want to thank everyone who has come by to visit and hope you've found it worthwhile.  I appreciate all the support too, you know who you are.

Be well.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 22:00:55 | Comments (30) | Add Comment
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Such fun today (/sarc).  The oldest son took our three younger children and two friends to Six Flags and had a great time.  Coming back out to the car (my wife's), they found it had been broken into and some stuff stolen.  Nobody was hurt as the thieves had already left with some electronics, cash, and my oldest daughter's credit card which she had left in there under the seat.  They called me to ask what they should do first and I had them go to the security office to file a report and said I would take care of the credit card.  By the time I had reported it, the thieves had already gotten gas and tried to get cash from three different ATM's.

I'm thankful they're all ok and back home safe now.  The next thing I'd like to see is the newspaper story about how some thieves accidentally drove into a lake and slowly drowned. Does that fit the crime?  Nope.  Do I care?  Nope.  I'd be just as happy to see them get caught and sentenced to an appropriate amount of time in jail.  It's an emotional toss-up right now though because I'm still pretty angry.  Not at the kids... at the thieves who stole more than some stuff, cash, and a credit card.  They stole what should have been a pretty good memory of a pretty good day from my family.

Feh.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 23:44:22 | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I had been getting a lot of telephone calls from telemarketers for Medicare supplemental insurance, mortgage insurance, magazine subscriptions, and other things.  They frequently started off by saying that this "is not a sales call" and they just want to "verify some information".  They'll have some bit of real information like, "Do you still live at...?", then follow up with questions about how much insurance I have or somesuch, trying to get me to give up information that they don't really have before going into the full pitch.

I am on the Do-Not-Call list and have made sure my listing was updated.  Apparently it's not working so well anymore, at least not for me.  I've tried many things in the past that ended up being more aggravating than satisfying... prank responses, hanging up, breaking in and saying "Please remove my name from your list", trying to explain that continuing to call someone on the Do-Not-Call list might get them in trouble, all to no avail.  Now, I don't feel like taking anyone to court very often, much less over something like this.  Maybe going through all the hassle of reporting offenders, documenting calls and times, and whatever other nonsense is "recommended" is worth it to some people.  I'm not one of them.

more...

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 15:15:46 | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Heh! I recently started doing the same thing with recorded calls. I've been telling the live ones to remove my number but I think your way is better. I only use the line for DSL at this point because I have not given the number out and it is unlisted. I will have to set up an answering machine to screen calls as it used to belong to a business but for now I do not mind leaving it on the desk while the call "cycles". I used to listen long enough to learn what company I would never do business with again but it is not productive now. I hate telemarketers. They steal the use of my phone service that I pay for to invade my privacy against my will and give nothing. They do not pay for the phone service they use (mine) to bother me. My land line is basically rendered useless to me. 

Posted by: Machinist at 08 April 2008@17:28:08 (yFIK0)

2 I've gotten a few on my cellphone and I just do the quick "Take me off your list" and immediately disconnect. I don't wait for an acknowledgment or anything, because some will keep trying anyway. My home phone I'll leave alone for an hour if they want to play that long, but my cell minutes are more precious. Four phones on one plan with shared minutes can be interesting to keep track of. When one is a 21 year old male college student, another is an 18 year old female high school student, and the third is my wife, it is MY fault if we go over in the month. Not quite sure how the math works on that, but I've been assured repeatedly that it's not THEIR fault.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 08 April 2008@17:38:46 (tarqT)

3 I deal with the telemarketers by hanging up on them as soon as I realize that they are what they are.  This usually means the call is over within ten seconds.  Usually I try to be rude about it, since they're being rude to me by calling.  Also, being on dialup for this computer helps.  A couple of hours a day when they can't call in because I'm on the line.

As for the cell phone--well, since I don't talk to people over the phone that much (even if they're not telemarketers), and only when I have to,   and don't need to bother with keeping up with friends, normally the only calls I get are about things I don't want to know about.  So I don't have one.  Not even to call 911.   But several people I know use prepaid phones and phone cards.  Have you tried that with your two offspring?  As for your wife--well, you're the one who's bothered about the minutes,  so that's why it's your fault.  If you didn't bother about it, no one would mind, and you would receive no blame.

Posted by: kishnevi at 08 April 2008@19:38:35 (FFHuv)

4 As for your wife--well, you're the one who's bothered about the minutes,

bwahahaha... that's funny!  My wife is the one who cares about the bill if the minutes go over, if I didn't catch hell for it, I wouldn't care at all.  I'd get an unlimited plan with unlimited internet phone service and every swoopy feature they offer.  It would be worth it to me never to have to think about it again.  The thing is, if we go 1 minute over for the month, I'm the one who catches it from wifey... not the kids or her.  Does that make sense to you?  Doesn't matter, it makes sense to her (bizarro female logic you know).  Please don't think she's a penny-pincher or a shrew, she's really good about everything else.  For some reason, the cellphone thing just presses her button even though she doesn't want to change our plan.  It's actually kind of funny most of the time and she puts up with a lot from me (I do a LOT of teasing... I know, I know, I'm so serious and subdued online it's hard to believe )

So part of my online duties include checking the wireless account online to make sure we're on track to stay under.  We have rollover, so I do have a cushion, but it's one that can be wiped out pretty quick when #1 son decides that he HAS to talk on his cell with his girlfriend all night instead of using the house phone.  Young love, heh.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 08 April 2008@21:12:32 (tarqT)

5 If I'm in the right mood (the wrong mood?), I'll chat with the telemarketer, get them laughing --- and take up as much of their $^#&@ time as possible so that they're talking to me and not making a sale. When I was less mature (even less mature), I'd do the same thing to folks who knocked on our door selling Bibles.

