Hmm... Not sure if serious? Some free software is industry leading software, innovative and dynamic. You use it, perhaps indirectly, just to make the post you made in this thread. You connect through it, you store your data on it, you might not notice it but it is ubiquitous. The tools you use were made with it. Your email runs on it, your website thrives on it, your banking is done with it, and even your phone has it (probably).
You touch free software almost everywhere you go. That's a good thing.
Back before doxing was a thing, I was doxxed and someone had managed to acquire and post my tax information. In a way, it was kind of good - it showed that I'd been telling the truth. However, it was really invasive and because I'd donated some rather large sums of money (I'd just sold my business) I actually ended up with hate mail for not supporting various causes. Rather than name names, as I don't believe those groups are responsible but that their fanatics are, suffice to say - there are some very zealous people out there who will do what they can to ruin your day simply because you didn't donate to their favorite causes.
Fortunately, I was moving soon. I had to go down and pick up BOXES of mail. I got gay mail. I got free samples for everything. I got signed up for countless magazines - including Playgirl. Hell, I even got signed up for some wrestling magazine - and somehow that one follows me around and I still get issues even though I've never once paid for it and don't even watch television. I got pizzas. (I actually paid for a few of them - thanks to whoever it was that turned me on to Hawaiian pizza, by the way - it's awesome.) My kids and I have had to keep the "do not issue credit" flag set at the credit bureaus. It wasn't just how much money I'd sold for but who I'd donated to, kid's names, etc...
It's a whole lot of info and a lot can be inferred from it even if not explicitly stated. Yes, yes I donated to the ACLU, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, EFF, Heifer International, and even sent some to NASA as a one time gift. No, I did not donate to that pet peeve or that one and probably not that one either. Yet, that's the mail I got - not just regular mail but lots of email. I even got threats - for not supporting causes, not for opposing them, just for not supporting them. The world has some funny people in it and I'm not quite sure society is ready for that type of disclosure.
I was a bit disappointed with humanity for a while. It's tempting to name and shame those groups but I don't believe it was those groups, as a group, who acted like that. I do believe it was individual members, supporters, who are a bit zealous and feel obligated to do whatever they think must be done in order to promote their causes. It was very weird and not at all something that I'd have expected - I also have no idea if that's normal. It's rather invasive and not comfortable.
FWIW, I recently (past six months to a year) went on a rampage and tried pretty much every DE out there. There aren't a whole lot of us but there are a few of us who really actually like LXDE. Yeah, it's not fancy but it works, it's light, and it can be quite elegant.
I'm inclined to believe that, properly motivated, we could force the government to do as they should. I'd suspect we don't even need to be violent to do it. We just have to be credibly violent, fairly uniform, and well organized. I do not know what it will take to reach that point. I'd rather we never get to that point.
Here's a fun one... I love my country (even if I hate some of the things it does). Yet, I'm quite capable of leaving and taking a bunch of my friends and family with me. Even if there's a huge and sudden crackdown - I've got means, at least to get beyond the immediate border. I could even be quite comfortable, in perpetuity, elsewhere.
So, if it ever hits the point where there's an armed insurrection - do I do the cowardly thing or do I stay and fight for my country? (Note: country != government.) Sadly, I'd probably do the latter. I'd probably risk everything and fight with my fellow citizens. This is, of course, assuming my fellow citizens are rebelling for just cause.
However, just for you:
Everyone has a GPS. Go get your GPS, set the destination to 1600 Penn. Ave, D.C. and do some math. Plan to arrive there at exactly 12:00 noon, on a Friday. Drive and get as close as you absolutely can to that destination - so that your timed arrival will be at the exact right time. When you can get no closer, turn off your vehicle and lock the doors. Get 1,000,000 vehicle owners to do it with you. Each and every one, try to arrive at that one spot and at that one exact time. Do not exit your vehicle, do not threaten the police, turn off the ignition, lock the doors, and - if you must, walk away.
Congratulations, instead of a million man march, you've got a million man drive in. It will be weeks for them to clear it out. You now have their attention. Everyone will be coming in from all sides of D.C. A million cars puts, rough math, about a 200 mile circle around the capital. Occupy both lanes when traffic stops. Just park, turn off the ignition, and lock the doors. Do not exit the vehicle of your own free will. If they physically force you to move, do not resist or - if you want, handcuff yourself to the steering wheel. So long as you were cuffed beforehand, you are not resisting arrest. Be peaceful, be polite, be respectful of the law. It's not against the law to go to 1600 Penn. Ave with a few of your friends.
There's something like a car for almost every person in the country. That's only 1:300 of 'em. They'll be WEEKS getting that cleaned up. I'd suggest that you have a concise and articulate purpose for doing so. I'd suggest you have only a few people who speak to the media. I'd suggest you have a few specific representatives. I'd suggest consulting a lawyer before doing so.
There you go. You should enjoy that idea.;-) I have other ideas but that's a good start. I'd need a really, really good reason to join you. I'm not sure that the TPP is a strong enough reason for me to join you - as much as I dislike it. The Patriot Act, Snowden leaks, or the war in the Middle East might have been causes I'd join but you (generic you) let those slide so I'm guessing the average citizen doesn't give a shit about this either.
That's what it was - cooling. And the thing I think might matter (and should be taken into account) is that these are sporadic while they were assumed to be constant. If anything, that means that the increase in ocean temperature (perhaps slight, perhaps localized, etc - they're at varied depths) is slightly less attributable to the volcanic activity. Also, they take temperature readings at more than surface depth - I'm sure you're familiar with that. In other words, this should impact the data even if only slightly. If anything, it'd skew the data more strongly to support AGW but probably only a tiny bit.
I'm a big fan of taking all externalities into account. Well, as many as you reasonably can. Is this difference reasonable? I have no idea. I'd wager it does have an effect, albeit a slow and minimal effect but one that scales as energy is retained. The prior data was adjusted to include regular additional energy being added to the oceans. It turns out that this is sporadic and less than previously thought. I don't know how much that will impact the data, the models, or the results - but it should probably be adjusted seeing as we can (probably) make more accurate estimates, given this new information.
So, however much energy was being modeled as being added by volcanic energy was incorrect and too high. It needs to be revised downwards or, well, should be. I don't know if it will be significant but it should be (in my humble opinion) revised to reflect the new data. As a curious onlooker - I'm guessing they used a set value, perhaps localized, as a normative increase to account for this. Whatever that number is (collective or localized) should be refined and new numbers crunched. That's science.
As stated; I doubt it's significant but, if they have the data and others indicate that the prior assumptions were already calculated into the totals, then they might just as well as refine it. If anything - it might make some of the math work out a little better. The more accurately you can model, the better the results get BUT that does have a point of diminishing returns. I'd assume that it'd be fairly trivial to adjust the value.
Which is why I figure it's gonna piss some people off. "They changed the numbers again!" Well, yeah, they should. I'm hoping that they continue to do so and I'd be right pissed if they weren't. (I'm assuming integrity here and I've no expertise to claim otherwise.) I'm not sure what sporadic means, I didn't see any numbers, but that could mean quite a lot of energy that's unaccounted for. Energy that exists but is no longer explained by the volcanic activity. Where it my data set, my models, and my call - I'd look to see, with the varied numbers, just to find out if it's a significant factor and if it might make something else more significant.
Do, if you wish, keep in mind the direction that I'm coming from. I was the author of, owner of, and user of a company that was modeling chaotic systems (namely traffic - and pedestrian traffic) or nearly chaotic (highly unpredictable) with data sets that neared a full terabyte in the late 1990s. I can speak only to the modeling process and the acquisition of data. If you're curious, traffic only appears to be reasonably sane and predictable when you see a small part of it. At a macro level, it's quite chaotic. (I know you're into the AGW thing - I'm sharing just to ensure that I've tossed it out there.)
I like to describe it like this: You can put up all the signs, you can account for the time of day, you can factor in weather, you can calculate the average age of drivers and vehicles, you can predetermine probable routes and throughput averages, but eventually some drunk bastard drives backwards down a one way street. You can't model that specifically, but you can find a normative and optimize for it. You can even then optimize around it - by date, by time, by gender, by vehicle make, by weather, by social events, and all sorts of things. The color of the sky has an impact on how traffic responds as a whole. What you
I am not, of course, advocating armed insurrection at this point in time. I do reserve the right to change my mind, however.
