OK, showing my age here, but I remember when paper and pencils and such were provided by the school. You could, at your option, bring in your own (and notebooks, ring binders, and such, and we did. . . ), but basic materials were provided by the school.
I also remember being a little shocked when I enrolled my daughters in public school (this was early-to-mid 1990s) they were given a list of supplies to bring in. A list that grew longer every year.
At the same time, I noted that the libraries lacked recent books, and there were nearly as many "resources" as there were teachers. A K-5 elementary school had **3** secretaries and a vice-principal.
In retrospect, I suspect the two are related, and also to the growth of administrators in post-secondary education.
On the other hand, if you're like **our** household, buy quite a bit, and quite often, from Amazon, and stream their Included-in-Prime video content, 10 bucks a month is dirt cheap.
So the question is, does Prime meet your needs for the price charged? IF so, get it. IF not, don't. It's THAT simple.
Actually, no. I'm originally from the Eastern part of the state. But having traveled and lived all over, I can state that Pennsylvania winters were pleasant compared to Limestone, Maine, and Minot, North Dakota. . . . Drive around Pennsylvania with a electric plug for a block heater sticking out in front of your grill, and people will inevitably ask "what's that for ?"
I can just imagine the reaction of a Sillycone Valley resident to -80 wind chills and/or 8 foot snowstorms. . .
Snowfall is 27 inches. The average US city gets 26 inches of snow per year.
On average, there are 160 sunny days per year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The July high is around 84 degrees. The January low is 22. Sperling's comfort index for Pittsburgh is a 52 out of 100, where a higher score indicates a more comfortable year-around climate. The US average for the comfort index is 54.
So, pretty much an average climate, with a much lower cost-of-living than the Bay Area.
I was being kind. I avoided the actual label of "boring message fiction" that causes puppies to be sad*
(* Insider Joke: the original Sad Puppies campaign included a tongue-in-cheek pitch about 'boring message fiction' being a major cause of puppy-related sadness. . )
Mind you, I know both Jon and Dave. Not well, but I do know them.
So, how was Jon "not abiding by the terms of their admission ticket" and causing "foreseeable risk of harm to other congoers" by announcing that he would wear a bodycam to objectively record events around his person. After all, considering the brouhaha about Dave Truesdale "disrupting a panel" at the 2016 Worldcon caused people to lose their sh*t when Dave produced his voice recorder record showing nothing of the sort happened..
The only risk is to the reputations of people making false accusations.
As for "good guide for reading", I find the Benjamin Award a superior guide to speculative fiction. Because if a lot of people bought it, it's probably good. . .
Admittedly. But i was attempting to give a top level view while being as even-handed as possible. Also note, I mentioned that the Trufen CONTROLLED the Worldcon and the Hugos. And, recently, people have been kicked out of Worldcon, or banned from attending. The cases of Dave Truesdale and Jon del Arroz testify to that. . .
See the "Sad Puppies" story. SF Fandom has diverged into factions: a "Literary" faction (which sometimes refers to itself as 'Trufandom'), which currently pretty much controls the Worldcon, the Hugo Awards, and the Nebula Awards, and a "Spaceships and Rayguns" faction (notionally, the Puppies. There are two major factions in the Puppies as well). It's getting to the point that the two factions have different cons, different preferred publishers, and distinct communities. The split is also fairly ideological, with the Trufen faction trending left, and the Puppy faction trending right
Been there many times, lived in Jersey for years. But there's only so much land available, and the stock of housing is not increasing meaningfully. To build new requires astronomical real estate costs. Economics and regulation combine to restrict supply. . .
. . . that restricts the supply of new housing, and has strong rent-control in place, and people are SURPRISED that property owners will find a way to to generate revenue, and then optimize that revenue ??
. . . that car exhausts have gotten so clean, that outgassing from household and industrial products is now noticeable, instead of being noise in the metrics. . .
Admittedly, the SpaceX "Veejays" doing the narration pre-launch and post-launch were a new twist on launch coverage, but the enthusiasm of the crowd at SpaceX was amazing.
My only complaint: Musk used a RED Tesla Roadster with the top down as the payload, Those of us traditionalists who remember the original "Heavy Metal" kind of expected a WHITE convertible. . . (grin)
I mentioned, upthread, that my company's HR foisted an new job title and pay-grade system on us, last year. As a Team Lead, I was in on the management briefings.
A few things stood out.
