We hired a crazy guy about a year ago, as a lead software architect. He was fresh from involuntarily being committed to a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. He wrote an e-book about his experiences, more of a diatribe against the mental health professionals at the hospital, which is how I know. He wrote lots of mass emails after being hired about how garbage all the practices here were. At some point, he wanted to schedule some one-on-ones with various development and quality assurance leads to get on board with the systems he wanted to put in place. One of the leads, a female QA manager, just flat out refused to work with him. Soon after that, he left the job, for other opportunities. I thought maybe the male/female thing had a role in both of their attitudes, though the crazy/sane thing was probably a larger component. I had dinner with the guy once, because I thought he was amusing, and I felt bad because he was inviting everybody and I suspect not getting a lot of positive response. But I wasn't surprised to see him go.

I mentioned this in the "inexcusable" thread. Pelosi claims that they're hammering out a compromise because the Senate bill also affords protection to the clerks and staff of SCOTUS. 18 U.S. Code § 1507 - Picketing or parading Whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such jjudge, juror, witness, or court officer, or with such intent uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Aren't clerks 'officers of the court'?

@George-K said in Good morning!: @89th said in Good morning!: Pfft I was up at 1am for two hours. You all should get an 18-month-old. Thanks, but no thanks. I had 4. Actually, I had a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a newborn at the same time. Wow, I grew up as one of 5 kids. Not sure how my parents did it either. I am learning (although sometimes I forget) that all I can do to minimize the impact of having really poor sleep nearly every night (especially with our 2nd kid) is to try and avoid booze before bed so I can get better quality sleep. That, and coffee in the morning.

That was an excellent pun, indeed, but I challenge you to actually incorporate punctuation in a park b. Then you will have achieved greatness.

In truth, there have been some major things. I don't know I would say a lot of them. The Afghan withdrawl. Despite the clusterfuck that was, we are out of there. Not entirely sure Trump's withdrawl would have been a lot better. The third COVID package. My feeling is it was not needed and in the end was more harmful than helpful. The infrastructure bill. I'm not seeing much movement there yet, but maybe, just maybe, Cincinnati will get a new I75 bridge, much needed.

@Aqua-Letifer said in "No ink 4 Cops": I get the draw to silly tips like this: makes you feel like an insider, like you know things others don't. Well, screw you too, dearie.

Ain't gonna happen.

@George-K said in Webcam recommendations?: @Doctor-Phibes said in Webcam recommendations?: I use a cheap $40 thing from Nexigo, it only does 1080p, but it's fine for online chats and what-have-you, and has built-in mic's. Is the angle of the camera adjustable? Because I slouch. Yes, it swivels up and down so you can adjust the angle

@LuFins-Dad said in OK or Okay?: I've always just used "OK", but Luke texted me earlier and used "okay". This set off a debate about which is the proper usage... The real question is, did he end the phrase with "...boomer."

I guess you could say all the other brands were sold out in a Jiffy? @Aqua-Letifer amirite

@Axtremus said in Big if true: This is the article/headline the tweet reacts to, I suppose. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/us/politics/california-voters-democrats-crime.html Interestingly, that headline, "Progressive Backlash in California Fuels Democratic Debate Over Crime", has been changed from the original, which was "Democrats send California and the Nation a Message on Crime". Maybe the progressive professor's whining was well received. I must admit, without his professor's very particular taste in headlines, I wouldn't have been able to tell which version was more constipated with disgusting right wing ideology.

Hey, black lives matter! More than anybody else's...

As of 6/21, the average LASERS benefit was 27,516/year. The pension is a 401(a). It is not subject to state income tax. Many members also have a 457(b), which is superior to a 401(k). Many also have other monies from IRA's, 401(k)'s, other 401(a)'s, 403(b)'s and other retirement vehicles, along with just regular investing in savings, stocks and bonds, etc. Some have Social Security, but that is often subject to WEP or in their spouse's case, GPO. A few, especially teachers in TRSLA, have annuities. Also, some huge factors in retirement are debt load, monies from rental property or real estate sales and the lifestyle of the retiree. Simple 401(k) balances may not be the best yardstick for how well someone does in retirement.

@Horace said in The Descent: I am sure she will accept this gracefully, learn from the experience, course correct, and move on. You're a kind man, Horace (sorry for saying "man," that was presumptive of me). Thank you for being gracious.

Pretty much any problem in society is solved by the use of violence or the threat of violence. Chew on that one...

@Jolly said in On Growing Old: @Horace said in On Growing Old: @Jolly said in On Growing Old: Move to the Gulf South. It's the closest green you'll get compared to England. Mind the heat, humidity and skeeters, though... What do you think about Houston? We're visiting there in a couple weeks to scout out neighborhoods. The residents must be furious at people like me, driving up home values and property taxes. The taxes are 3+% there and the home values have doubled in the past couple years, from what I understand. Like everything else, Houston has good points and bad points. Any big city is way too urban to me. As Texas cities go, I've always liked Dallas, Austin and San Antonio a bit more than Houston. OTOH, Houston is a very diverse city with lots of different cultures, bleeding edge healthcare, and lots of entertainment possibilities. Texas has no income tax, but watch out for property taxes. Another huge thing to consider is flooding. Houston gets tropical storms and hurricanes. If it's flooded before, it will flood again. Ain't no fun cleaning out a home that's had even a foot of water in it. Property taxes will be a permanent burden if I move. Here in CA my assessed and taxable home value can't rise more than 1% per year from where I bought it, which was near the bottom of the real estate crash. And the % is low on top of that. My property taxes, should I move to a home in TX of the same market value, would increase 5-fold. I have to imagine long-time homeowners in these popular areas of TX are being priced out of their homes. They don't have California's proposition 13 which caps the assessed value increases.

Greenville rocks. So does Asheville. Savannah's great but for different reasons. Charleston can go piss up a rope.