That said, and it's sad that it needed to be said, how is it that you think your current government came to be? You are ruled by consent (and the fact that many people believe as you posted). I'd not recommend escalating things to the point of an armed insurrection but, if need be, I do have a few handy ideas as to how we can express our displeasure without the use of violence.
I've seen lots of violence. I've traveled in places where that's the norm. I've even been unfortunate enough to be in combat. I have a steep dislike for violence but I am aware that it serves a purpose and may be needed from time to time. It's like duck/duct tape. Most don't use it for the right reasons and half the idiots who do use it apply way more of it than is necessary.
But, again, I don't normally disagree with your posts - I do strongly disagree that weapons are useless against a government. Specifically firearms. An armed insurrection, a guerrilla force, or freedom fighters - they hold out and do surprisingly well when they're properly motivated. Do you recall the foray into Iraq? Yeah, those IEDs? Those many, many deaths? The fact that the violence was never properly quelled and that was *with* the citizenry supporting (for the most part) the US should be a good indicator.
That and, well, some of us own a whole ton of supplies and are actually fairly well trained - courtesy of the government themselves. And, of course, depending on the reason - a fairly sizable portion of the enlisted folks will not obey unlawful orders to harm their own civilians - whose rights they took an oath to protect. That doesn't mean a random group of folks can run out and go shooting government officials and expect the military to support them. Not at all. It does mean that if there were a violation of our constitutional protections so egregious that the citizens took up arms and the government moved to stop them by force, the government might not get the enthusiastic force they expecting.
I do not know the person you're responding to but, well, I spent a total of eight years enlisted. We had this conversation often enough, it gets boring and you'll talk about all sorts of shit. I can only say that I don't recall anyone ever indicating that they'd obey an unlawful order to attack civilians, armed or not. Don't get me wrong, if you shot at us then we'd have killed you. That's simply self-preservation. However, I think the vast majority of us would have felt obligated to disobey a direct order given to harm a civilian if such order were unlawfully given. There's quite a bit of leeway and I'll let you figure out for yourself where those lines might be drawn. Suffice to say, you're probably going to get the outright support of many and have a number of others who will simply refuse to participate.
Contrary to popular thought, we are not automatons. We can (and do) think for ourselves. There's a really good chance that an order to shoot civilians is unlawful. On top of that, I don't know if the person you're replying to has seen combat but I can tell you - you sure as shit aren't fighting for mom, apple pie, or the flag. You're fighting for your buddy next to you. So, draw whatever conclusions you might and make any assumptions you might but that's the gist of it as I know it and experienced it.
There are a few people on this planet that I truly hate. North is one of them. Two of my close friends died in the embassy attack, Marines I'd gone through boot. I do not accept, "following orders."
That said, he is not a traitor. That might be difficult for you to comprehend but not every dirt-bag is a traitor. Even North gets innocence until proven guilty.
Now, I'd *like* him to be a traitor but that requires a conviction. It is also worth noting that the ACLU, yes that same group, helped get his convictions vacated. I may not like North but I do believe in Due Process. Also, it might be worth noting, that I'm pretty sure he has an honorable discharge. I could check Wikipedia but I'm kind of lazy. So, by those standards and by our standards, he's still a Marine.
I hate to say it, oh I hate it, but North is not only not a traitor but his convictions were vacated - with the help of the ACLU. It's quite a conundrum. See, I donate, quite a bit actually, to the ACLU. But that's because I believe in due process.
Ah, that's good to hear. I might be an asshole but I was legitimately curious if you were still putting up with that.
I sold back in 2008 and retired. It's been almost exactly 8 years since the sale was finalized and I was able to divest the shares in the now-parent company. I am, shall we say, quite comfortably retired.
I don't know what it was, or how it happened, but somewhere before the time I sold and now, things have really changed. If I had to lay it out there and guess at a date, I'd say it was probably around 2003 but a huge dive at around 2008/2009. Somewhere, somehow, they lost respect for the IT staff, the programmers, the devs, the ops, the support, etc...
I wonder if it was partially due to the torrent of barely qualified people who were coming online (I'm sure you've worked with/for some), a change in corporate culture, the recession - it seemed to really drop a lot around that time, or what?
And yeah, we were small but quite profitable. We had a few more than 200 employees. We were one of the firsts to do traffic modeling in both vehicular and pedestrian fields and "on a computer." At the time I sold, we had a bunch of assets and there were a huge number of "shovel ready" jobs (they weren't shovel ready) coming online, to the tune of billions of dollars, as the government worked to restart the economy. In other words, I got damned lucky.
Either way, 'tis good that you're out of it. That would suck and I'd not wish that on my worst enemy. Seriously, work shouldn't be like that. I'd have done very little without the people who worked with me. Without them, I'd have very little. I don't know how to change that but I'm seeing more and more small businesses pop up. So, maybe there's hope.
It's quite possible to invest ethically. This is usually where I trot out my large number of shares in Tesla so, I'll do it again. I can even show that it works. Well, sort of... I bought 2000 shares in Tesla when they were $24 each. Yup. You can do the math. I still own those shares. I spent less than $50,000 USD on them. I dare say, it's more lucrative than working ever was.
That said, I still own some of the original stock in the company that bought mine. A lot of people don't seem to put two and two together very often. I sold in 2007, finalized in 2008. We did traffic modeling. What was the government doing at about that time? "Shovel ready jobs," mean anything? The now-parent company does almost nothing but fill government contracts - of a very diverse nature. They do everything from logistics to even supplying security assets. They have their hand in food supplies, medical equipment, and even have partial ownership of some vehicle manufacturing capacity.
So, no... I wouldn't say I'm a strictly ethical investor but I try to be mindful while still being pragmatic. However, ethical investing can be done and it can be pretty lucrative. See Tesla as an example that I'm comfortable with. There's a set date when I'll be unloading those shares unless something prompts me to do so sooner.
You know, you can start your own corporation tomorrow, well - you can get the paperwork started. It takes three people, usually. You need a president, vice president, and a treasurer. They must be different people. You can hold that position in more than one corporation. Done properly, you can even get a whole bunch of new and interesting ways to reduce your tax burden. It's not even expensive to create one.
You might ask how I know. Well, suffice to say that there are quite a few corporations who do not care one bit about harming you, taking anything from you, and actually might be doing good things and using the corporate infrastructure (and benefits) to better enable them to do those things. They may have management roles in trusts that provide scholarships, keep a library going, or even provide land for the public good. They may hold assets to ensure that they're protected so that one can take other risks. They have lots of value - consult a lawyer and see if a limited liability corporation is right for you!
Seriously, have a look.:D There are quite a few different types of corporations - they're just incorporated people, after all.
I have no idea why they do that, tourists that is. We lose a few every year. We go out and rescue them every year. We said we were going to start charging them but we haven't. I go out with them every year. I have attended lots of training classes and kept up with it so I go. We have them go through the ice every year. We end up having to wait until spring before we can recover the body - every year. Sometimes we don't get to recover that in a timely fashion and they make it all the way to the ocean, sometimes their remains are found a few years later. They go out in the woods and get lost every year. They go get lost on snowmobiles every year. They get lost on skis every year. They get lost hiking or climbing every year. We put up signs and give out advice every year. They break an ankle and die every year.
The only thing I can conclude is that they do it every year - and that I probably should have used some commas. We had one lady who let her kids go hiking, alone, in the winter, out on the lake, that still had open water, and both kids died and weren't found until the following spring - we even sent in divers, through the hole in the ice, to try to recover the remains. You know what she did? She sued... It didn't get very far but she did file suit. I believe her suit was based on it being an unsafe environment that the town of Rangeley had failed to fix in a timely manner. I don't know what she wanted the town to do and I can understand her sorrow (I think?) but that's just stupid. I was out, I brought down a truck, two snowmobiles, an ATV, a few big tents, and a kerosene space heater.
She was a wreck. I have to wonder if something inside her snapped that night - because, what the hell do you think is gonna happen if you let two little kids go out and play right next to open water??? She might just as well as sue her favorite (or least favorite) deity.
