This is the thread where I say things and maybe other people say things too

[Godson]

What I mean to say more clearly, is that pneumonia can and will kill an otherwise "healthy person".

I wouldn't read into him being a whistle blower and dying as two related situations, more likely two separate things that happened to coincide.

[Tom Servo]

Yes, this. Despite what QAnon folks would have you believe, there are actually coincidences and they happen quite often. Correlation != causation.

[neanderthal]

If a third one dies, that will be HELLA suspicious.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Only conspiracy theorists would believe Boeing kills people by faking suicides and pneumonia.

Be like Swervo and don't be a conspiracy theorist please. Boeing is innocent until proven guilty. Don't be suspicious... especially not HELLA suspicious. Only stupid, crazy, evil conservatives do that! :p

[FaultyMario]

Can any of you guys watch this video and point at the person(s) on that stage that was not getting some nasty goochie-goochie in a timeframe of, say, 72 hours to or from the time of filming?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmyYiqKb97I

Because I can't.

I mean, 1974 was already a peak year for music, so these fellas, the James Brown Band, they faced some fierce competition from up and coming acts.

And you know, when an artistically gifted person is in a state of grace, they be gettin' it.

[mk]

If a third one dies, that will be HELLA suspicious.

I think police has a saying that two is suspicious, three is a sure thing.

[MR2 Fan]

R.I.P to legendary actor Bernard Hill. Best known for his work as Captain of the Titanic and King Theoden in Lord of the Rings.

[neanderthal]

Only conspiracy theorists would believe Boeing kills people by faking suicides and pneumonia.

Be like Swervo and don't be a conspiracy theorist please. Boeing is innocent until proven guilty. Don't be suspicious... especially not HELLA suspicious. Only stupid, crazy, evil conservatives do that! :p

They just kill them by having the plane fall out of the sky.

I'll say it again; the issues at Boeing are what happens when shareholder primacy takes supercedes making a good product/ providing a good service.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Even Boeing employees would agree that company’s senior management is putting shareholder profit above all else and that’s how quality ‘escaped’ which caused loss of door plugs and passenger lives…

However, it requires ‘conspiracy theories’ to link Boeing murdering witnesses though.

Just saying if you think conservatives are stupid for jumping into conclusions, then be careful jumping into conclusions without actual proof with Boeing.

[Tom Servo]

Trying to imagine the warped brain that would think that a company is murdering people to keep the already-out word from leaking out is an obvious thing and not some sort of melted conspiracy theory.

[Crazed_Insanity]

May I ask exactly what is your position regarding the witness dying thing, especially with this latest guy who died of pneumonia?

Do you believe Boeing killed him with pneumonia or do you believe it might be a coincidence?


Despite what QAnon folks would have you believe, there are actually coincidences and they happen quite often. Correlation != causation.


Trying to imagine the warped brain that would think that a company is murdering people to keep the already-out word from leaking out is an obvious thing and not some sort of melted conspiracy theory.

Hard to tell from what you are saying... Either I'm misunderstanding what you're saying or you are telling me that my brain is warped no matter what? Warped if I do believe in conspiracy theories and warped if I don't? :p

The suicide was definitely suspicious, but the pneumonia?

It'd be quite scary if we've developed capability to target kill people with pneumonia now...

[Tom Servo]

I'm trying to say that anybody who believes that Boeing is killing people via Dr. Evil style schemes has an extremely melted brain.

[dodint]

Michael Crichton wrote a book called Airframe where they union tried to kill an executive. So it must be plausible!

[Cam]

Billi did it. :lol:

[Crazed_Insanity]

They don't pay me enough... plus, it's against my religion! :p


I'm trying to say that anybody who believes that Boeing is killing people via Dr. Evil style schemes has an extremely melted brain.

Oh, so you're calling Neanderthal out for having a warped brain, not me? Sorry, my bad. :p

[sandydandy]

My daughter is in New York City. School trip that cost us a fortune, but she really wanted to go so we said sure. She’s gone for five days and will be coming back Saturday night.

It’s interesting that this will be the very first time that mother and daughter will be separated from each other in almost 17 years. In terms of distance and length of time. She does regular sleepovers with her cousins and friends but that’s close by and only a day or two max.

