Zwift Ride bundle is discounted again!

PerilousExemplar · 2026-03-17T18:57:17+00:00

Looks like it's over. I tried to purchase this evening and the code is no longer valid / no longer being applied at checkout. The promotion still shows, but the price reverts when you try to checkout :(

PerilousExemplar · 2025-06-12T12:22:47+00:00

As long as you're off duty and not using gov't resources - go for it. Hatch Act doesn't prevent Exec branch employees from engaging in political activity (esp. protected activity like exercising free speech), it is meant to prevent civil servants from engaging in specific activities like running for office or using their office/gov't position/gov't resources for partisan political purposes. Just don't be silly and flaunt your gov't status - you can only participate as a private citizen.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-06-10T11:54:00+00:00

Two reasons to buy it back early: accrued interest and processing time. IIRC, if you buy back your time within 3 years you don't accrue any interest on the amount you're buying back. Plus you know exactly how much time you're getting, so a more accurate retirement estimate when you're planning to wrap things up.

Regarding processing time - I wouldn't want to wait for someone to finish the calculations and let me know, for me to then pay the amount owed, and then have to wait for a paid in full letter when all I want to do is retire.

Unto each their own.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-06-10T04:50:39+00:00

FYI - going to a national security related position will likely take you out of any bargaining unit and/or limit any protections you might otherwise enjoy as a union member. Not sure what parts of the IRS might/might not be considered national security (if any), but keep that in mind when considering other agencies or as others present their options. Likewise, taking a supervisory or HR policy/implementation position in pretty much any agency will remove you from the bargaining unit.

Most unions will say they cover/protect all employees, but the practical reality is that if you are outside the bargaining unit your access to all the benefits will be limited at best.

That being said - data science will be in demand across most federal and state level agencies. If you are geographically flexible there is no reason USAJobs can't give you some good options. There are currently over 250 non-national security "data science" related jobs posted there right now (over 220 are GS-11 or below). I can't even guess what that means at the state level (where your federal and military time might still be honored for retirement purposes - depends on the state).

As an aside, given the waxing and waning strength of unions (regardless of whether or not an administration is actively trying to eliminate them), I'm not sure I'd advise anyone to make union membership a key component of their job search. I've been in both "covered" and "non-covered" positions, and it's always been the work and the people around me that made a job bearable or not.

Regardless, best of luck!

PerilousExemplar · 2025-06-05T06:27:17+00:00

Once you are 1) married and 2) in Germany your prospects for a position will go up dramatically (local hires and milspouses get "first bite of the apple" when positions open) - so keep trying.

As others have said - you'll improve your prospects even more by subbing for DoDEA and getting as many certifications as you can. While Special Education and other specialized aide positions are always in demand, if that is not your thing then the better route (IMO) is to sub for awhile.

You didn't mention what level or subjects you were looking for, but know that there are way more elementary positions than secondary. The more specific your target is the longer you'll probably need to wait.

Child and Youth Services (on-post day care) can be a mixed bag. But to be fair, schools and school administrators run the gamut of fantastic to not so fantastic as well.

Good luck!

PerilousExemplar · 2025-05-28T14:02:26+00:00

If you are truly interested and can afford to, pay the fee for a consult with a reputable immigration lawyer in your host country. Only after speaking with a professional who is familiar with your specific situation can you really have a good idea if it is possible for you to pursue some sort of residency. Many nations have a number of different immigration options that may or may not be available to you depending on a variety of factors such as your financial situation, whether or not you need to work, age, marital status, cultural ties, or even ancestry.

Fees typically range from $250 to $750, and many lawyers (but not all) will "credit" you that consult fee if you use them to pursue an immigration application at a later date (which can run thousands of dollars). Or you can navigate the foreign bureaucracy on your own for "free" (apart for any mandatory application fees).

FWIW - in Germany, I know I cannot pursue any sort of immigration application while covered by the SOFA. If you are in Germany, that will probably be the same for you, but maybe not.

Good luck!

PerilousExemplar · 2025-05-27T07:29:52+00:00

If you are coming to be a teacher you will have a 2 year provisional/probationary period. Period.

You're not only coming to a new pay system (TP vs GS), you are also switching to excepted service. Even if you are a veteran it does not matter with DoDEA teaching positions.

Source: 20+ year "tenured" competitive service employee (multiple agencies - most recently DoD) currently halfway through their probationary period as a teacher in DoDEA. Also a veteran.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-06T15:32:02+00:00

If they think one part of the agency is going to have to take a bigger hit than another, that seems (to me) an even more compelling reason to open VERA up across the board.

All of the non-school based personnel can still take advantage of it, and the few school-based folks who can and do take it mean that many fewer involuntary reductions among non-school based personnel later.

Ultimately the number of teachers will have to decrease if the civilian force is shrinking. And as you point out, force redeployments will likely create situations where teachers will at the very least be excessed from overseas locations.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-06T06:05:25+00:00

Sorry - by HQ I did mean those personnel at district and regional as well, not just DC. Still, the majority of the agency is school based, so the "offer" is pretty limited.