At any rate, we spent most of 72 hours searching. That was one of the more memorable ones. Hire a freakin' guide or take some classes if you're gonna go somewhere and you don't know the area. Hell, I'd have come down and spent a day teaching them some basic safety for the low cost of nothing. But no... It happens every single year. It's not always a tourist but it usually is. I don't know what makes people think they know what they're doing or why they let kids go do *very* dangerous things unsupervised. I mean, literally, in the above case - you could see the open water from the rented cabin, it was maybe 200 feet away where the river runs into the lake.
Thanks. It's a bit costly for a coffee table book but I ordered a copy. It has pictures so I can look at it and fool people into thinking I'm learning.
I was under the impression that one of the major warming effects, from volcanoes, was not the CO2 but the particulates? What should be noted, of course, is these underwater volcanoes shouldn't actually be putting particulates in the air at all. It should also be noted that they're more sporadic than previously assumed which means the warming estimates are, if anything, too high and will need to be adjusted.
As I'm intimately familiar with massaging data and making adjustments, I'm quite positive that all sorts of folks will misinterpret it if they do adjust those values - those adjusted values will make the ocean warming trend a bit more alarming as now they have to account for some warming that is not actually being done by the volcanic activity. That's gonna go over about as well as a fart in church.
I do not hold an opinion on the accuracy of their models nor of do I offer an opinion on the validity of their measurements. I am, however, quite familiar with modeling chaotic systems, statistical modeling, data interpretation, data manipulation, and the inherent risks associated with making broad assumptions. Until I've spent more time reading and learning, I'm unqualified to opine.
I can confirm that the latter portion of your post is quite likely to be correct. I was mentioning above that I have a company that comes in and does TSI and they do it the old way with horses and oxen - at least as far as the yard. They are in old growth or natural regrowth (80+ years some of it) and those logs sell at a premium. In fact, they can't actually harvest enough to meet demand. The quality is higher and there's a subset of people who will pay for higher quality or higher perceived quality or even environmental impact.
Oddly enough, some of that wood does actually make it into the pulp trucks (not destined to be lumber). However, it goes into making regular paper and not toilet paper. You're not actually going to get to wipe your ass with any of my trees. There's a good chance that you've printed on paper that came from this same area but that would have been long ago - now much of the paper comes from China and Indonesia, or so I'm given to understand. I haven't actually looked.
At any rate, they get paid a healthy premium for that wood. My house is made from that wood - though it's rough cut and never hit the planes so they're real 2x6" or the likes. I also had the luxury of not limiting myself to pine. It's an envelope house, in salt-box style, so there are a lot of exposed surfaces internally. There's a lot of maple, ash, oak, and birch in my house, depending on the role. Almost all of the wood in the house was harvested and milled locally (as in, with a portable saw mill) and there's even a room done in ceder.
I am not familiar enough with the specifics to give details but I can recount anecdotes and I have it on good authority that the wood, such as that in my house or that harvested from old growth or even natural regrowth, is much stronger, tends to warp less, and tends to be both denser and more resistant to the elements. I can attest that, in my limited experience, this lumber is significantly heavier than commercial lumber (density, surely) even after it has gone through a kiln. I don't make much of a profit on it but it does pay all the taxes and allows me to claim agricultural purposes for taxation reasons. So, it works out in the end and it's a rather neat process to see 'em "twitch tha wood out 't yahd." I've been known to meander out and spend some time felling or "buckin' up lumbah." It's kind of fun.
Hmm... I don't really want to argue but I'd like to point out a couple of interesting things.
I own a significant quantity of land, it was owned by the paper company prior to my purchasing the various parts at auction. Some of this is replanted some is natural regrowth. Some of it is still actively harvested, it gives me cause to say agricultural purposes for tax reasons and allows a small income stream that basically covers all the taxes on the property - and I have an obscene amount, numbers that might make you poop a little green brick.
Not all the trees harvested are what you'd call farmed, they're natural regrowth and the company uses something called "Timber Stand Improvement." (TSI) TSI is actually kind of neat, the goal is to manage the lot(s) and leave them better than they were when you encountered them. On a good portion of the land, they actually still use horses and oxen. It's kind of neat - I've gone out with them and "bucked up pulp" and whatnot. I'll have my chaps, steel caps, gloves, helmet, screen-visor, and ear muff hearing protection on and have a good time. I've actually gotten a bit adept at it.
Some goes to firewood. Some goes to the pulp mill, and some goes to specialty lumber or just plain pine lumber. Way out on the back side, on the other side of the pond and in the valley, there's another company that just does logs. Those are, for the most part, pulped or hit the saw mills - depending on who is taking what and at what prices. They often don't know until they hit the radio when they get out to the main road.
In general, you're correct. You're also technically incorrect. I'd not be surprised to find out that most people aren't aware that there are still worked natural regrowths and I'd surely not be surprised if few knew of TSI. That said, not a whole lot of people even do the animal hitch any more. They get paid very well for what they harvest and this is the time of year when they're busiest - even though I'm not home to go out and visit them. There's snow on the ground, the ponds and streams are frozen over, and they're hard at work from dark thirty to dark thirty. They also have some more relaxed regulations in crossing bodies of water, working in proximity to moving water, etc.
Hmm... I know I uploaded some video of them working - and even some video of me felling a tree. (Bedecked in my Husky outfit and my 545 - I can even service it and sharpen it myself now, thanks.) Alas, I can't find 'em. I'd have actually shared 'em 'cause this is an old(ish) thread so I figure few people will notice and make fun of me in my Mainer clothes. If I come across it, I'll link it. I just checked my usual haunts and I'm not seeing it.:/ It doesn't even appear that I was hosting it myself - if I was then I named them something funny or they got deleted.
I don't think I've had the joy of firing one of those - and I've had the chance to play with a lot of things that go boom. I think, for today, my favorite is the Mk 19. That may well change but today that's my favorite. I am also partial to the M2. I think the most enjoyable, for raw child-like glee, was being able to sit inside an Ontos while it unleashed all six barrels, one after the other, and utterly destroyed a junk car. I've been around bigger, I might have even pushed a button or pulled a cord to operate bigger, but nothing was quite that sheer child-like glee from sitting in the Ontos - and I didn't even get to do the firing myself. I giggled like a little school girl for a good half hour.
The Ontos is 106 mm and I'm guessing you've never seen one. That's okay - i went and got you a link at Wikipedia. Be prepared to see pure awesome... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
They're recoilless and loaded from outside - that's the major drawback. At least in my opinion. They are every bit as awesome as you might think. I have a friend who owns one but it's very, very expensive to fire.
So... I, uh... I don't actually watch TV and I searched for that show - expecting to find a funny Onion skit. I haven't really watched TV and not much at all since the 80s. I don't know what to say, except, "Son, I am disappoint."
It's not that I have a high minded reason to avoid TV, I just hate commercials. Sometime in the 1980s they went to showing a whole lot more commercials. So, I just kind of stopped. I do watch documentaries online. So, there's that.
I think a lot of people have issues with the concept because they don't understand what it is. Dark Matter exists. We have no idea what it is but it is whatever it is that is causing the effects seen. If it turns out that these effects are caused by pink unicorn farts then Dark Matter is pink unicorn farts. I like to think of it as a place holder. We've multiple theories as to what might be causing these effects but there's no doubt that these effects exist and exist well enough for them to recently make predictions that turned out to be accurate - concerning a supernova as I recall.
It's a very unfortunate naming. I find it as unfortunate as the "god particle." It seems to make people concentrate on one theory and assume that said theory will be the be all and end all. Well, for that matter, it could be pink unicorn farts. It quite likely isn't but, no matter what it is that it turns out to be - it's Dark Matter. That's hard for some people to grasp.
I dare say you reached some strange conclusions. The most salient being that, had *anyone* treated support like that then I'd have ensured they no longer worked for us. It simply would not be tolerated. If we don't need you then we don't employ you and if we employ you we appreciate your contribution.
That said, surely there's somewhere left that carries that same mentality? If it is as you describe, that's borderline insanity and nobody should be expected to tolerate that. Also, I'd not count out the part about striking it out on your own - there seem to be a number of people that do so. They're also willing to fire their customers. Ask a few and see how they manage?