I’m used to being away from the family for extended periods. Before the pandemic they would take annual trips together to Seattle for two weeks. I only went a couple of times and then stopped going, and eventually after a few years my son would stay home too. Only the wife and daughter would go so they’ve always been together. This is something new for them. I predict my wife will be a wreck by Friday. :lol:

[neanderthal]

Billi did it. :lol:

He looking suspicious like a mofo right now!

Hey FBI, I think I know where a suspect ....

[neanderthal]

I'm trying to say that anybody who believes that Boeing is killing people via Dr. Evil style schemes has an extremely melted brain.

The ever salient "qui bono" has entered the chat.

I don't think it's far fetched that there is someone out there with a short/ long/ put/ option, whatever the jargon is, on Boeing, who needs the stock to go up/ down/ sideways, and who could hire a person to unalive someone.


And that applies to many other tickers, stocks, funds, whatever. Life is cheap these days. a fabulous result of the ever tightening belt, ever increasing inflation, and every reducing spending power.

People been killed for their sneaks. For their hoodies. For the cash in the wallet.

[FaultyMario]

i don't know about Boeing, but i will say this:

impunity has gotten a lot cheaper in the last twenty years.

[Crazed_Insanity]

The ever salient "qui bono" has entered the chat.

I don't think it's far fetched that there is someone out there with a short/ long/ put/ option, whatever the jargon is, on Boeing, who needs the stock to go up/ down/ sideways, and who could hire a person to unalive someone.


And that applies to many other tickers, stocks, funds, whatever. Life is cheap these days. a fabulous result of the ever tightening belt, ever increasing inflation, and every reducing spending power.

People been killed for their sneaks. For their hoodies. For the cash in the wallet.

Que bueno! I suppose that’s not that far fetched, but if that’s true, then it’s not Boeing, it’s somebody else acting on Boeing’s behalf!

If a Mexican cartel has a lot at stake with Boeing stock and now it’s screwed, I suppose it’s more likely they might order a hit?

Boeing CEO can be a lot like the President… just a puppet? Perhaps it’s not just greed that forced them to stop caring about building planes and decided to do whatever it takes to drive up stock prices? When shit hits the fan, "they" can always find a new puppet to do the same stupid things…

"They" are not really part of Boeing. "They" just own Boeing.

Just like 'they' are not the US politicians/Taxpayers, 'they' just own them.

Anyway, that's still a conspiracy theory though. It'll melt your brain... and your company... and your country eventually... How can we fight this decay? I don't know. :|

[Cam]

It's sad to see a couple I know break up, then have a spat on social media.

[Tom Servo]

The ever salient "qui bono" has entered the chat.

I don't think it's far fetched that there is someone out there with a short/ long/ put/ option, whatever the jargon is, on Boeing, who needs the stock to go up/ down/ sideways, and who could hire a person to unalive someone.


And that applies to many other tickers, stocks, funds, whatever. Life is cheap these days. a fabulous result of the ever tightening belt, ever increasing inflation, and every reducing spending power.

People been killed for their sneaks. For their hoodies. For the cash in the wallet.

Yeah, there's no way anyone at Boeing is risking murder trials over this. And they're definitely not going James Bond villain style with it. They'd just sue the fuck out of the whistleblowers. As it is, the stock hasn't even gone down far enough for me to consider buying the dip. Boeing and Airbus are the only games in town for pretty much all of American and European airways, the 737 is still selling like mad, and the latest whistleblower sounded like a kook. There was no reason to kill him, and even so, less of a reason to do it in unreliable Austin Powers style.

People get killed for lesser things, but Boeing execs have a lot more to lose. It didn't happen. It definitely didn't happen with "gave someone a mystery infection", because that'd be insane.

These are people who have golden parachutes when they leave and just fail upwards all day long. They'll fail upwards into another job somewhere else all while taking however many millions on leaving they would have before. Why would they risk that for something that will literally not affect them in any way?

[neanderthal]

Yeah, there's no way anyone at Boeing is risking murder trials over this. And they're definitely not going James Bond villain style with it. They'd just sue the fuck out of the whistleblowers. As it is, the stock hasn't even gone down far enough for me to consider buying the dip. Boeing and Airbus are the only games in town for pretty much all of American and European airways, the 737 is still selling like mad, and the latest whistleblower sounded like a kook. There was no reason to kill him, and even so, less of a reason to do it in unreliable Austin Powers style.

