Instant Message conversation about life and work. ...boring

This will be a cheap blog entry, skip at will. I'm just cutting and pasting snippets of my feelings about life in general from an IM discussion with a friend of mine. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me using our conversation as fodder for a blog entry.

(6:41:50 PM) Zoe: I'm just balancing a full family life, 8 credits of compsci courses, full-time work, reading countless books to improve career knowledge, paying all the bills and hoping we have enough at the end of the month, and at the same time, trying to pay off my $160K of school loans at high interest rates AND deal with my own laziness and inability to function up to my own standards.
(6:50:57 PM) FRIEND: how is your son doing?
(6:51:07 PM) FRIEND: when are u putting him in school?
(6:51:40 PM) Zoe: He is doing well, as you can see from the pics.. He's growing so much!
(6:51:45 PM) Zoe: You wouldn't recognize him.
(6:52:03 PM) Zoe: He won't start school until he's 5.
(6:52:28 PM) Zoe: We'll probably put him in baby daycare and/or preschool and/or gan before then too.
(6:52:35 PM) FRIEND: nice
(6:52:43 PM) FRIEND: how does it feel to be a daddy?
(6:53:39 PM) Zoe: It feels as if there's meaning -- I can't pull the same stuff I did before I was married. There's little room for waste once you're married.
(6:54:21 PM) FRIEND: what do u mean?
(6:54:35 PM) Zoe: That's probably why I'm having such a hard time. I have a hard time waking up in the morning, getting to minyan every morning, showering, eating, getting to work on time, being productive at work, billing the hours I work (lately I've been spending so much time at work billing nothing because I'm just distracted), etc.
(6:55:04 PM) Zoe: meaning that I'll be at work for 10 hours, but I'll only be able to bill 6 or 7.
(6:55:15 PM) Zoe: and even that's pushing it.
(6:55:19 PM) FRIEND: :(
(6:55:39 PM) Zoe: I'm scared of being fired and I'm scared of being caught that I am not as productive as I feel that I should be.
(6:59:20 PM) Zoe: PLUS, it KILLS me that I spend so much time here that I can't be paid for because I'm just not being productive.
(6:59:26 PM) Zoe: I just can't get my head in order.
(7:00:20 PM) FRIEND: maybe your just thinking to much
(7:00:31 PM) FRIEND: or maybe u just need to just pick up and leave hook or crook at a certain time
(7:01:38 PM) Zoe: um, I physically MUST bill a certain amount of time each week, and I physically MUST bill a certain amount of ADDITIONAL HOURS OVER THAT TIME to pay the minimum bills each month.
(7:01:52 PM) FRIEND: i see
(7:02:00 PM) FRIEND: my field works a lot different
(7:02:21 PM) Zoe: that's the lawyer world. you bill what you produce, not how many hours you were in the office.

LHC is most definitely a ticking time bomb, or not... [article link]

Again, I can't stress how excited I am about this project, and how DISAPPOINTED I will be if it turns out to be a dud... I think I spend every day in an office waiting for something exciting to happen, like perhaps Moshiach coming or the revelation of G-d, and I'm generally bored out of my mind with my life. Yes, I have my constants in life which are wonderful [wife, son, family, few friends], but I can't believe the most exciting thing outside of my family is hearing over and over again how Obama is a socialist (and he is), or what McCain or Palin said. This is a very sad life, and I wish something more exciting were going on in the world -- something I can believe in.

Geneva (Switzerland) - When the LHC is switched on in less than two days, Switzerland may finally pay the ultimate price for never having chosen sides. In this case, for deciding not to choose to walk on the side of caution. That is, if what many scientists, watchdog groups and concerned activists believe is about to happen. The worst case doomsday scenario resulting from the operation of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) involves the total destruction of the Earth within minutes or days of the planned online time. The best case doomsday scenarios involve a slow poisoning of the Earth through unexpected radioactive emissions. So, is the sky really falling? No, because many scientists believe that all such fears are unfounded and even silly.

read more | digg story

G-d particle countdown... [article link]

I've been reading up on this the past few days and the whole project seems incredibly ...exciting? ...dangerous? ...stupid. Nevertheless, I am VERY excited to see what happens, and I hope we don't blow up the planet in the interim. --Zoe

Countdown starts in quest to pierce secrets of Universe from PhysOrg.com

Particle physicists believe they will throw open a new frontier of knowledge on Wednesday when, 100 metres (325 feet) below ground, they switch on a mega-machine crafted to unveil the deepest mysteries of matter.

Media Ignores Massive Voter Purges by Republicans [article link]

I'm not exactly one to get involved in politics (well, I certainly am, but not in the context of one party blaming the other,) but I do believe in voting and rights to vote. It bothered me when there were allegations these past two elections that the polls were manipulated. It also bothered me that the presidential nominations for various states this year were also called into question regarding manipulation. Thus, I share with you the article snippet below. --Zoe

While the media focuses on the antics of McCain's chosen VP battleground states are purging their voter rolls. In Colorado, one fifth of all voter registrations were dropped. Florida is refusing to accept 85,000 new registrants -- overwhelmingly blacks. Ohio & Nevada are scrubbing tens of 1000s of voters who lost their homes.

read more | digg story

Letter to Senator re: Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac Activities

To all readers: I ask that you read the following and consider sending a similar (or the same) letter to your local senator.

Dear Senator,

I want to express my sincere disgust in the activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the past months (and years) regarding the irresponsible and perhaps criminal activities and borderline unethical conduct regarding their most recent overstatement of their capital base.

As a citizen, a husband, and as a hard-working father, I am strongly AGAINST any form of bailing out of the two mortgage giants by the federal government. I believe this would put an undue burden on the taxpayer, and there is no reason why any of us should pay for the mismanagement by questionably criminal executives running those companies.

Further, I would strongly request a criminal investigation into the executives and those running both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and I would push for an indictment regarding their activities, the handling of the companies, and their questionable accounting methods.

Additionally, I would request that the accounting standards board also be reformed as I am of the belief that those making the decisions there are unethical and are in favor of those businesses who have broken the law, and that the recent decisions by the board fly in the face of sound accounting methods.

My opinion as a concerned citizen is that the country needs an education in ethics and corporate responsibility. While everybody is touting the poor homeowners who are in foreclosure, who are losing their homes, or those that won't be able to get mortgages if the two mortgage giants fold, we must acknowledge that laws have been broken by both the banks, the mortgage lenders AND the homeowners, regulators have not done their job, and that many of the homeowners are in homes that they got mortgages for based on lying on their mortgage application forms about their income, and by taking mortgages for pieces of property they clearly could not afford. There is no reason the government (and thus the taxpayer) should foot the bill for this kind of irresponsible and unethical conduct.

Thus, I ask that you 1) fight AGAINST the government taking over and/or helping the mortgage giants and let things run their course without government intervention; 2) I ask that you start a criminal investigation into the executives running the companies to hold them criminally responsible for the activities of their companies; and, 3) I ask that you push to reform the recent decisions of the accounting standards board and fight for reformation of the board to return to sound and ethical accounting standards.