I've fired customers - but never without completing my contract. There were two whole States for whom we'd no longer even submit a bid and several large municipalities - almost all of which was because of abusive treatment. In our case, we finished the contract, to the letter, and never submitted a bid again. If were were asked why we did not bid then we told them the truth. A couple of them indicated that they'd ensure that such behavior didn't happen again but there was no way we'd have worked for them again, no matter how many promises were made.
If it were me, and I had control of my life, I'd probably strike out on my own with the goal of being more an intermediary. Instead of you being in the trenches it'd be someone you hired. If it is as you describe, I'd have walked long ago - and probably taken a job as a janitor. However, it seems that you're stuck on Option 1. While you seem disinclined to try other things you can be reasonably sure that doing nothing will mean that nothing changes. I don't know what's happened to the tech industry in the past years to make it so dour but if it's as shitty as you indicate then I'd bail. Then again, I see lots of posts saying that people have changed fields to become plumbers, electricians, and whatnot.
Either way, good luck. I know the credit union is bending over backwards to give loans to people who are starting businesses. Maybe that's a route to look into? Surely *all* the businesses can't abuse tech employees that much?
Oh yeah, for the privilege? Heh... I started with a $5000 grant and a loaned computer. I've eaten Ramen noodles. I've driven a third-hand car. I've even had to work on said car, at night and in the freezing cold, to get to the office the next day. If that's privilege then I'm unfamiliar with the usage of the term. While I am male, I'm not actually white or anything. Well, I have some white in me - not a lot. I dunno... I guess you could say that I'm quite privileged now, if that helps.
I've had an affinity for both your username and your signature for quite some time. It goes without saying that I concur.
As I don't wear camouflage, a trucker's hat, have any NRA clothing, or even have a gun rack in any vehicles, I'm pretty sure that some folks here would leave a wet spot on the floor if they ever saw my basement. I've a separate room that's all concrete on all four sides and has a steel door that has its frame embedded into the concrete. Inside that room are a number of safes, crates, and ammo boxes. Inside those are any one of a number of things that can hurt you - so be careful, that's why they're locked in that room.
At any rate, after they got done pissing in their knickers they'd probably try calling the BATFE. Amusingly enough, I have my teeth, can read, can write, have a PhD, am not even mostly white, and hold a political view a bit to the left of most elected officials. I'm not really sure what happened to people to make them so afraid. There's something to be said for having the chance to make things go boom and to go mass murdering innocent bits of paper. The alcohol and tobacco just make it all the more enjoyable.
You are more than welcome to attend. I had my kids (and my housekeeper and her husband) all down here for the holidays. They're busy adults and doing adult things. So, I spent an obscene amount on fireworks (and I do mean obscene - I could have bought a moderately nice new car for that, albeit a Focus or similar) and invited not just the neighbors but I also invited any Slashdotters who were in the area. Three of them showed up and some of them brought family with them. I fed them, plied them with booze, and then made sure they went home safely after we had not one but two shows.
That one was family friendly up until the end of the first show. After that, well... Things got louder but it was still family friendly. Anything that wasn't alcohol was relegated to the inside of the house or the garage. The cops (Bay County's finest) rolled up and had a look once. I let them know the plans, when it would be over, and they never bothered us again. I'd invited all the neighbors just to make sure I'd not get complaints and to make sure that they knew about it. Some strangers wandered by, in and out, and a bunch of people ended up down on the beach to watch. (I had it roped off - it's a private beach but I normally don't care and it was a safety issue.)
All in all, it went fairly well. It was not as crowded as I thought it might be, only a couple hundred people or so, but it was pretty good. Feed 'em until they're bursting, give them intoxicating drinks (etc.), and provide them with entertainment. There has been some talk about making it a regular thing and doing it all again next year.
So, back in Maine is my home and that's the Memorial Day party. I almost always have another on the 4th but that's a bit less family oriented and I don't really invite people, they just kind of show up. I'm not sure how that managed to become a ritual. Then, on New Years Eve, I might start throwing one down here. The problem is, I like Maine and I like the winter. It's mostly out of character for me to be wintering here and not at home. I guess I could just come holiday here.
Ah well... What good is it to acquire a bunch of bits of paper if you can't spend 'em to amuse yourself, your family, and your friends and neighbors? That and, I gotta be honest here, I'm a whole lot like an overly excited five year old when it comes to making things go boom. I'd never, ever, set off that many fireworks in one go prior to that night. It was enough firework to pretty much take up a whole bay in a full size garage and was probably an average of four feet high. We filled up two cars and a pickup truck. Not one single firework was left the following morning - I did cheat and give the many, many boxes of sparklers away to the kids. I had a bunch left over. Other than that, they all went boom.
Nobody was hurt, nobody was unhappy, and nobody was left out. That's a pretty good bash, if I do say so myself. You'd be more than welcome to attend, consider it an open invitation. Hell, if you ever get near Maine - I might just have the time to get a good bash going on your behalf or for your amusement. I may no longer drink but I surely still take almost all opportunities to have fun. Any excuse it a good excuse. Actually, that mentality is why I no longer drink. But I still have fun.
Oh, and I had two rum and cokes with the kids and girlfriend on Christmas Eve. They'd not met my girlfriend so they were getting her drunk. My son doesn't normally drink, my daughter does a little, so they were all borderline retarded - as well as their spouses, and the only way to tolerate 'em was to join 'em. They teased me 'cause my girlfriend is younger than they are. I made up for it, I told 'em she was my trophy wife and that I'd changed my will to make her the soul beneficiary. They didn't believe me but they pretended they did for a little while. Good kids. Also, no, I'm never getting married again. I did that once.
Well this is long enough, so I'll add to that bit about having done it once. See, I hate making the same mistake twice. I've a pithy saying, just for that... "I've hit myself on the thumb with a hammer many times, but I have never once done it on purpose." So, no more marriages for me. Once was enough.
Yup. It's the BATFE and has been for a while. I might be biased but I think that would make a better big box store than a government body. It's be the ultimate one-stop shop for 4th of July preparations. At least the store, as I'm picturing it, would be the most awesome store ever. I might be nearing 60 but, damn it, that sound like my kind of place.
Right this very minute there is a good probability that there is are poeple who thinks that this is a bad thing and that the mother in that example belongs in prison for having allowed it. There's a subset of people who would have been pissed, right pissed, if something had happened to this kid and they'd be saying things like, "How come nobody called the cops when they saw the kid walking down the road?"
I suspect there's a group who are expressing the current sentiments (that this should not be illegal) who would also be in the group that would be bitching that nobody called the cops if the kid had something bad happen to them. The current sentiment is that this is stupid. Had something happened however... Yeah, they'd be pissed that nobody called the cops. Yes, that group exists... They're not much for original thought but they're really keen on being outraged. So, for now, they're outraged that this even happened to the mother/child. Had something happened they'd surely be outraged, "Stupid cops, didn't do their job."
Sadly, there appear to be quite a few people who'd act like that. I'll avoid naming names but there are a couple of folks in this thread who'd probably fall into that group. I think that it's made worse, for me, by noticing the usernames and kind of remembering a few of them. I'm not sure why but people seem to like being outraged - even if they have to be logically inconsistent to do it.
If asked, and I'm not, I hold the position that the kids should be allowed to walk. It used to be mandatory for some. When I went off to stay on campus (I was sent to a private preparatory school) I brought firearms with me. I was on the pistol and rifle teams. Our firearms were in a closet, in the headmaster's office, and the closet wasn't even locked. Our ski slope (yeah, we had one - see Kents Hill if you want) was an old rope tow. Never mind that they had/have an ice arena. I imagine that the dangers of those activities would make a bunch of parents flip a cookie.
Let the damned kid walk. Shit happens but not as often as people think. We're a bunch of cowards, as a whole, and don't seem to realize the value in learning from mistakes. But, I'd write a novella to get into it much deeper. Someone linked an article with similar content the other day. Tepples, maybe? It was in a reply about something or other. The mother went to jail for letting the kid play alone in a gated community - and in the playground at said community. The article indicated that she was 90' away.