People get killed for lesser things, but Boeing execs have a lot more to lose. It didn't happen. It definitely didn't happen with "gave someone a mystery infection", because that'd be insane.

These are people who have golden parachutes when they leave and just fail upwards all day long. They'll fail upwards into another job somewhere else all while taking however many millions on leaving they would have before. Why would they risk that for something that will literally not affect them in any way?

I'm not saying it was a Boeing exec. You're absolutely right about them failing upwards at every turn, even when they fuck up.

I'm saying someone with some interest in Boeing's stock ... That could be anyone.

[Crazed_Insanity]

... That could be anyone.

That's where the conspiracies happen!!! But we're not really supposed to talk about that though, especially without any evidences to back it up! :p

[speedpimp]

I had a colonoscopy yesterday. It was my second one. The first was 8/17(that was also an upper GI). The prep part is usually the worst part. Between drinking the prep part and drinking bone broth, chicken broth, apple juice and key lime flavored water it all came off pretty good. Cut to the actual procedure, I was talking to the nurse and doc and next thing I know I'm in recovery. After some required farting(to get the anesthesia out of my system) that the nurse acknowledged with "Okay, that's enough"(this was while she was in another recovery room with another patient(all the while the other patient was farting as well)(I guess she has that good of an ear))), I got dressed and the nurse showed me the pics. Everything is good except for some diverticulitis. That explains the odd pains I've been feeling in my stomach. I guess that also explains the weirdness from a few years ago. They suggested a high fiber diet to help with the issue.

[George]

Good for you for getting another. I lost a friend to colon cancer a couple years ago, and he had a colonoscopy just two years before he died. I had one last year, I think it was. The prep sucked but the procedure was nothing at all and I slept the day away hopped up on goofballs that were pretty good.

For your high-fiber diet:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku42Iszh9KM&t=91s

[FaultyMario]

Well done*, Mister Richerd!


The extra farting might have been a bit too much

[sandydandy]

Glad the procedure went well, me bruv. I had one done way back in 2000 when I was in my mid-20’s. The prep is definitely the worst part. I had to drink Klean Prep which is nothing short of nasty!

[speedpimp]

Glad the procedure went well, me bruv. I had one done way back in 2000 when I was in my mid-20’s. The prep is definitely the worst part. I had to drink Klean Prep which is nothing short of nasty!
I mixed mine with Key Lime flavored water from Walmart. Went down super easy.

George, glad you got one. I took it upon myself to do some reading whilst on the throne.

Mario, es lo que es.

[MR2 Fan]

I'm getting my first colonoscopy on May 31st since I turned 45 years old. Apparently they're finding people are having issues earlier in life now but this age seemed what insurance companies are now ok with it

[sandydandy]

I'm getting my first colonoscopy on May 31st since I turned 45 years old. Apparently they're finding people are having issues earlier in life now but this age seemed what insurance companies are now ok with it I’m probably due for another one soon since I’m 48, but I’ve been avoiding it. I haven’t even done a prostate exam. Maybe I should do both at the same time.

[Cam]

Everyone I know is posting photos of the northern lights from last night. It was cloudy here. :(

[Tom Servo]

Hey, as far as I can tell they weren't visible even with clear skies down here, though I did just see a pic from the Mt. Wilson webcam.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yep! It’s one of the strongest within the decade I heard? They say usually, when news about auroras breaks, you won’t be able to see any of it, but this time it’s really different. My FB is full of auroras in my feed too! :D

There are people as far south as Florida seeing it!

Anyway, here’s mine:

This is pretty much what naked eyes can see… it can look like just fog or clouds in the sky…
4296

However, night mode on your phone reveals colors!
4297

[Tom Servo]

Man, I wouldn't say within a decade. Well within my lifetime. I've never heard of them being visible at all, even as a purple-ish glow over the horizon, much farther south than the absolute northern edge of California. As far as I know, this is unprecedented. I'm sure it's happened before, but I've never heard of it happening in recent recorded history.

Like a lot of forecasts, you never really know what you're going to get. I've seen CME forecasts before that predicted things like this and it fizzled out. This was one of those rare ones that a) exceeded expectations and b) wasn't actually about something destructive, so good news all around.

