Scott T

I wanted to quit my job a year ago, but my boss told me to stick it out and promised me that within six months I would receive a raise and promotion. He still keeps hemming and hawing about it but so far no promotion and no raise.

We are in the middle of a major systems integration computer project and I have positioned myself as the only person who knows a critical piece of the implementation. They are planning to implement the second weekend in May. This involves dozens of people coming in over the weekend, including lots of Union employees in the shop testing the terminal interface.

I am planning to continue to act enthused until the Friday night before then just not show up the Saturday morning of the integration and send an e-mail saying I quit and clearly state it is because my boss lied (with a copy to his boss, of course).

This will cost the company thousands of dollars in standby pay for all of the Union personnel in the shops, plus whatever premium they'll have to pay to try to find someone to do my job on a Saturday morning (not likely).

I am NOT under any type of employment contract and am at-will. I'm looking to do this for sweet revenge on my boss for wasting a year of my life. And, yes, I do have another job lined up and *am* going to sign a contract for that one next week.

My question: can they come after me for the cost of the upgrade or am I free to quit my job whenever I want if I don't have a contract?

My friends talked me into going to Disneyland in May and I'm not really big on that type of thing, but want to hang out with them and have some fun.

My question: I like to run 5K a day. We're staying inside the park. I don't want to run on a treadmill, but I've heard that the neighborhoods around Disneyland Park are extremely dangerous and not safe to go running in. Is this true?

Thanks

For a long time, I have planned to work and save until I was 45, then take all my money and have five years of total fun and then off myself before all the various illnesses and sicknesses of old age came into play (I turned 40 last year). I worked in a hospital for awhile and saw so many people basically just rotting away and decided that wasn't for me.

Anyway, I've managed to save up a good sum of money. I can already see my looks starting to go even though I exercise like crazy, I don't have s*x as much as in my 20s and I'm at the beginning of seeing my friends lose their parents.

What has thrown me, though, is a recent comment my mom made. She just turned 70 and, after the party and unprompted, said "I have never been happier in my life."

So, BE HONEST, is it possible to still be happy at 70 even though your physical appearance and abilities are in decline, or is my mom just in denial?

I've spent two months building out my Minecraft world but have yet to find a single village or desert anywhere. Does this mean I'm going to have to start again?

I've gotten on my horse and ridden for 45 minutes. Keep getting Jungle, Ocean, some plains with trees and a few super high mountains--but NEVER any desert or villages.

I *really* like the world I've constructed and have saved up thousands of silver but am willing to give it all up for a cactus!

My dog *hates* going outside for walks. She runs and hides when she sees her leash.

Nothing bad has ever happened to her on a walk. In fact, we've had no incidents at all. I live near a park and walk her there. Occasionally another dog will sniff her butt, but that's about it.

Is it possible for a dog to be agorophobic? Should I make her go for walks even if she doesn't want to? She *does* run around a lot in the yard and plays with her toys, so she is getting exercise.

I am so tired of having insomnia where I can sometimes go up to 3 days with no more than an hour of sleep but being exhausted all day long. Tried all the natural remedies (melatonin, valerian), OTC (Benadryl) and prescription Ambien, Valium, Xanax. None of them have done squat. My doctor finally sent me to a sleep lab and I didn't fall asleep in the lab until 3:30 a.m. then woke up again at 5:15. They said I only had one REM cycle, but didn't have sleep apnea or any of the other common stuff. WTH can I do to SLEEP! It's starting to affect my job and my life, I'm afraid to drive or ride my bike so take the #&*$&#* bus everywhere and feel like a zombie half the time.

Not sure if this means anything but my mom is the same way. She'll go to bed at 2 in the morning and will be puttering around again at 3:30 or 4. But she doesn't work so she just naps whenever she gets tired, which I don't have the luxury of doing.

Several people at work keep all kinds of religious stuff in their offices: crosses, bibles, etc. There's even a muslim woman who uses a prayer rug a few times a day. I really would just like to do my job and not be constantly bothered by religion. If I put up a "Things go Better With Satan" sign in my cube and a Satanic Bible would they have to allow this since they let other religions go on at work.

BTW: I'm not a satanist--I think it's just as silly as any other religion.

I notice that Windows Task manager allows me to choose which core(s) will run specific processes. Is there any reason to do this? I assume Windows manages this itself. In other words, will I see a huge improvement in, say, PhotoShop, if I assign it cores 4-8 and stick everything else in cores 1-4?