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Hmm... Not sure if serious? Some free software is industry leading software, innovative and dynamic. You use it, perhaps indirectly, just to make the post you made in this thread. You connect through it, you store your data on it, you might not notice it but it is ubiquitous. The tools you use were made with it. Your email runs on it, your website thrives on it, your banking is done with it, and even your phone has it (probably).
You touch free software almost everywhere you go. That's a good thing.
Back before doxing was a thing, I was doxxed and someone had managed to acquire and post my tax information. In a way, it was kind of good - it showed that I'd been telling the truth. However, it was really invasive and because I'd donated some rather large sums of money (I'd just sold my business) I actually ended up with hate mail for not supporting various causes. Rather than name names, as I don't believe those groups are responsible but that their fanatics are, suffice to say - there are some very zealous people out there who will do what they can to ruin your day simply because you didn't donate to their favorite causes.
Fortunately, I was moving soon. I had to go down and pick up BOXES of mail. I got gay mail. I got free samples for everything. I got signed up for countless magazines - including Playgirl. Hell, I even got signed up for some wrestling magazine - and somehow that one follows me around and I still get issues even though I've never once paid for it and don't even watch television. I got pizzas. (I actually paid for a few of them - thanks to whoever it was that turned me on to Hawaiian pizza, by the way - it's awesome.) My kids and I have had to keep the "do not issue credit" flag set at the credit bureaus. It wasn't just how much money I'd sold for but who I'd donated to, kid's names, etc...
It's a whole lot of info and a lot can be inferred from it even if not explicitly stated. Yes, yes I donated to the ACLU, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, EFF, Heifer International, and even sent some to NASA as a one time gift. No, I did not donate to that pet peeve or that one and probably not that one either. Yet, that's the mail I got - not just regular mail but lots of email. I even got threats - for not supporting causes, not for opposing them, just for not supporting them. The world has some funny people in it and I'm not quite sure society is ready for that type of disclosure.
I was a bit disappointed with humanity for a while. It's tempting to name and shame those groups but I don't believe it was those groups, as a group, who acted like that. I do believe it was individual members, supporters, who are a bit zealous and feel obligated to do whatever they think must be done in order to promote their causes. It was very weird and not at all something that I'd have expected - I also have no idea if that's normal. It's rather invasive and not comfortable.
FWIW, I recently (past six months to a year) went on a rampage and tried pretty much every DE out there. There aren't a whole lot of us but there are a few of us who really actually like LXDE. Yeah, it's not fancy but it works, it's light, and it can be quite elegant.
No, not really. It's you painting with a very broad brush. Corporations are at either end of the spectrum.
I'm inclined to believe that, properly motivated, we could force the government to do as they should. I'd suspect we don't even need to be violent to do it. We just have to be credibly violent, fairly uniform, and well organized. I do not know what it will take to reach that point. I'd rather we never get to that point.
Here's a fun one... I love my country (even if I hate some of the things it does). Yet, I'm quite capable of leaving and taking a bunch of my friends and family with me. Even if there's a huge and sudden crackdown - I've got means, at least to get beyond the immediate border. I could even be quite comfortable, in perpetuity, elsewhere.
So, if it ever hits the point where there's an armed insurrection - do I do the cowardly thing or do I stay and fight for my country? (Note: country != government.) Sadly, I'd probably do the latter. I'd probably risk everything and fight with my fellow citizens. This is, of course, assuming my fellow citizens are rebelling for just cause.
However, just for you:
Everyone has a GPS. Go get your GPS, set the destination to 1600 Penn. Ave, D.C. and do some math. Plan to arrive there at exactly 12:00 noon, on a Friday. Drive and get as close as you absolutely can to that destination - so that your timed arrival will be at the exact right time. When you can get no closer, turn off your vehicle and lock the doors. Get 1,000,000 vehicle owners to do it with you. Each and every one, try to arrive at that one spot and at that one exact time. Do not exit your vehicle, do not threaten the police, turn off the ignition, lock the doors, and - if you must, walk away.
Congratulations, instead of a million man march, you've got a million man drive in. It will be weeks for them to clear it out. You now have their attention. Everyone will be coming in from all sides of D.C. A million cars puts, rough math, about a 200 mile circle around the capital. Occupy both lanes when traffic stops. Just park, turn off the ignition, and lock the doors. Do not exit the vehicle of your own free will. If they physically force you to move, do not resist or - if you want, handcuff yourself to the steering wheel. So long as you were cuffed beforehand, you are not resisting arrest. Be peaceful, be polite, be respectful of the law. It's not against the law to go to 1600 Penn. Ave with a few of your friends.
There's something like a car for almost every person in the country. That's only 1:300 of 'em. They'll be WEEKS getting that cleaned up. I'd suggest that you have a concise and articulate purpose for doing so. I'd suggest you have only a few people who speak to the media. I'd suggest you have a few specific representatives. I'd suggest consulting a lawyer before doing so.
There you go. You should enjoy that idea. ;-) I have other ideas but that's a good start. I'd need a really, really good reason to join you. I'm not sure that the TPP is a strong enough reason for me to join you - as much as I dislike it. The Patriot Act, Snowden leaks, or the war in the Middle East might have been causes I'd join but you (generic you) let those slide so I'm guessing the average citizen doesn't give a shit about this either.
That's what it was - cooling. And the thing I think might matter (and should be taken into account) is that these are sporadic while they were assumed to be constant. If anything, that means that the increase in ocean temperature (perhaps slight, perhaps localized, etc - they're at varied depths) is slightly less attributable to the volcanic activity. Also, they take temperature readings at more than surface depth - I'm sure you're familiar with that. In other words, this should impact the data even if only slightly. If anything, it'd skew the data more strongly to support AGW but probably only a tiny bit.
I'm a big fan of taking all externalities into account. Well, as many as you reasonably can. Is this difference reasonable? I have no idea. I'd wager it does have an effect, albeit a slow and minimal effect but one that scales as energy is retained. The prior data was adjusted to include regular additional energy being added to the oceans. It turns out that this is sporadic and less than previously thought. I don't know how much that will impact the data, the models, or the results - but it should probably be adjusted seeing as we can (probably) make more accurate estimates, given this new information.
So, however much energy was being modeled as being added by volcanic energy was incorrect and too high. It needs to be revised downwards or, well, should be. I don't know if it will be significant but it should be (in my humble opinion) revised to reflect the new data. As a curious onlooker - I'm guessing they used a set value, perhaps localized, as a normative increase to account for this. Whatever that number is (collective or localized) should be refined and new numbers crunched. That's science.
As stated; I doubt it's significant but, if they have the data and others indicate that the prior assumptions were already calculated into the totals, then they might just as well as refine it. If anything - it might make some of the math work out a little better. The more accurately you can model, the better the results get BUT that does have a point of diminishing returns. I'd assume that it'd be fairly trivial to adjust the value.
Which is why I figure it's gonna piss some people off. "They changed the numbers again!" Well, yeah, they should. I'm hoping that they continue to do so and I'd be right pissed if they weren't. (I'm assuming integrity here and I've no expertise to claim otherwise.) I'm not sure what sporadic means, I didn't see any numbers, but that could mean quite a lot of energy that's unaccounted for. Energy that exists but is no longer explained by the volcanic activity. Where it my data set, my models, and my call - I'd look to see, with the varied numbers, just to find out if it's a significant factor and if it might make something else more significant.
Do, if you wish, keep in mind the direction that I'm coming from. I was the author of, owner of, and user of a company that was modeling chaotic systems (namely traffic - and pedestrian traffic) or nearly chaotic (highly unpredictable) with data sets that neared a full terabyte in the late 1990s. I can speak only to the modeling process and the acquisition of data. If you're curious, traffic only appears to be reasonably sane and predictable when you see a small part of it. At a macro level, it's quite chaotic. (I know you're into the AGW thing - I'm sharing just to ensure that I've tossed it out there.)
I like to describe it like this: You can put up all the signs, you can account for the time of day, you can factor in weather, you can calculate the average age of drivers and vehicles, you can predetermine probable routes and throughput averages, but eventually some drunk bastard drives backwards down a one way street. You can't model that specifically, but you can find a normative and optimize for it. You can even then optimize around it - by date, by time, by gender, by vehicle make, by weather, by social events, and all sorts of things. The color of the sky has an impact on how traffic responds as a whole. What you
I am not, of course, advocating armed insurrection at this point in time. I do reserve the right to change my mind, however.