Posted by: Starry Fruit at 09 April 2008@15:58:15 (/vVjk)

6 Hi Starry!  Yep, I've tried that and got tired of my time being wasted.  This way, the only time that gets wasted is whatever time they choose to waste of their own.  No karmic rebound here!! 

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 09 April 2008@16:08:23 (tarqT)

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The Plague Fairy is officially banned until such time as she earns her bannage at Teh Squeaky Wheel, which is richly deserved (she's worked hard for it).  This banlessness state cannot be tolerated by right-thinking folks anywhere.  The Plague Fairy  (aka Harper, aka The Gentle Lady) means so much, to so many people, that failing to ban her when she specifically requests it is indefensible (aka "poo-poo reasoning").

I'm sure Harper will leave a comment here confirming her pleasure at finally being banned somewhere.  Please congratulate her and offer your support for further bannings.

*NOTE*  This ban does not pertain to her IP address, screen name, any sock puppets she may employ, or prevent her commenting here or elsewhere.  In other words, the nicest possible ban you will ever see, anywhere.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 13:15:36 | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 In other words, the nicest possible ban you will ever see, anywhere.

*snort!*
Nicely done.

Posted by: X_LA_Native at 07 April 2008@13:33:10 (/yC9R)

2 :takes bow: 

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 07 April 2008@13:34:37 (tarqT)

3

Posted by: Machinist at 07 April 2008@13:58:38 (yFIK0)

4 Gentle Stash, you're a dear! Simply too kind. I feel very loved...

Ahm a big Gerbil now!

Posted by: sillyblindharper at 07 April 2008@15:33:32 (5+XEL)

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I've made a lot of aesthetic changes and am going to be cleaning up some of the posts, especially the earlier ones.  I won't change any of the content, just put some content in the longer entries below a fold, clean up the categories... stuff like that.

Consider this an open thread for feedback on the style changes, suggestions for more, pointing out things needing cleanup that I might have missed, or whatever you'd  like to comment on.  Thanks to everyone who has been coming, welcome to anyone here for the first time (feel free to look around some), and everyone who takes the time to leave a comment.  That's the best.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 13:33:41 | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 I had seen the link to the wheel but not the blogroll. You HAVE been busy! That is an impressive blogroll you have. 

Posted by: Machinist at 05 April 2008@14:00:45 (yFIK0)

2 All entered by hand (whew!)  I also cleaned up the commenting so the sidebar still shows, instead of it going full-page (I hated that).  The Moronosphere and Gerbil Nation blogrolls rotate randomly, which I thought was neat.  It was also pretty hard to get the header the way I wanted it and I'm still not completely satisfied, but it'll do for now.

I'm trying to work on a calendar archive, but until that's done I like a calendar being there anyway.  Some people don't like a calendar archive, but I use them elsewhere frequently.  I also put the search function near both the top and the bottom of the sidebar.

That's probably most of the major changes for a while, unless something goes wonky.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 05 April 2008@14:10:55 (tarqT)

3 It looks nice, Gentle Stash. (they do know you're gentle here, right? It's not a gerbilly secret?).
I like the font you've used at the top.
SQueaK!

Posted by: sillyblindharper at 05 April 2008@14:12:31 (5+XEL)

4 Thank you very much Harper, the site is starting to come together in  away I like.  I was focusing more on content up until now but am getting more comfortable in making changes.  Still but an egg though.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 05 April 2008@14:20:18 (tarqT)

5 It's purty!  

Posted by: BrendaK at 05 April 2008@16:24:22 (yAyo7)

6 Thanks BK.  And thanks for offering to help earlier, I got most of it figgered out enough to work.  I'll keep learning and tweaking, and with Harper's help, squeaking! 

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 05 April 2008@16:41:52 (tarqT)

7

Well, I like the fact that now you can comment without registering-more freedom that way. However, I have to wonder if this fixation on gerbils is healthy.

 

Posted by: JBHood at 05 April 2008@18:44:49 (GkYyh)

8 Gerbils rule!

Posted by: BrendaK at 05 April 2008@18:51:24 (yAyo7)

9 Yes we can do!!

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 05 April 2008@19:30:41 (tarqT)

10 ooooooh! i like it! of course any site with a pretty dog right at the top has to be good.

Posted by: Ottavarima at 05 April 2008@19:42:26 (zp9Df)

11 She's a good gerbil. 
She's only got the eye you see in the picture.  She lost the other one after she was hit by a car and died, then came back to life (I don't know if you heard that story at teh Wheel).  She's almost always at my side these days.

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 05 April 2008@19:58:16 (tarqT)

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The International Olympic Committee just announced that it still considers China a "wise choice" for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Rogge said the opportunity to bring the Games to the world's most populous nation meant the IOC had made the right choice.

"IOC considers that it made a wise choice in awarding the games to Beijing and we have no regrets," Rogge told a news conference in response to a question about China's human rights record.

"We have the tremendous added value of bringing sports and the Olympics to one fifth of mankind."

This of course means that China should get to host the Olympics every time until some other country surpasses China in population.  Here are two more examples of extreme denial in the same article... this:

Firing into crowds of protesters and killing 8 of them isn't violent?  That's just the most recent example of the Chinese government's brand of "non-violence".  And then there is this about the smog and pollution surrounding the Games:

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 12:22:15 | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Try to inject a little advice in the courtroom while respecting a suspect's delicate sensibilities and what do you get?

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 13:12:47 | No Comments | Add Comment
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