EDIT: Also, be aware that modes like "Night Sight" on Android use AI to "guess" what should have been there. A lot of times it does pretty amazing stuff with photos that the camera sensors just couldn't pick up. Other times, it gives palm tree trunks fluorescent green scales. It's cool, but it's not indicative of what it actually was. It's the computational equivalent of "artistic representation."

[Crazed_Insanity]

Never thought I’ll ever see an aurora because I really have no desire to travel that much north into such extreme cold territory… :p

Until about 11 yrs ago, I learned that wife really wants to see it. So we booked an Alaskan cruise hoping to see something, but I think 11years ago just happened to be the lowest cycle so no luck. In fact, we have tried numerous times at various locations and saw nothing or perhaps we ‘assumed’ we saw something? However this time, I think we can conclusively say that we saw it! It is actually the peak of the cycle which is why we got lucky last night! Just glad we had clear sky too! Usually Seattle sky can be quite cloudy even if there’s no rain.

Anyway, very cool evening last night. I heard we might get lucky tonight too? But we’ll see.

I still kinda wish that we can just ‘see’ it directly with our eyes though…

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, I saw people on Bluesky saying that they'd traveled to Iceland multiple times and never saw it, then suddenly ended finally seeing it in some place like Toledo.

We're all may gray here now, so nothing doing even if it does come this far south.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Too tired from the night before to check it out again. Old age sucks! :p

Anyway, wife was saying it wasn’t as good last night, some stayed up til 2am and couldn’t see anything. So I think Saturday was the lucky day!

This year is the peak of the aurora cycle, so maybe another big one will come soon.

Anyway, for us, that’s another item off of our bucket list… moving on to other stuffs! :p

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, NASA was saying that tonight should be more promising than last night. I thought about going to New Cuyama to find a place 3-4 hours away that won't have a lot of light, but so did everyone else and there were no rooms available.

That's fine. Maybe someday I'll see it.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, considering this year is peak of the cycle, you’ll likely have more opportunities! No need to push your luck! :p

[speedpimp]

A day before I went on vacation I was at my third to last stop and tripped walking into the box of my truck. That will make you feel your age. I let out an audible "OOF!" and the customer asked if I needed a hand. I told him
"No, I'm good!" I peeled myself off of the metal floor(because refrigeration) and felt my age. I cleaned up my wounds and got off to my next two stops. At the last delivery I cleaned up again and bandaged my right knee.
Two days later during the colonoscopy the nurse asked if I was ok to lay on my side because of the swelling in my left knee(I hadn't noticed because of my badly skinned right knee). On Friday I noticed the left knee swelling and by Sunday the swelling had gone down. I kept cleaning and bandaging the right knee. Finally today I took the bandage off of the right knee and there was no drainage. About time. Funny how it takes longer to heal as we get older.

[Cam]

Things break easier too. :lol: Glad to hear you're mostly OK.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Just take it easy man! Slow down! Take your time pimping! :p

[sandydandy]

Yikes! Take it easy, me bruv.

[neanderthal]

My uncle died in Zimbabwe. My dads cousin and best friend. He was integral in my life, I wouldn't be who I am today without him. A brilliantly intelligent man, who was also very humble. (During apartheid rhodesia (small r, fuck the racists!!!) he, my dad, and their cohorts were taking university courses through UNISA, a correspondence university based in South Africa. My uncles responses would often be sent back to students after an assignment, as a "model response.")

I can't go to the funeral. Because I didn't renew my passport.

Because I was depressed. and it expired less than 2 weeks ago.


So now i'm simultaneously pissed at myself and trying to be kind to myself.

[Cam]

:(

[Tom Servo]

Hopefully you can focus on the latter there. I remember when my aunt passed a few years back and we couldn't go to the funeral. Ultimately, wanting to be there was the thing that mattered, not that we actually could go and were there.

This is in stark contrast to when my grandmother passed and the family decided there would be no funeral. She was not a nice person.

[Crazed_Insanity]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html

There's a way to get your passport quick when you have some sort of 'urgency'.