That said, and it's sad that it needed to be said, how is it that you think your current government came to be? You are ruled by consent (and the fact that many people believe as you posted). I'd not recommend escalating things to the point of an armed insurrection but, if need be, I do have a few handy ideas as to how we can express our displeasure without the use of violence.
I've seen lots of violence. I've traveled in places where that's the norm. I've even been unfortunate enough to be in combat. I have a steep dislike for violence but I am aware that it serves a purpose and may be needed from time to time. It's like duck/duct tape. Most don't use it for the right reasons and half the idiots who do use it apply way more of it than is necessary.
But, again, I don't normally disagree with your posts - I do strongly disagree that weapons are useless against a government. Specifically firearms. An armed insurrection, a guerrilla force, or freedom fighters - they hold out and do surprisingly well when they're properly motivated. Do you recall the foray into Iraq? Yeah, those IEDs? Those many, many deaths? The fact that the violence was never properly quelled and that was *with* the citizenry supporting (for the most part) the US should be a good indicator.
That and, well, some of us own a whole ton of supplies and are actually fairly well trained - courtesy of the government themselves. And, of course, depending on the reason - a fairly sizable portion of the enlisted folks will not obey unlawful orders to harm their own civilians - whose rights they took an oath to protect. That doesn't mean a random group of folks can run out and go shooting government officials and expect the military to support them. Not at all. It does mean that if there were a violation of our constitutional protections so egregious that the citizens took up arms and the government moved to stop them by force, the government might not get the enthusiastic force they expecting.
I'd like to think it won't get that far.
I do not know the person you're responding to but, well, I spent a total of eight years enlisted. We had this conversation often enough, it gets boring and you'll talk about all sorts of shit. I can only say that I don't recall anyone ever indicating that they'd obey an unlawful order to attack civilians, armed or not. Don't get me wrong, if you shot at us then we'd have killed you. That's simply self-preservation. However, I think the vast majority of us would have felt obligated to disobey a direct order given to harm a civilian if such order were unlawfully given. There's quite a bit of leeway and I'll let you figure out for yourself where those lines might be drawn. Suffice to say, you're probably going to get the outright support of many and have a number of others who will simply refuse to participate.
Contrary to popular thought, we are not automatons. We can (and do) think for ourselves. There's a really good chance that an order to shoot civilians is unlawful. On top of that, I don't know if the person you're replying to has seen combat but I can tell you - you sure as shit aren't fighting for mom, apple pie, or the flag. You're fighting for your buddy next to you. So, draw whatever conclusions you might and make any assumptions you might but that's the gist of it as I know it and experienced it.
There are a few people on this planet that I truly hate. North is one of them. Two of my close friends died in the embassy attack, Marines I'd gone through boot. I do not accept, "following orders."
That said, he is not a traitor. That might be difficult for you to comprehend but not every dirt-bag is a traitor. Even North gets innocence until proven guilty.
Now, I'd *like* him to be a traitor but that requires a conviction. It is also worth noting that the ACLU, yes that same group, helped get his convictions vacated. I may not like North but I do believe in Due Process. Also, it might be worth noting, that I'm pretty sure he has an honorable discharge. I could check Wikipedia but I'm kind of lazy. So, by those standards and by our standards, he's still a Marine.
I hate to say it, oh I hate it, but North is not only not a traitor but his convictions were vacated - with the help of the ACLU. It's quite a conundrum. See, I donate, quite a bit actually, to the ACLU. But that's because I believe in due process.
Ah, that's good to hear. I might be an asshole but I was legitimately curious if you were still putting up with that.
I sold back in 2008 and retired. It's been almost exactly 8 years since the sale was finalized and I was able to divest the shares in the now-parent company. I am, shall we say, quite comfortably retired.
I don't know what it was, or how it happened, but somewhere before the time I sold and now, things have really changed. If I had to lay it out there and guess at a date, I'd say it was probably around 2003 but a huge dive at around 2008/2009. Somewhere, somehow, they lost respect for the IT staff, the programmers, the devs, the ops, the support, etc...
I wonder if it was partially due to the torrent of barely qualified people who were coming online (I'm sure you've worked with/for some), a change in corporate culture, the recession - it seemed to really drop a lot around that time, or what?
And yeah, we were small but quite profitable. We had a few more than 200 employees. We were one of the firsts to do traffic modeling in both vehicular and pedestrian fields and "on a computer." At the time I sold, we had a bunch of assets and there were a huge number of "shovel ready" jobs (they weren't shovel ready) coming online, to the tune of billions of dollars, as the government worked to restart the economy. In other words, I got damned lucky.
Either way, 'tis good that you're out of it. That would suck and I'd not wish that on my worst enemy. Seriously, work shouldn't be like that. I'd have done very little without the people who worked with me. Without them, I'd have very little. I don't know how to change that but I'm seeing more and more small businesses pop up. So, maybe there's hope.
It's quite possible to invest ethically. This is usually where I trot out my large number of shares in Tesla so, I'll do it again. I can even show that it works. Well, sort of... I bought 2000 shares in Tesla when they were $24 each. Yup. You can do the math. I still own those shares. I spent less than $50,000 USD on them. I dare say, it's more lucrative than working ever was.
That said, I still own some of the original stock in the company that bought mine. A lot of people don't seem to put two and two together very often. I sold in 2007, finalized in 2008. We did traffic modeling. What was the government doing at about that time? "Shovel ready jobs," mean anything? The now-parent company does almost nothing but fill government contracts - of a very diverse nature. They do everything from logistics to even supplying security assets. They have their hand in food supplies, medical equipment, and even have partial ownership of some vehicle manufacturing capacity.
So, no... I wouldn't say I'm a strictly ethical investor but I try to be mindful while still being pragmatic. However, ethical investing can be done and it can be pretty lucrative. See Tesla as an example that I'm comfortable with. There's a set date when I'll be unloading those shares unless something prompts me to do so sooner.
You know, you can start your own corporation tomorrow, well - you can get the paperwork started. It takes three people, usually. You need a president, vice president, and a treasurer. They must be different people. You can hold that position in more than one corporation. Done properly, you can even get a whole bunch of new and interesting ways to reduce your tax burden. It's not even expensive to create one.
You might ask how I know. Well, suffice to say that there are quite a few corporations who do not care one bit about harming you, taking anything from you, and actually might be doing good things and using the corporate infrastructure (and benefits) to better enable them to do those things. They may have management roles in trusts that provide scholarships, keep a library going, or even provide land for the public good. They may hold assets to ensure that they're protected so that one can take other risks. They have lots of value - consult a lawyer and see if a limited liability corporation is right for you!
Seriously, have a look. :D There are quite a few different types of corporations - they're just incorporated people, after all.
I have no idea why they do that, tourists that is. We lose a few every year. We go out and rescue them every year. We said we were going to start charging them but we haven't. I go out with them every year. I have attended lots of training classes and kept up with it so I go. We have them go through the ice every year. We end up having to wait until spring before we can recover the body - every year. Sometimes we don't get to recover that in a timely fashion and they make it all the way to the ocean, sometimes their remains are found a few years later. They go out in the woods and get lost every year. They go get lost on snowmobiles every year. They get lost on skis every year. They get lost hiking or climbing every year. We put up signs and give out advice every year. They break an ankle and die every year.
The only thing I can conclude is that they do it every year - and that I probably should have used some commas. We had one lady who let her kids go hiking, alone, in the winter, out on the lake, that still had open water, and both kids died and weren't found until the following spring - we even sent in divers, through the hole in the ice, to try to recover the remains. You know what she did? She sued... It didn't get very far but she did file suit. I believe her suit was based on it being an unsafe environment that the town of Rangeley had failed to fix in a timely manner. I don't know what she wanted the town to do and I can understand her sorrow (I think?) but that's just stupid. I was out, I brought down a truck, two snowmobiles, an ATV, a few big tents, and a kerosene space heater.
She was a wreck. I have to wonder if something inside her snapped that night - because, what the hell do you think is gonna happen if you let two little kids go out and play right next to open water??? She might just as well as sue her favorite (or least favorite) deity.