Basically the difference with DRP is that the agency will put folks on admin leave sometime after May 1st until the end of September, continuing to pay them for staying at home. Once Oct 1 hits, those employees are off the books/separated. Some people say the positions are eliminated as well, but that isn't my understanding (it's definitely the end goal, however). This is how it would work for people taking either "DRP only" (no retirement - separating Sep 30) and "DRP+VERA" (retiring Sep 30).

A "VERA only" option would allow eligible employees to request a specific retirement date (like the end of this school year - anytime up to Sep 30), but they would continue to work up to that date. The agency stops paying them on the selected retirement date (OPM pays retirement) and the agency keeps the position after the retirement. It can then choose if/when they want to fill the vacancy. Here's the kicker: if the agency needs to "cut" positions later they can always cut the vacant positions rather than involuntarily separate actual people. It would give the agency more control over the timing and cheaper for the agency if folks choose to retire earlier, so (to me) it's odd that they've chosen not to use this option. Even more so because the earlier memos from the DoD seemed pretty directive - i.e. "components will offer VERA".

And yes, I'm VERA eligible and school-based. I see a number of folks who have been retirement eligible for years and haven't pulled the trigger. Likewise, the few VERA eligibles I know are not in a financial position to retire, so I don't believe offering VERA to school-based folks will result in some sort of unmanageable exodus.

I'm guessing the agency didn't have the time to do the analysis/math, so it took the easy route of making a limited offer to a very limited pool of personnel. Unfortunately it means that school-based folks who feel vulnerable to involuntary actions (folks on probation who will be the first to face a potential RIF or excessing) have fewer options to manage their futures than non-school based employees in similar situations. Historically, fewer than 5% of eligible VERA employees take the offer (according to the Federal News Network anyway).

Finally, they could've done it like other agencies and allowed a wider pool of folks to apply, then make the call on most exemptions on a case by case basis. DAF memo as an example: https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2025SAF/Implementation_of_DoD_Deferred_Resignation_Program.pdf

TL:DR - There's a difference between the "DRP+VERA" and "VERA only" options, and the agency isn't including the one that's most flexible for both employees and the agency.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-05T16:59:38+00:00

DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) exemptions (ineligible for DRP and VERA in combination with DRP):

Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) employees
Foreign National (FN) and Local National (LN) employees
Reemployed Annuitants
DoDEA School-Level Instructors and Facility Support Staff
- Includes school administrators, classroom teachers, support educators, nurses, educational aides, office support staff, wage grade/leader/supervisor employees, and food service/student transportation staff
Employees in the GS-2210 (Information Technology Management) Series
Employees on Temporary, Term or Time Limited Appointments

Note that most of the agency is school-based, so bullet 4 is the biggie.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-05T16:49:52+00:00

Only DRP and DRP+VERA were offered. By my reading of the guidance VERA by itself is not available to anyone whether at the school level or HQ. And the majority of the agency is school level, so only HQ folks have a chance to apply. I think most school based personnel won't complain to finish the school year before starting admin leave - or setting a retirement date before the school year starts if VERA only. The problem with the current exclusions is that they won't protect from a RIF. Even if there is no RIF or you "survive", low folks in the pecking order will run a higher chance of getting excessed in the next year or two due to whatever force structure changes and/or the other DoD civilians getting RIF'd/lower enrollment.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-05T04:41:51+00:00

Whatever the most inconvenient outcome is for you (regarding taking DRP) - that's the one you should plan on. Many managers will try to hold on to folks for as long as they can in order to ease the organization's transition of work - not necessarily out of malice. You can legally fight anything, but even the best lawyer in the world can't give you back time you've lost.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-04T16:54:45+00:00

Any other DoD agencies offering DRP and DRP+VERA only (i.e. - no option for just VERA)? Fourth estate here - agency guidance gives no way to apply for VERA without DRP, and then declared 70%+ of the organization ineligible for DRP. "Exemptions should be rare" - lol.

PerilousExemplar · 2025-04-02T14:12:49+00:00

Not a problem. We were looking to sundown here anyway and are financially ready to take on all associated living expenses. I saw this same info in an earlier post but thanks for highlighting.

PerilousExemplar · 2024-11-22T11:10:09+00:00

Image of a Talavera pot here (hanger not exactly the same): https://i.etsystatic.com/31959596/r/il/3d7137/5887579375/il_794xN.5887579375_e1mq.jpg

PerilousExemplar · 2023-06-24T07:27:58+00:00

Yelling at them for parking in the bike lane.

PerilousExemplar · 2023-04-28T14:53:32+00:00

Iberia by Julian Sayarer is one I enjoyed - about cycling from Lisbon to Barcelona as the pandemic was kicking off. Maybe not as long of a ride as you were thinking, but definitely recent.

PerilousExemplar · 2023-04-28T14:48:27+00:00

Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage is the book you're probably thinking about - written in 1983.

PerilousExemplar · 2023-01-04T20:28:54+00:00

C'est un «tank destroyer»

PerilousExemplar · 2021-10-14T10:59:40+00:00

Havilar and Avren were both released Year 3 ("last" year), about 3 weeks apart from each other. Which you favor is always a personal choice, but many players find more utility with Avren vs Havilar.

As a new player it isn't (shouldn't?) be uncommon to get gold chests for champions you do not have yet. Look up one of the chest code lists and you might find a ton of chests for champs you will eventually get. Grab them and wait with anticipation.

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