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[[deleted user]]

Very, very confusing Mark. ;)

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

It is a bit odd. lol!

[Alicja]

I'm 6 books ahead as well but only because I've been binging on free m/m romance short stories and novellas. For my challenge that includes the number of books over 200 pages I am at 17/84 so maybe a book behind. I need to finish 4 more by the end of this month to be on track.

[Mark]

Terri wrote: "It is a bit odd. lol!"

Derek wrote: "Very, very confusing Mark. ;)"

Will be reading on the bus to work, which can be up to 2 hours there and nearly 2 hours back.

and beside I read for stress relief and I am not stressed at the moment.

[Andy]

Terri wrote: "Andy wrote: "It is that! I caught our absentee landlord late last night on the Ben kane thread, jus popped in to collect the rent thought I :) so grand to see yer back Terri.... Now about that leak..."

Ohhh you know me so well :) right kit on, the gaffers back!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

haha. ;D

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Mark wrote: "and beside I read for stress relief and I am not stressed at the moment. ..."

Well that is good. Not easy to be stress free. :)

[Alicja]

I just had a full screen ad pop up on Goodreads! What the hell GR? I hope that this isn't a new thing that'll appear on a regular basis, I am sure it will piss lots of users off. Next thing they'll start charging a monthly fee so we don't see the ads...

[Dawn]

I installed an ad blocker on Firefox because of another site I was using that kept crashing my browser but it's worked really well for GR's too.

[[deleted user]]

Weird. When I try to sign in to GR like I normally do, it says the site is down for maintenance. It's been like that all day. But if I follow an email link(like someone commenting on a review), it lets me in & everything is normal.

[Dawn]

Very strange, I haven't had any problems.

[Allison]

Haven't had any problems. Fingers crossed. I always have problems when no one else does.

[Mark]

Derek wrote: "Weird. When I try to sign in to GR like I normally do, it says the site is down for maintenance. It's been like that all day. But if I follow an email link(like someone commenting on a review), it ..."

I did about 4 hours ago, but its working as normal now.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I use Firefox too and have adblocker installed. Thank goodness for adblocker or I would have to deal with ads too.

[happy]

Welcome back Teri :)

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Morning all. I'm 9 books up on my challenge. :)

[Nancy]

I was about to throw my PC out on the street because of pop ups. Started using safari and have been totally without pop ups ever since.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I can't believe that Malaysia flight MH 370 is still missing. Crazy. The families and loved ones of the passengers must be going through hell.

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

I can. It's a pretty twisted and unusual event, Terri. A friend of mine is an ex-pilot. She believes it is quite possibly MH 370 will never be found. She's done some aircraft crash investigation and she reckons there has never been an event like this before.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

a lot of people and experts are saying the same. And I think many of us are thinking it too.
If it kept going into the Indian Ocean and went into the drink it will be a miracle if anything from the plane, or the site of its final resting place, will ever be discovered. Vast expanse of ocean out there.

If it went down on land it will only be a matter of time before it is found. It may take weeks, months, years.
If it is hiding in a hangar somewhere, they will eventually, through intelligence channels, find out what happened.
But the Indian Ocean theory is the most frightening for the families and loved ones.
Here's hoping it went over land and not out into the ocean.

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

My personal feeling it that it was a deliberate act of sabotage by one of the pilots.

All the actions, including the highly risky 45,000 feet evasion manoeuvre, where those of a pilot with a LOT of time and expertise in the 777-200.

I have the horrid feeling we're looking at a "political statement" from a very twisted mind. I do not think that plane has landed anywhere. I think it's laying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. :(

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

That's what I think to. Don't want to think worst case scenario, but I can't help it. :(

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Terri wrote: "That's what I think to. Don't want to think worst case scenario, but I can't help it. :("

I'd like to think the plane landed somewhere safely, but analysing the facts we have doesn't lead to that conclusion at all. :(

[[deleted user]]

I'm gonna miss you guys & gals. :(

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Derek wrote: "I'm gonna miss you guys & gals. :("

What? Where are you going?

[[deleted user]]

I'm going off to sleep in my car. :) I'll be back eventually. Count on it!

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Derek wrote: "I'm going off to sleep in my car. :) I'll be back eventually. Count on it!"

Sleep in your car? :(

[Lisa]

Derek, what's going on??

[[deleted user]]

Just going to be gone for awhile, Lisa. Hopefully not for too long. Lack of income has caught up with me, so no more internet access after tomorrow. I'll check in from my library when I can. Gonna miss you! :)

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Oh no! I'll miss you, D. I only just got back here and now you are disappearing.
Sorry to hear about the finances, Derek. Keep strong mate. We're here if you need us. :)

[happy]

Stay strong Derek, drop in whenever you can

[Allison]

I feel your pain Derek. I moved cross country for a job that ended up going belly up just a few months later - had to move all my sh*t back home, lost a ton of my savings, had to move back in with my father and still searching for a job. Luckily, he was already paying a cable/internet bill or I'd be going crazy! Wishing you all the good luck and fortune in the world that can be spared from wishing it for myself lol.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Tsk. Another sad story. That must have been devastating for you, Allie. When the job went belly up. harsh.

What is the government welfare like in the US?
In Australia if your job goes bad and you are sacked or made redundant you can get on welfare (the dole) straight away while you look for work. And then if you new job is part time or pays little, you can still get a welfare (dole) cheque to supplement your income.
The dole also pay half your rent.

What happens in the US when one loses a job? Can you get straight on welfare? Is it enough to live on? Do they supply a rental assistance amount too?