At any rate, we spent most of 72 hours searching. That was one of the more memorable ones. Hire a freakin' guide or take some classes if you're gonna go somewhere and you don't know the area. Hell, I'd have come down and spent a day teaching them some basic safety for the low cost of nothing. But no... It happens every single year. It's not always a tourist but it usually is. I don't know what makes people think they know what they're doing or why they let kids go do *very* dangerous things unsupervised. I mean, literally, in the above case - you could see the open water from the rented cabin, it was maybe 200 feet away where the river runs into the lake.
Thanks. It's a bit costly for a coffee table book but I ordered a copy. It has pictures so I can look at it and fool people into thinking I'm learning.
I was under the impression that one of the major warming effects, from volcanoes, was not the CO2 but the particulates? What should be noted, of course, is these underwater volcanoes shouldn't actually be putting particulates in the air at all. It should also be noted that they're more sporadic than previously assumed which means the warming estimates are, if anything, too high and will need to be adjusted.
As I'm intimately familiar with massaging data and making adjustments, I'm quite positive that all sorts of folks will misinterpret it if they do adjust those values - those adjusted values will make the ocean warming trend a bit more alarming as now they have to account for some warming that is not actually being done by the volcanic activity. That's gonna go over about as well as a fart in church.
I do not hold an opinion on the accuracy of their models nor of do I offer an opinion on the validity of their measurements. I am, however, quite familiar with modeling chaotic systems, statistical modeling, data interpretation, data manipulation, and the inherent risks associated with making broad assumptions. Until I've spent more time reading and learning, I'm unqualified to opine.
I can confirm that the latter portion of your post is quite likely to be correct. I was mentioning above that I have a company that comes in and does TSI and they do it the old way with horses and oxen - at least as far as the yard. They are in old growth or natural regrowth (80+ years some of it) and those logs sell at a premium. In fact, they can't actually harvest enough to meet demand. The quality is higher and there's a subset of people who will pay for higher quality or higher perceived quality or even environmental impact.
Oddly enough, some of that wood does actually make it into the pulp trucks (not destined to be lumber). However, it goes into making regular paper and not toilet paper. You're not actually going to get to wipe your ass with any of my trees. There's a good chance that you've printed on paper that came from this same area but that would have been long ago - now much of the paper comes from China and Indonesia, or so I'm given to understand. I haven't actually looked.
At any rate, they get paid a healthy premium for that wood. My house is made from that wood - though it's rough cut and never hit the planes so they're real 2x6" or the likes. I also had the luxury of not limiting myself to pine. It's an envelope house, in salt-box style, so there are a lot of exposed surfaces internally. There's a lot of maple, ash, oak, and birch in my house, depending on the role. Almost all of the wood in the house was harvested and milled locally (as in, with a portable saw mill) and there's even a room done in ceder.
I am not familiar enough with the specifics to give details but I can recount anecdotes and I have it on good authority that the wood, such as that in my house or that harvested from old growth or even natural regrowth, is much stronger, tends to warp less, and tends to be both denser and more resistant to the elements. I can attest that, in my limited experience, this lumber is significantly heavier than commercial lumber (density, surely) even after it has gone through a kiln. I don't make much of a profit on it but it does pay all the taxes and allows me to claim agricultural purposes for taxation reasons. So, it works out in the end and it's a rather neat process to see 'em "twitch tha wood out 't yahd." I've been known to meander out and spend some time felling or "buckin' up lumbah." It's kind of fun.
Hmm... I don't really want to argue but I'd like to point out a couple of interesting things.
I own a significant quantity of land, it was owned by the paper company prior to my purchasing the various parts at auction. Some of this is replanted some is natural regrowth. Some of it is still actively harvested, it gives me cause to say agricultural purposes for tax reasons and allows a small income stream that basically covers all the taxes on the property - and I have an obscene amount, numbers that might make you poop a little green brick.
Not all the trees harvested are what you'd call farmed, they're natural regrowth and the company uses something called "Timber Stand Improvement." (TSI) TSI is actually kind of neat, the goal is to manage the lot(s) and leave them better than they were when you encountered them. On a good portion of the land, they actually still use horses and oxen. It's kind of neat - I've gone out with them and "bucked up pulp" and whatnot. I'll have my chaps, steel caps, gloves, helmet, screen-visor, and ear muff hearing protection on and have a good time. I've actually gotten a bit adept at it.
Some goes to firewood. Some goes to the pulp mill, and some goes to specialty lumber or just plain pine lumber. Way out on the back side, on the other side of the pond and in the valley, there's another company that just does logs. Those are, for the most part, pulped or hit the saw mills - depending on who is taking what and at what prices. They often don't know until they hit the radio when they get out to the main road.
In general, you're correct. You're also technically incorrect. I'd not be surprised to find out that most people aren't aware that there are still worked natural regrowths and I'd surely not be surprised if few knew of TSI. That said, not a whole lot of people even do the animal hitch any more. They get paid very well for what they harvest and this is the time of year when they're busiest - even though I'm not home to go out and visit them. There's snow on the ground, the ponds and streams are frozen over, and they're hard at work from dark thirty to dark thirty. They also have some more relaxed regulations in crossing bodies of water, working in proximity to moving water, etc.
Hmm... I know I uploaded some video of them working - and even some video of me felling a tree. (Bedecked in my Husky outfit and my 545 - I can even service it and sharpen it myself now, thanks.) Alas, I can't find 'em. I'd have actually shared 'em 'cause this is an old(ish) thread so I figure few people will notice and make fun of me in my Mainer clothes. If I come across it, I'll link it. I just checked my usual haunts and I'm not seeing it. :/ It doesn't even appear that I was hosting it myself - if I was then I named them something funny or they got deleted.
I don't think I've had the joy of firing one of those - and I've had the chance to play with a lot of things that go boom. I think, for today, my favorite is the Mk 19. That may well change but today that's my favorite. I am also partial to the M2. I think the most enjoyable, for raw child-like glee, was being able to sit inside an Ontos while it unleashed all six barrels, one after the other, and utterly destroyed a junk car. I've been around bigger, I might have even pushed a button or pulled a cord to operate bigger, but nothing was quite that sheer child-like glee from sitting in the Ontos - and I didn't even get to do the firing myself. I giggled like a little school girl for a good half hour.
The Ontos is 106 mm and I'm guessing you've never seen one. That's okay - i went and got you a link at Wikipedia. Be prepared to see pure awesome...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
They're recoilless and loaded from outside - that's the major drawback. At least in my opinion. They are every bit as awesome as you might think. I have a friend who owns one but it's very, very expensive to fire.
So... I, uh... I don't actually watch TV and I searched for that show - expecting to find a funny Onion skit. I haven't really watched TV and not much at all since the 80s. I don't know what to say, except, "Son, I am disappoint."
It's not that I have a high minded reason to avoid TV, I just hate commercials. Sometime in the 1980s they went to showing a whole lot more commercials. So, I just kind of stopped. I do watch documentaries online. So, there's that.
I think a lot of people have issues with the concept because they don't understand what it is. Dark Matter exists. We have no idea what it is but it is whatever it is that is causing the effects seen. If it turns out that these effects are caused by pink unicorn farts then Dark Matter is pink unicorn farts. I like to think of it as a place holder. We've multiple theories as to what might be causing these effects but there's no doubt that these effects exist and exist well enough for them to recently make predictions that turned out to be accurate - concerning a supernova as I recall.
It's a very unfortunate naming. I find it as unfortunate as the "god particle." It seems to make people concentrate on one theory and assume that said theory will be the be all and end all. Well, for that matter, it could be pink unicorn farts. It quite likely isn't but, no matter what it is that it turns out to be - it's Dark Matter. That's hard for some people to grasp.
I dare say you reached some strange conclusions. The most salient being that, had *anyone* treated support like that then I'd have ensured they no longer worked for us. It simply would not be tolerated. If we don't need you then we don't employ you and if we employ you we appreciate your contribution.
That said, surely there's somewhere left that carries that same mentality? If it is as you describe, that's borderline insanity and nobody should be expected to tolerate that. Also, I'd not count out the part about striking it out on your own - there seem to be a number of people that do so. They're also willing to fire their customers. Ask a few and see how they manage?