One: HR's goal is to find and hire the absolutely best people available. But it's also their goal to pay dead-center median salary for it. I pointed that out, and they simply ignored the question.
Two: employees who appear to be looking elsewhere for employment are identified, and labeled as "flight risks". Because nothing shows an employee their value to a firm like being given the same label as a criminal suspect. . . .
Three: For those of us on contracts that are ending, they will 'attempt' to find us other positions in the firm. But not to expect action until 4 weeks out. . .
Needless to say, I'm already a "flight risk". . . .
I disagree. HR, increasingly, works for itself. At my employer, HR foisted on us an ENTIRELY new system of Job Titles and Pay Grades. Which is not just useless, but required the hiring of approximately 10 more people at Corporate to manage it.
All, of course, reporting to the Chief Human Capital Officer.
Actually, originally, the concept was "Shuttle/Station". Then the station part got cut. Then some politician cut funding to bring the External Tanks to orbit (which was a leftover from Shuttle/Station: you could conceivably build a manned station using first-gen External Tanks. But this was when Skylab had yet to be launched. . .
. ..and the rest was Washington and bureaucratic inertia. . . .
Slashdot Mirror
OK, showing my age here, but I remember when paper and pencils and such were provided by the school. You could, at your option, bring in your own (and notebooks, ring binders, and such, and we did. . . ), but basic materials were provided by the school.
I also remember being a little shocked when I enrolled my daughters in public school (this was early-to-mid 1990s) they were given a list of supplies to bring in. A list that grew longer every year.
At the same time, I noted that the libraries lacked recent books, and there were nearly as many "resources" as there were teachers. A K-5 elementary school had **3** secretaries and a vice-principal.
In retrospect, I suspect the two are related, and also to the growth of administrators in post-secondary education.
. . . probably not worth it.
On the other hand, if you're like **our** household, buy quite a bit, and quite often, from Amazon, and stream their Included-in-Prime video content, 10 bucks a month is dirt cheap.
So the question is, does Prime meet your needs for the price charged? IF so, get it. IF not, don't. It's THAT simple.
(obligatory 2001: A Space Odyssey reference)
. . . . have items bind to the toon when picked up. If you can't use it. . . . it lays there until it de-spawns. . .
The only real value-added from "elite" colleges is the networking opportunities. For the most part, a college degree is a college degree.
I found the yinzer
Actually, no. I'm originally from the Eastern part of the state. But having traveled and lived all over, I can state that Pennsylvania winters were pleasant compared to Limestone, Maine, and Minot, North Dakota. . . . Drive around Pennsylvania with a electric plug for a block heater sticking out in front of your grill, and people will inevitably ask "what's that for ?"
I can just imagine the reaction of a Sillycone Valley resident to -80 wind chills and/or 8 foot snowstorms. . .
I rather think worrying about feeding a furnace in Pittsburgh is a bit overblown.
A few stats:
Average temperature: 52F
Annual high temperature: 61.4F
Average annual precipitation - rainfall: 34.8 inch
Annual low temperature: 42.6F
And snow ??
Snowfall is 27 inches. The average US city gets 26 inches of snow per year.
On average, there are 160 sunny days per year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The July high is around 84 degrees. The January low is 22. Sperling's comfort index for Pittsburgh is a 52 out of 100, where a higher score indicates a more comfortable year-around climate. The US average for the comfort index is 54.
So, pretty much an average climate, with a much lower cost-of-living than the Bay Area.
. . . or we re-name all the streets "Peachttree". . .
Oops, too late. . . (grin)
I was being kind. I avoided the actual label of "boring message fiction" that causes puppies to be sad*
(* Insider Joke: the original Sad Puppies campaign included a tongue-in-cheek pitch about 'boring message fiction' being a major cause of puppy-related sadness. . )
Mind you, I know both Jon and Dave. Not well, but I do know them.
So, how was Jon "not abiding by the terms of their admission ticket" and causing "foreseeable risk of harm to other congoers" by announcing that he would wear a bodycam to objectively record events around his person. After all, considering the brouhaha about Dave Truesdale "disrupting a panel" at the 2016 Worldcon caused people to lose their sh*t when Dave produced his voice recorder record showing nothing of the sort happened..
The only risk is to the reputations of people making false accusations.
As for "good guide for reading", I find the Benjamin Award a superior guide to speculative fiction. Because if a lot of people bought it, it's probably good. . .
