The Hobbit Hole XXIII - Let them go! Let them go!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Let them go! Let them go!

• First thread: New Zealander builds Hobbit hole
• Second thread: The New Hobbit Hole
• Third thread: The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads! (Congratulations, we filled it up!)
• Fourth Thread: The Hobbit Hole IV - The Road Goes Ever On...
• Fifth Thread: The Hobbit Hole V - Where Many Paths and Errands Meet...
• Sixth Thread: The Hobbit Hole VI - And Whither Then? I Cannot Say...
• Seventh Thread: The Hobbit Hole VII - But not yet weary are our feet...
• Eighth Thread: The Hobbit Hole VIII - Still round the corner we may meet...
• Ninth Thread: The Hobbit Hole IX - A sudden tree or standing stone
• Tenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole X - That none have seen but we alone.
      Eleventh Thread: Wedding Edition: The Hobbit Hole XI - No One Admitted Except on Wedding Business!
• Twelfth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XII - Tree and flower and leaf and grass
• Thirteenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XIII - Let them pass! Let them pass!
• Fourteenth thread: The Hobbit Hole XIV - Hill and Water Under Sky
• Fifteenth thread: The Hobbit Hole XV - Pass them by! Pass them by!
• Sixteenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XVI - Still round the corner there may wait...
• Seventeenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XVII - A new road or a secret gate...
• Eighteenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XVIII - Though we pass them by today...
• Nineteenth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XIX - Tomorrow we may come this way...
• Twentieth Thread: The Hobbit Hole XX - And take the hidden paths that run...
• Twenty-first Thread: The Hobbit Hole XXI - ...Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
• Twenty-second Thread: The Hobbit Hole XXII - ...Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe

New verse:

Upon the hearth the fire is red, Beneath the roof there is a bed; But not yet weary are our feet, Still round the corner we may meet A sudden tree or standing stone That none have seen but we alone. Tree and flower and leaf and grass, Let them pass! Let them pass! Hill and water under sky, Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate, And though we pass them by today, Tomorrow we may come this way And take the hidden paths that run Towards the Moon or to the Sun. Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe, Let them go! Let them go! Sand and stone and pool and dell, Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are all alight. Then world behind and home ahead, We’ll wander back to home and bed. Mist and twilight, cloud and shade, Away shall fade! Away shall fade! Fire and lamp, and meat and bread, And then to bed! And then to bed!

See also: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net

Web page for our moot reports and troop support information!

[HairOfTheDog]

WOO HOO! That's good... You just missed dad... he stopped by and had a whole lot to talk about, and then had to go - you know the drill: all kinds of tasks need done and such, very busy, there.

[Corin Stormhands]

Heh...you should have been around the day he sent out the notice that state cars were no longer to be used for personal use.

State agencies directors were rather disturbed that they were told "if you drove to work in a state car, you need to find another way home..."

[JenB]

Heh... now that one I like.

[RosieCotton]

*sigh*

Still no phone call. Wonder if they'll actually call today or not.

On the bright side, I found my metronome. Woo-hoo!

[RosieCotton]

I've got rhythm, I've got music, I've got my guitar - who could ask for anything more?

Except a job!

[HairOfTheDog]

There was a big hubbub here over state motor pool cars a couple years ago when dad was still at the state. It seemed someone saw, and complained, about state cars dropping off kids at school on the way to work or picking them up, and they made a rule that no one but state employees or clients/subcontractors and the like could ride in state cars. No family members.

I can see the point, I guess, of attempting to avoid abuse, but what a hassle that was. Dad can't take the kids to school, or pick them up, because he has the state car that day, even if it's not really out of the way.

It also meant that state workers couldn't bring the spouse along on a state trip to a conference or something, which a lot of people do, if they're going to be spending several days at a resort somewhere for a conference.

So - what ended up happening is that people just took their own cars and got mileage reimbursement, which is more expensive than using the state car, and was the whole reason for buying state cars in the first place.

[Corin Stormhands]

Is a metro-nome a gnome with identify issues?

[Peanut Gallery]

Just gave elfboy his math placement test today. It's a Saxon test. We're not using Saxon, but his old school uses Saxon and I wanted to compare where he's at right now.

He was in Kindergarten last year. Today he tested at Math 2.

I guess playing Chess and Monopoly in spare time helped a bit over the summer?

[HairOfTheDog]

What was your last communication with them, that led you to thinking they'd call today?

[Corin Stormhands]

Dad can't take the kids to school, or pick them up, because he has the state car that day, even if it's not really out of the way.

That's different though. These people were basically using them as their personal cars, driving them back and forth to work every day.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, if their job doesn't require a lot of driving on official business, then there was need for a change. My dad used to have a state car a lot, because his job involved a lot of going out to visit school districts around the state. So he may have kept it a week at a time, if there were a few trips to make.

[Corin Stormhands]

No, that's different. And it's still allowed.

[Lil'freeper]

Our travel system is computerized and you get your orders via a web interface. When I return I have to file more electronic papers to get reimbursed.

When I fly somewhere, I usually drive to the airport and park my car there. The mileage reimbursement and parking fees are *always* less than it would cost to get one-way rental cars to go to and from the airport. Yet, when I input the fact that I drove to the airport the travel system rejects it as an "unauthorized mode of travel!" Stupid stupid stupid.

[HairOfTheDog]

So you could get a shuttle or rental car reimbursement, but not mileage?

[Lil'freeper]

Yup. I even have the option of taking a private jet to the airport (it's on the list of options from which to choose) but they have something against private cars.

Yer tax dollars at work. Stupid gubmint.

[HairOfTheDog]

ROTFL!

[Lil'freeper]

Governments really shouldn't be in charge of important things if they can't even handle employee travel.

[Lil'freeper]

Oh look.

[Lil'freeper]

At this.

[Lil'freeper]

sitting here.