Being an idiot and wasn't totally aware of my situation, I had been denied boarding a flight to Taiwan once because my passport was nearly expired... (would've been expired during my return trip)

Anyway, I just had to pay extra and was able to get a new one over night. You just need to be able to personally visit the office and pay extra for it. Call around and find out.

Of course, finding last min flights is probably a bigger concern nowadays. Airfares won't be cheap.

My deepest condolences. You can always pay your respect later. I'm sure your uncle wouldn't mind.

[mk]

Yeah, NASA was saying that tonight should be more promising than last night. I thought about going to New Cuyama to find a place 3-4 hours away that won't have a lot of light, but so did everyone else and there were no rooms available.

That's fine. Maybe someday I'll see it.

The storm is turning.

[speedpimp]

Sorry for your loss, Mo.

[FaultyMario]

I'm sorry Mo.

[neanderthal]

Thx guys.

I distracted myself as much as possible by going to work and not taking bereavement leave. And it was busy as fuck.
But I failed to sleep last night because of work bullshit and I had to take a sick day.

[sandydandy]

Sorry for your loss. :(

[speedpimp]

Time for my dad to get recertified for his Medicaid waiver so that he can be able to afford to live in his assisted living facility. Last year I noticed he had an '08 Taurus listed as an asset(but it was totaled in an accident(not by him) BEFORE he was receiving Medicaid) so I deleted it as an asset and that set off a shitstorm of being able to prove that he didn't own the car anymore. It took a trip to the finance company for that car to get a letter stating they had repossessed the car(and them asking how we planned to pay off the remaining balance. My reply was pretty much "BYE, Felicia!") and then a two block drive to drop off the letter.
I checked my dad's account on Monday and found docs for this year's recertification and saw that the Taurus was still listed as an asset(MF'er!). So when I take the paperwork down to the welfare office tomorrow I'll make sure I include the letter from last year to include just in case.

[Crazed_Insanity]

How can a Ford Taurus ever be an asset? More likely a liability!!! :p

[mk]

Once a certain Gustafsson was a fashion figure.

[George]

My uncle died in Zimbabwe. My dads cousin and best friend. He was integral in my life, I wouldn't be who I am today without him. A brilliantly intelligent man, who was also very humble.

I am sorry to hear this sad news. You honor him greatly with your remarks here.

[neanderthal]

And ... apparently I have fucked up my liver trying to control my pain the last few years. That accident crash keeps finding new ways of fucking my life up.

[sandydandy]

Time for my dad to get recertified for his Medicaid waiver so that he can be able to afford to live in his assisted living facility. Last year I noticed he had an '08 Taurus listed as an asset(but it was totaled in an accident(not by him) BEFORE he was receiving Medicaid) so I deleted it as an asset and that set off a shitstorm of being able to prove that he didn't own the car anymore. It took a trip to the finance company for that car to get a letter stating they had repossessed the car(and them asking how we planned to pay off the remaining balance. My reply was pretty much "BYE, Felicia!") and then a two block drive to drop off the letter.
I checked my dad's account on Monday and found docs for this year's recertification and saw that the Taurus was still listed as an asset(MF'er!). So when I take the paperwork down to the welfare office tomorrow I'll make sure I include the letter from last year to include just in case. What a hassle, me bruv. Hope it's sorted out.


And ... apparently I have fucked up my liver trying to control my pain the last few years. That accident crash keeps finding new ways of fucking my life up. Oh man I hope you're not contributing to it further by drinking. They say the beauty of the liver is it can heal and regrow, unless it's too far gone. I hope that's not the case here.

[neanderthal]

And ... apparently I have fucked up my liver kidneys trying to control my pain the last few years. That accident crash keeps finding new ways of fucking my life up.

Correction. I meant kidneys.

[neanderthal]

What a hassle, me bruv. Hope it's sorted out.

Oh man I hope you're not contributing to it further by drinking. They say the beauty of the liver is it can heal and regrow, unless it's too far gone. I hope that's not the case here.

Luckily, I don't drink.

[mk]

Limited river and sea survey, who cares.

[speedpimp]

What a hassle, me bruv. Hope it's sorted out.

Thanks, me bruv. Dropping the papers went off without a hitch. Now to wait a few weeks until the state completes their end of the process.

[MR2 Fan]

My colonoscopy is finished today, but they found 6 polyps and one they weren't able to completely remove, SOOOO I might have to do another one shortly depending on the biopsy results.