Admittedly. But i was attempting to give a top level view while being as even-handed as possible. Also note, I mentioned that the Trufen CONTROLLED the Worldcon and the Hugos. And, recently, people have been kicked out of Worldcon, or banned from attending. The cases of Dave Truesdale and Jon del Arroz testify to that. . .
See the "Sad Puppies" story. SF Fandom has diverged into factions: a "Literary" faction (which sometimes refers to itself as 'Trufandom'), which currently pretty much controls the Worldcon, the Hugo Awards, and the Nebula Awards, and a "Spaceships and Rayguns" faction (notionally, the Puppies. There are two major factions in the Puppies as well). It's getting to the point that the two factions have different cons, different preferred publishers, and distinct communities. The split is also fairly ideological, with the Trufen faction trending left, and the Puppy faction trending right
Quick guide:
Cons:
Trufen: WorldCon, Wiscon, ReaderCon
Puppies: DragonCon, LibertyCon, RavenCon, LTUE
Publishers:
Trufen: TOR, Orbit
Puppies: Baen, Castalia
Awards:
Trufen: Nebulas, Hugos
Puppies: Dragons
This is not an all-encompassing list. There are also favored blogs and associated communities. . .
. . . .that the Reptoids or the Greys replaced him with a replicant clone! (grin)
(Insert obligatory "I'm not saying it was Aliens. . . but it was Aliens!" photomeme here. . . )
Homeland Security defines "the border" as anywhere within 100 miles of any border or shoreline. . .
https://www.aclu.org/know-your...
. . . .that reads:
"Stop sending us naked pictures of yourselves and directions to your home planet. It's ***CREEPY***. . . . ."
(evil grin)
. . .except that in Switzerland, nearly every home has an ACTUAL military-issue assault rifle. And ammo.
And yet there are no mass shootings in Switzerland.
Hint: Guns don't jump into someone's hands and start killing people.
Been there many times, lived in Jersey for years. But there's only so much land available, and the stock of housing is not increasing meaningfully. To build new requires astronomical real estate costs. Economics and regulation combine to restrict supply. . .
. . . that restricts the supply of new housing, and has strong rent-control in place, and people are SURPRISED that property owners will find a way to to generate revenue, and then optimize that revenue ??
You note that the AQMD has focused on VOC emissions out of necessity.
Not to be too cynical, but might that "necessity" actually be "justifying its' continued existence" ?
I smell the Iron Law of Bureaucracy in play. . .
. . . that car exhausts have gotten so clean, that outgassing from household and industrial products is now noticeable, instead of being noise in the metrics. . .
Admittedly, the SpaceX "Veejays" doing the narration pre-launch and post-launch were a new twist on launch coverage, but the enthusiasm of the crowd at SpaceX was amazing.
My only complaint: Musk used a RED Tesla Roadster with the top down as the payload, Those of us traditionalists who remember the original "Heavy Metal" kind of expected a WHITE convertible. . . (grin)
I mentioned, upthread, that my company's HR foisted an new job title and pay-grade system on us, last year. As a Team Lead, I was in on the management briefings.
A few things stood out.
One: HR's goal is to find and hire the absolutely best people available. But it's also their goal to pay dead-center median salary for it. I pointed that out, and they simply ignored the question.
Two: employees who appear to be looking elsewhere for employment are identified, and labeled as "flight risks". Because nothing shows an employee their value to a firm like being given the same label as a criminal suspect. . . .
Three: For those of us on contracts that are ending, they will 'attempt' to find us other positions in the firm. But not to expect action until 4 weeks out. . .
Needless to say, I'm already a "flight risk". . . .
I disagree. HR, increasingly, works for itself. At my employer, HR foisted on us an ENTIRELY new system of Job Titles and Pay Grades. Which is not just useless, but required the hiring of approximately 10 more people at Corporate to manage it.
All, of course, reporting to the Chief Human Capital Officer.
We appear to be seeing Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy metastasize in real time. . .
Actually, originally, the concept was "Shuttle/Station". Then the station part got cut. Then some politician cut funding to bring the External Tanks to orbit (which was a leftover from Shuttle/Station: you could conceivably build a manned station using first-gen External Tanks. But this was when Skylab had yet to be launched. . .
. . .and the rest was Washington and bureaucratic inertia. . . .
You just noticed that ? As Heinlein foretold, Welcome to the Crazy Years. . .