I've been working in tech for 10 years now and am sick of it. The long hours, the calls at midnight--those of you in it know how it is. I make $120K a year but don't give a **** about money--when you average out the 100 hour weeks I put in sometimes it's not really all that much money anyway.

I want a normal job that pays $10-$15 an hour where I only work 40 hours a week or less, no one calls me at midnight, I don't have to take a #&#&*# cell phone everywhere I go and I can go outside, take long bike rides, take my dogs to the beach and ENJOY MY LIFE. The problem is, when I interview at a place like Starbucks or Costco, they always ask me why I want to leave such a high paying job. What can I say without seeming lazy? I suppose I could just not tell them that I work in tech, but how am I going to account for 10 years of my life if I don't.

I invested $5,000 in a stock two years ago. It's now worth about $11,000. I'd like to take my original investment of $5K out and leave the rest in as "gravy".

Will the $5K I withdraw be taxed as capital gains or not because it's the original investment that was already taxed when I put it in the market? What kind of proof will I need of the original investment to avoid tax? Thanks

I haven't had a physical in four years, so maybe practices have changed, but my doctor didn't even touch me during the physical except to take my blood pressure. He asked me if anything was wrong or if I had any pain, but didn't check anything.

At my last physical, the doctor listened to my heart and lungs, checked my eyes ears and nose, etc.

Is this "no touch" physical the new norm or should I find a new doctor.

We're selling our house. Would it be illegal to, at our open house, have friends drift through periodically and say things like "OMG we should bid on this place" or "wow, look at that detailing"? It seems to me this is just taking "staging" to the next level, i.e. "staging" our house with real people who have, in the past, said they like our house (i.e. they wouldn't be lying).

My friend who is a house stager says that, for example, they will use smaller furniture to make a house seem bigger.

I'm taking a two year sabbatical from work and would like to spend as much time as possible in London.

I know that U.S. citizens can only go for six months.

My question: if I go to London for six months, then return to the U.S., how much time has to elapse before I can return to the U.K. again? Is it six months per year?

Thanks

Myself and two other people I ordered PC's from them. They gave a two-week shipping date. Then, the dates kept slipping, now it's two months out. Myself and another friend canceled our orders, but the third friend is still waiting.

I've bought from them in the past and have never had any issues like this, now they seem very common. What is so hard about building a STANDARD computer that it would take two months to do?!?

I have two female dogs that get along fine. They play together, eat together, sleep in the same dog bed, etc.

However, whenever I get out the leashes to go for a walk, they go into a frenzy and start fighting. It's gotten to the point that I have to separate them in two different rooms to put their leashes on.

However, once we're out the door and on our walk they're fine again--no fighting or any other problems.

What could be causing this to happen? The trainer said to try not making a big deal out of their walks, which I'm doing, but that isn't helping. They still fight when it's time to go for a walk.

Yesterday I had to get an x-ray. The technician used a pen from his pocket to point toward part of my forearm which was the area of attention. This got me thinking--if he does this repeatedly will the pen be radiactive and dangerous to him? What about the x-ray room itself? Or the x-ray machine itself? Why isn't it/they full of radiation since there are thousands of x-rays going on in there?

Thanks

I went to a show last night where they sold 3000 seats for $55 each. I was able to find out that $5 of that went to Ticketmaster, $25,000 to the house for rental and staff, with $125K gross left after that. Artist is a solo performer who had four band members to pay, plus roadies and, I assume, travel expenses, etc.

Anyone familiar with the business have a rough idea of how much the performer might have made personally after paying all their show-related expenses?

I'm self-employed U.S. citizen and take 3 months a year off. I've decided I'd like to spend those three months every year in the U.K. since I really like it and hope some day to be able to retire there. I've done this for two years now--the standard passport stamp is good for six months.

Can I keep doing this indefinitely or will I eventually have to get some type of Visa to return for my annual visit?

Why is the London underground so far underground? I can't seem to find much information about this online. Some lines, especially the Jubilee, feel as if you're going half a mile underground (though I know this is obviously not the case). Wouldn't it have been cheaper, particularly in the 1800's when the system was built, to build it closer to the surface?

I'm going to be visiting London and want to see friends who live near the Tower Hill station. I'm staying near Grosvenor Square and would like to walk to the Thames, then along the Thames to Tower Hill. I realize it's about four miles which is no problem--I'm an avid walker/hiker--but is it a safe route to travel at about 6 p.m.? What about at around 11 p.m.? Thanks