I'm not too concerned, and being overweight, not eating healthy etc. is mostly my own fault and those are contributing factors of having these things.

[neanderthal]

Good luck mate. My brother in laws colonoscopy revealed a polyp and when they went to remove it, discovered that it wasn't a polyp but a mass, and the surgeon decided to just cut that entire section of intestine out. Pathology revealed it to be cancer. Caught in the nick of time.

He only got the colonoscopy done because he took a buyout as his company was down sizing, and my sister said to him to get all his medical stuff sorted while he still had health insurance.

Fingers crossed for you.

[MR2 Fan]

:up:

[speedpimp]

My colonoscopy is finished today, but they found 6 polyps and one they weren't able to completely remove, SOOOO I might have to do another one shortly depending on the biopsy results.

I'm not too concerned, and being overweight, not eating healthy etc. is mostly my own fault and those are contributing factors of having these things.

No worries. When I had my first colo done in '17 they found a few polyps that they were able to remove all of Best of luck.

[MR2 Fan]

Ok, ASSUMING everything goes well with that medical situation, wanted to make a post about my life situation...blah blah (nothing bad).

I've been doing a lot of work to improve my health, eating WAY better, working out a lot...gaining a lot of muscle...weight loss is slow but my other health statistics are really improving, and I only have one medication I'm taking right now for blood pressure that I can probably move off of soon.

Next part: I've been at a crossroads for a bit, trying to decide what to do with my life. I'm 45 years old, live in Florida, single, no kids, live in someone else's house as a roommate that is a long-term "fixer upper" where my roommate won't "fix" anything. (nothing super broken, just a crappy looking small house from the 60's)

As you know I've done different business ideas over the years, mostly dealing with 3D printers the past several years and had some good ideas (IMO) but nothing good enough for people to want to buy them and I've poured a LOT of money down the drain in custom hardware, testing, designing, re-designing etc. over the past 7 or so years.

I'm also NOT a salesperson and not great at that kind of thing. The latest 3D printer I've been working on was a small one, but due to new changes in tariffs, competition, etc. I've decided it's just not feasible for me anymore.

So my other thing that's been on my mind for a long time is, I'd love to move somewhere on my own but that's basically extremely expensive to go anywhere else in the U.S. right now as our housing market is so crap.

What I'd LOVE to do is move to Japan and "start a new life" there. Yes, Japan has its own problems, but I've visited 7 times in my life and while living there is different than being a tourist, I feel like a "local" mentality when I'm there at this point. Also, I'm not some anime weeb, almost never even watch anime.

I'm considering getting a 6 month stay starting next year and work remotely at my current job with their new visa (Though I could stay 3 months with no visa) and see if it's possible for me to live there more permanently somehow, of which there are various ways, especially being an expert in a certain field for over a decade.

I just feel like the U.S. is still going to be in a lot of turmoil long-term...too many problems here.

Now, having said that, I really need to improve my Japanese language skills....hoping to go next March, just need my work to approve it. I can have $30K in my bank at that point as well, if anything happened with my job I wouldn't be "broke".

So TL: DR, I've given up doing 3D printing design as a business on my own, don't want to live in the U.S. anymore, would really do better in Japan and want to start a "new life" before I get too old to make it happen properly.

[Cam]

Best wishes.

[Yw-slayer]

So TL: DR, I've given up doing 3D printing design as a business on my own, don't want to live in the U.S. anymore, would really do better in Japan and want to start a "new life" before I get too old to make it happen properly.

Do it, man. It's worth a go.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Looks like that’s something you really really want and you’ve thought long and hard about it. Once you have approval, I don’t see why can’t you give it a try for 6 months…

The only unknown is China. We may have another pandemic or they may attack Taiwan? Then it may become a war zone over there… of course I hope I won’t live to see WW3! :p Anyway, good luck man!

[MR2 Fan]

Thanks guys. The only stumbling part is if my work doesn't approve it, but will worry about that once I hear back which might be a few weeks. I do everything from home right now with nothing more needed than a laptop.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened!