I've fired customers - but never without completing my contract. There were two whole States for whom we'd no longer even submit a bid and several large municipalities - almost all of which was because of abusive treatment. In our case, we finished the contract, to the letter, and never submitted a bid again. If were were asked why we did not bid then we told them the truth. A couple of them indicated that they'd ensure that such behavior didn't happen again but there was no way we'd have worked for them again, no matter how many promises were made.
If it were me, and I had control of my life, I'd probably strike out on my own with the goal of being more an intermediary. Instead of you being in the trenches it'd be someone you hired. If it is as you describe, I'd have walked long ago - and probably taken a job as a janitor. However, it seems that you're stuck on Option 1. While you seem disinclined to try other things you can be reasonably sure that doing nothing will mean that nothing changes. I don't know what's happened to the tech industry in the past years to make it so dour but if it's as shitty as you indicate then I'd bail. Then again, I see lots of posts saying that people have changed fields to become plumbers, electricians, and whatnot.
Either way, good luck. I know the credit union is bending over backwards to give loans to people who are starting businesses. Maybe that's a route to look into? Surely *all* the businesses can't abuse tech employees that much?
Oh yeah, for the privilege? Heh... I started with a $5000 grant and a loaned computer. I've eaten Ramen noodles. I've driven a third-hand car. I've even had to work on said car, at night and in the freezing cold, to get to the office the next day. If that's privilege then I'm unfamiliar with the usage of the term. While I am male, I'm not actually white or anything. Well, I have some white in me - not a lot. I dunno... I guess you could say that I'm quite privileged now, if that helps.
I've had an affinity for both your username and your signature for quite some time. It goes without saying that I concur.
As I don't wear camouflage, a trucker's hat, have any NRA clothing, or even have a gun rack in any vehicles, I'm pretty sure that some folks here would leave a wet spot on the floor if they ever saw my basement. I've a separate room that's all concrete on all four sides and has a steel door that has its frame embedded into the concrete. Inside that room are a number of safes, crates, and ammo boxes. Inside those are any one of a number of things that can hurt you - so be careful, that's why they're locked in that room.
At any rate, after they got done pissing in their knickers they'd probably try calling the BATFE. Amusingly enough, I have my teeth, can read, can write, have a PhD, am not even mostly white, and hold a political view a bit to the left of most elected officials. I'm not really sure what happened to people to make them so afraid. There's something to be said for having the chance to make things go boom and to go mass murdering innocent bits of paper. The alcohol and tobacco just make it all the more enjoyable.
You are more than welcome to attend. I had my kids (and my housekeeper and her husband) all down here for the holidays. They're busy adults and doing adult things. So, I spent an obscene amount on fireworks (and I do mean obscene - I could have bought a moderately nice new car for that, albeit a Focus or similar) and invited not just the neighbors but I also invited any Slashdotters who were in the area. Three of them showed up and some of them brought family with them. I fed them, plied them with booze, and then made sure they went home safely after we had not one but two shows.
That one was family friendly up until the end of the first show. After that, well... Things got louder but it was still family friendly. Anything that wasn't alcohol was relegated to the inside of the house or the garage. The cops (Bay County's finest) rolled up and had a look once. I let them know the plans, when it would be over, and they never bothered us again. I'd invited all the neighbors just to make sure I'd not get complaints and to make sure that they knew about it. Some strangers wandered by, in and out, and a bunch of people ended up down on the beach to watch. (I had it roped off - it's a private beach but I normally don't care and it was a safety issue.)
All in all, it went fairly well. It was not as crowded as I thought it might be, only a couple hundred people or so, but it was pretty good. Feed 'em until they're bursting, give them intoxicating drinks (etc.), and provide them with entertainment. There has been some talk about making it a regular thing and doing it all again next year.
So, back in Maine is my home and that's the Memorial Day party. I almost always have another on the 4th but that's a bit less family oriented and I don't really invite people, they just kind of show up. I'm not sure how that managed to become a ritual. Then, on New Years Eve, I might start throwing one down here. The problem is, I like Maine and I like the winter. It's mostly out of character for me to be wintering here and not at home. I guess I could just come holiday here.
Ah well... What good is it to acquire a bunch of bits of paper if you can't spend 'em to amuse yourself, your family, and your friends and neighbors? That and, I gotta be honest here, I'm a whole lot like an overly excited five year old when it comes to making things go boom. I'd never, ever, set off that many fireworks in one go prior to that night. It was enough firework to pretty much take up a whole bay in a full size garage and was probably an average of four feet high. We filled up two cars and a pickup truck. Not one single firework was left the following morning - I did cheat and give the many, many boxes of sparklers away to the kids. I had a bunch left over. Other than that, they all went boom.
Nobody was hurt, nobody was unhappy, and nobody was left out. That's a pretty good bash, if I do say so myself. You'd be more than welcome to attend, consider it an open invitation. Hell, if you ever get near Maine - I might just have the time to get a good bash going on your behalf or for your amusement. I may no longer drink but I surely still take almost all opportunities to have fun. Any excuse it a good excuse. Actually, that mentality is why I no longer drink. But I still have fun.
Oh, and I had two rum and cokes with the kids and girlfriend on Christmas Eve. They'd not met my girlfriend so they were getting her drunk. My son doesn't normally drink, my daughter does a little, so they were all borderline retarded - as well as their spouses, and the only way to tolerate 'em was to join 'em. They teased me 'cause my girlfriend is younger than they are. I made up for it, I told 'em she was my trophy wife and that I'd changed my will to make her the soul beneficiary. They didn't believe me but they pretended they did for a little while. Good kids. Also, no, I'm never getting married again. I did that once.
Well this is long enough, so I'll add to that bit about having done it once. See, I hate making the same mistake twice. I've a pithy saying, just for that... "I've hit myself on the thumb with a hammer many times, but I have never once done it on purpose." So, no more marriages for me. Once was enough.
Yup. It's the BATFE and has been for a while. I might be biased but I think that would make a better big box store than a government body. It's be the ultimate one-stop shop for 4th of July preparations. At least the store, as I'm picturing it, would be the most awesome store ever. I might be nearing 60 but, damn it, that sound like my kind of place.
Right this very minute there is a good probability that there is are poeple who thinks that this is a bad thing and that the mother in that example belongs in prison for having allowed it. There's a subset of people who would have been pissed, right pissed, if something had happened to this kid and they'd be saying things like, "How come nobody called the cops when they saw the kid walking down the road?"
I suspect there's a group who are expressing the current sentiments (that this should not be illegal) who would also be in the group that would be bitching that nobody called the cops if the kid had something bad happen to them. The current sentiment is that this is stupid. Had something happened however... Yeah, they'd be pissed that nobody called the cops. Yes, that group exists... They're not much for original thought but they're really keen on being outraged. So, for now, they're outraged that this even happened to the mother/child. Had something happened they'd surely be outraged, "Stupid cops, didn't do their job."
Sadly, there appear to be quite a few people who'd act like that. I'll avoid naming names but there are a couple of folks in this thread who'd probably fall into that group. I think that it's made worse, for me, by noticing the usernames and kind of remembering a few of them. I'm not sure why but people seem to like being outraged - even if they have to be logically inconsistent to do it.
If asked, and I'm not, I hold the position that the kids should be allowed to walk. It used to be mandatory for some. When I went off to stay on campus (I was sent to a private preparatory school) I brought firearms with me. I was on the pistol and rifle teams. Our firearms were in a closet, in the headmaster's office, and the closet wasn't even locked. Our ski slope (yeah, we had one - see Kents Hill if you want) was an old rope tow. Never mind that they had/have an ice arena. I imagine that the dangers of those activities would make a bunch of parents flip a cookie.
Let the damned kid walk. Shit happens but not as often as people think. We're a bunch of cowards, as a whole, and don't seem to realize the value in learning from mistakes. But, I'd write a novella to get into it much deeper. Someone linked an article with similar content the other day. Tepples, maybe? It was in a reply about something or other. The mother went to jail for letting the kid play alone in a gated community - and in the playground at said community. The article indicated that she was 90' away.