[Lisa]

Tough times Allie and Derek. If positive wishes could get you both work, I'm sure once the group is finished, you will both be gainfully employed. You are both in my thoughts and prayers as a back up plan too, haha. I've also let Derek know, that I've been a part of an online job seeking group, that he may be interested in. They sent me a message letting me know they had 7 jobs I was 93% compatible with, : as a sperm donor. I kid you not!! I've sent them a reply, and as yet they haven't replied back????

[Nancy]

I was on welfare and food stamps some 3 decades ago, rent assistance yes but there's always a horrendous waiting list I hear. It was tough back then, I.e. meager, and is probably tougher now since both the Democrats and Republicans love to please their middle-class voters by screwing the poor. Obama has been better philosophically but has a hell of a time getting anything done, especially help for the poor (gasp!). I hope somebody more current with the system will come on and give more info. Sorry about your bad luck, and I hope ya'll make it through okay.

[Darcy]

Well that just simply sucks Derek! I hope things improve for you soon; you'll definitely be missed.
And luck to you Allie with finding new employment.

[Lia]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation Derek. I hope you are able to find a place to stay warm.

[Lia]

Allie, at least you still have someone to fall back to. I wish you good luck with your job hunting.

[Portia]

Derek, my friend, I will miss you.

[Portia]

Would it bore everyone to announce we are under 8 inches of snow? Happy St. Paddy's Day. Got to start the fire, put on the corned beef to boil, and get back to reading.

[Portia]

OK, so now I am really beginning to worry. The events in Eastern Europe are so similar to the events preceding WWII. My ancestors came from Lithuanian. That country, along with many others, was sucked into the Soviet Union. What chance does that small country have against Putin's tanks? Should Lithuanian eject all of it's ethnic Russians?

I really think Putin is using the war weariness of the American people to make himself Tsar Vlad. Of dear, oh dear, oh dear.

[Simona]

Derek wrote: "Just going to be gone for awhile, Lisa. Hopefully not for too long. Lack of income has caught up with me, so no more internet access after tomorrow. I'll check in from my library when I can. Gonna ..."

I wish you the best, Derek. Hold on.

[Allison]

Didn't mean to take away from Derek's situation, just letting him know he wasn't alone!

Terri - the whole government welfare system SUCKS here. Too many families that have 8 crack babies from 6 different daddies living off food stamps, disability, unemployment, housing, or whatever other help they can get while they sit at home all day eating bonbons or doing drugs and not out looking for jobs. While families that really need it get screwed.

I'd rather take my chances on not getting "help". Unemployment is so screwed up. Its so sporadic. Both my mother and my aunt at different times have had to pay back the state for "over payment". What we were overpaid on I have no clue because the amount they sent us definitely wasn't enough to pay bills with. In my mothers case, it was only a couple hundred dollars but my aunt (who has a 10 year old and lost her house) they overpaid $2,500. She just got bombarded with certified letters one day saying they expected her to pay in full! She's like, "how was I supposed to know, you guys kept sending me a check so I cashed it". Because she couldn't pay right away, they took her tax refund two years in a row and she's on a $5 a month payment plan. Yes, $5 a month. Then my friend in Florida lost her job and it took unemployment four months to remember it owed her. She would have lost her house too had her parents not remortgaged their own. I'm telling ya, the gov't here is f*ck"d up.

My dad was more than willing to help out but he lives in a two bedroom trailer so we are smashed in like sardine cans. He applied for food stamps but was turned down because he made too much money. Ha! What a crock. He's semi-handicapped and has heart issues so he took an early retirement. With his disability and social security it amounts to roughly 1,200 a month. Not much especially if he was living in a house or apartment, more than half would just be rent money! I personally can't get assistance because I have too much money in the bank. Tho that's dwindling quickly.

Ok, I think I'm done now. Thank you everyone for all the well wishes! Again, sorry to hear about your troubles Derek. Hang in there buddy :)

[Gretchen]

To sum up how social welfare programs work in the USA, today I watched a woman buy $400 worth of groceries with her EBT (a government provided card that has money deposited on it every month for the purpose of buying food or sometimes just get cash from an ATM) and then turn around and buy $200 worth of cigarettes with cash. I live in an area where this is the norm more than the exception.

[Allison]

How do you even buy $200 in cigs? Geez Louise. Total taking advantage of the system right there!

[Gretchen]

Allie wrote: "How do you even buy $200 in cigs? Geez Louise. Total taking advantage of the system right there!"
In Minnesota a pack of cigarettes is at least $6 a pack with the "popular" brands being over $7. I'm not sure what they run in other states. I know Minnesota has one of the highest tax rates on cigarettes in the country.

[Allison]

That's still a lot of cigarette's!!

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Gretchen wrote: "Allie wrote: "How do you even buy $200 in cigs? Geez Louise. Total taking advantage of the system right there!"
In Minnesota a pack of cigarettes is at least $6 a pack with the "popular" brands bei..."

Wouldn't get many packets in Australia. Average price is around $20 a packet, I believe. Government is trying to tax them into oblivion.

[Darcy]

Margaret wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "Allie wrote: "How do you even buy $200 in cigs? Geez Louise. Total taking advantage of the system right there!"
In Minnesota a pack of cigarettes is at least $6 a pack with the "po..."

Same here though I think they're about $12/packet. Also, the locations where they can be purchased diminishes all the time.

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Darcy wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "Allie wrote: "How do you even buy $200 in cigs? Geez Louise. Total taking advantage of the system right there!"
In Minnesota a pack of cigarettes is at least $6 a ..."

Here too all cigarettes must be in plain packaging with really gross "health warning" photos on them.