Heck, even if nobody answered the door or the door is locked and too strong to be kicked down... there will always be another door for you to try! :p

Maybe you'll find another job... move to another city... fall in love with a rich Japanese chick? Life is like a box of chocolates. Just try to enjoy every piece of it while it is in your mouth! ;) And keep on exploring!

[sandydandy]

So TL: DR, I've given up doing 3D printing design as a business on my own, don't want to live in the U.S. anymore, would really do better in Japan and want to start a "new life" before I get too old to make it happen properly. Totally understand. I’m going through something similar. Only fear of change will stop you, (which is keeping me in neutral right now).

Best of luck!

[mk]

Cone cow World Championships
https://koivuniemenherra.fi/2024/02/09/2024-cone-cow-world-championship/?lang=en

[Cam]

Majority of free ads on CL/FB Market are essentially, "Take out my trash."

I just bought some chisels from a lady who had a storage unit of junk. She was trying to get me to take more stuff. Uh, I just want woodworking tools.

[Cam]

It is silly how many sellers use “MCM” (mid-century modern) as a marketing term in their ads, even when the stuff they are selling is not MCM.

[MR2 Fan]

Mid-Century Mid

[Tom Servo]

Had one of the neighborhood, for lack of a better term, tweakers break into our garage on Monday night. It's entirely possible he may have actually snuck in behind us as we drove in after my birthday dinner. There are a bunch of ring/nest/whatever cameras in the garage that caught him going around trying to get into peoples' cars, break into people's homes, etc. He apparently tried to get into our friends' unit while one of them was just on the other side of the door doing laundry. Thankfully the doors inside the garage are all pretty heavy duty steel doors, so the guy made no progress. He also kept licking his hands and then grabbing doorknobs. At first I thought maybe that was a way to hide fingerprints, but I think he was just a shirtless tweaker with a tattoo across his chest that I can't read.

At any rate, he eventually got scared off and took off. We went up to the neighborhood bar for trivia the next night and asked the bartender if they'd seen the guy, and if they did they should call the cops. Bartender says "That's the guy who showed up outside after we closed on Monday, banging on the door and screaming to let him have a lighter. He was there for like 10 minutes telling us he'd kill us if we didn't give him a lighter."

Things are going great in the neighborhood.

[FaultyMario]

That's sad, scary, confusing and funny at the same time.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, that's kinda how it feels here too. There are a bunch of people in the neighborhood now that I'm pretty sure are on meth. Most of the time they just are weird to themselves, but sometimes they'll get fixated on you and come after you, and that's when it gets scary because they're all sped up and not really great at listening to reason. I've had more than one take a swing at me when I ride my bike down the street, thankfully nobody's managed to connect yet.

It's tough, because I feel like most of my neighbors are so willing to see the homeless people in our neighborhood as a problem to be gotten rid of and not as actual people who need help and are sick, but at the same time then you end up in a situation where like...what if Michele had been by herself taking the trash out or something when that dude was wandering around the garage?

Ultimately, I think we've got a right to safety and they've got a right to dignity and help, but of course our city provides none of those things.

[George]

For our Canadian friends, eh.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMtI2rtiQ-Q

[Yw-slayer]

Sorry to hear that, Tom.

[mk]

Ultimately, I think we've got a right to safety and they've got a right to dignity and help, but of course our city provides none of those things.

I read that USA has fundamentally individual oriented system.
The fault is always your decision.

Our system is not good for other reasons.
You can intentionally kill again after a served sentence.

Now brainwashing westerners is free, I wouldn't mind if it wasn't.
But who would make the rules, world is full of much worse than Jeff Landrys.

[Tom Servo]

It definitely does. The problem is that so many Americans take that so seriously that they will act against their own self interests if it feels like it's helping someone else that we feel like doesn't deserve it.

The idea of single-payer healthcare here is still not widely popular despite the fact that everybody hates their insurance company and has dealt with things like getting surgery where the hospital and surgeon are in network but turns out the anesthesiologist isn't and you get charged a few grand directly just by that person who you didn't even pick in the first place, they just came with the package. But "why should I have to pay for this other person's medical care?" is the prevailing wisdom, even though it'd end up saving you money in the long run.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I think conservatives don’t like single payer systems or ‘socialism’ isn’t just because they’re heartless and doesn’t want to pay for other people’s healthcare, but because single payer naturally demotivates productivity and inevitability increase cost.

