I can't really explain why, not here, but it all comes down to the way corporate tracks how much work we're doing; pretty much, though, if we stay on top of our documentation we'll get more hours. It means more paperwork, but no other major changes to how we do things. That'll fix the hours situation.
So--again--it's looking as if it's just a matter of toughing it out for a little while.
The rest of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of how to be a better team, and all that is not relevant to the topic at hand here. Things are getting shaken up a bit, but constructively, and I think ultimately it will redound to the benefit of everyone in the precinct.
And I got my silver badge today. Hoody hoo!
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Friend of the Fungus Wonderduck had a good day, for a change.
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It's the snowiest winter we've had since 1979!
I can believe it. We've had several inches every week and if we get just one more 3-5 inch storm before we get a thaw, the sundial will be completely buried, and the bird bath won't be far behind it.
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Believe it or not, this actually makes sense. See, the laws against child pr0nz don't differentiate by age; it's illegal for everyone to create, have, reproduce, or what-have-you...even when it's an underage girl taking a selfie of herself in her birthday suit. It has to be this way for the same reason kids can't sign release forms and act in teh pr00nas: it's too easy for an unscrupulous adult to talk kids into such things.
If it's less (or not) illegal for an underage person to do this kind of thing, then pedophiles will simply change their methods, and start convincing their victims to take pictures and videos of themselves: "Hey, I had nothing to do with it; she took her own pictures, and I guess they got sent to me by accident--"
So at first blush it looks insane: big mean justice system charging this girl with a felony for choosing to do something which won't be illegal for her to do at all in a few years--but when you really think about the purpose of child exploitation laws you understand why it has to be like this. The current philosophy of prevending sexual predation revolves around ensuring that sexual predators have as few methods or tools as possible, and punishing any infraction as harshly as possible. Saying, "Well, she's 15 and it's a selfie and she just a dumb kid who doesn't know any better, so we won't prosecute" sets a precedent that predators will exploit, or at least try to.
If you're serious about stopping sexual predators, this is the kind of thing you have to do; and as long as it remains within the boundaries set by the Constitution I can't find any fault with it.
A couple of commmentors also make a good point: any adult man caught with a copy of that picture on his phone (or hard drive) would go to jail and have to register as a sex offender, and would be labeled as a pedophile for the rest of his life. Why should the girl not be treated like a child p04rn0grapher for creating, duplicating, and distributing the image?
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Anyway, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Mrs. Fungus and I didn't go to bed before 3 AM, and I had trouble getting to sleep, and then had to be up today at 6:30 in order to be at work by 8. I may have gotten two hours of sleep, and may not have; in any case I'm going to hit the hay for a while.
Gadzooks.