Of course our current system is still costing us more than arms and legs, but at least money is also encouraging medical advancements? Big money is allowing the rich to receive top notch care and treatments… and hopefully these advancements can ‘trickle’ down to us average folks?

Think of it this way, we used to have more than Boeing making planes. Now we have only a ‘single’ plane maker. Is that really better? Or let’s make Boeing government owned! Will that really make Boeing better?

Anyway, regarding our cities being invaded by these zombie-like homeless druggies… I’m really not sure what we can do to solve that problem. It’s a culmination of our many social problems…

But I think similar to Boeing, until we get leadership that really care about making planes and not just concerned with only money… likewise until we have politicians who really care about American people, things are unlikely to change.

[MR2 Fan]

The awkward feeling when you hear news of a celebrity dying and you somehow thought they had passed away years ago, so you don't feel as bad about it. :|

[Tom Servo]

Love when I pull a muscle in my back while brushing my teeth.

[mk]

Somebody around here is about to arrange an Air Pussy Licking World Championship competition.
(it's sponsored)
60 sec, men and women series, flip to air butt and you're DQ.

[Tom Servo]

If it was anywhere other than Finland, I'd be surprised by this.

[FaultyMario]

I think pussy is fine.

And that's my hot take.

[Tom Servo]

I choose to read that without context as it's on a GTX page break for me. I know the context, but I choose to read it without, and it's poetry.

[sandydandy]

Me too.

If we had ‘like’ buttons for posts I would instantly like that.

[MR2 Fan]

I know you're all really anticipating the final report on my colonoscopy, lol.

Overall nothing major, no cancer, however there was one piece they couldn't fully remove and while initially the doc thought 3 years, he now said to be on the safe side, to come back in 1 year....which is fine, I'd rather be cautious. He saw no indication of cancer on that one either but preferred to have it cleared out next year.

[Crazed_Insanity]

But you'll be in Japan next year! Better figure out the healthcare stuffs too if you really are moving to Japan soon...

[MR2 Fan]

But you'll be in Japan next year! Better figure out the healthcare stuffs too if you really are moving to Japan soon...

Yes I'm working on that

[Crazed_Insanity]

Not sure about Japan, I know Taiwan has very cheap healthcare. Even without insurance, medical costs can be cheaper than the US with insurance! I’m talking about overall cheaper prescription costs, testing costs and treatment costs. Of course advantage of US system is that once we reach our deductible, insurance will cover us 100%. However, cost could skyrocket if you need further special care in Taiwan…

Anyway, need to figure out how foreigners in Japan do with their healthcare issues…

[speedpimp]

Love when I pull a muscle in my back while brushing my teeth.

Considering that you're dealing with a bit of stress and tension in life those could be contributing factors to your pulled muscle.

[MR2 Fan]

Japanese Language Post:

On the note about moving to Japan........obviously knowing the language can be a huge barrier...which is what I'm spending the next several months getting over.

I do have generalized conversation skills that are a bit rusty, but those I can pick up again easily. I know Hiragana and Katakana, just need to be able to read them faster...I'm still a bit slow. One issue with Japanese is there's no spaces between words...that makes things tricky.

Then there's Kanji which has....generally....2,140 "common" characters with different readings depending on context etc. I've gotten advice from several places and the most basic advise seems to be related to a book "Remembering the Kanji" which tells you the basic keyword definition...in English. The concept being that it's way easier to get the jist of what a kanji means and that the other contexts and readings will be more easily figured out later.

On that note, I had an idea about how I can "learn" these kanji better, is looking up an image to go with the kanji...and putting them on a powerpoint doc. I'll share once I get further along so you can see what I mean.

That and just taking in lots of input from various media...variety shows, dramas...NOT really Anime (due to a few reasons...I prefer "regular" day to day dialogue and sometimes you can't tell how someone is voicing words without seeing them speaking directly). I wish I could do constant "immersion" of watching/listening to media but I have other things I have to do.

I also have duolingo which is...........ok for some things, and I have the Genki Volume 1 textbook. I found some decent learning games on Steam as well which I've tried out.

So overall what I'm saying is that I'm taking a lot of inputs from various sources and building up knowledge. Seeing/hearing words from different sources in different contexts is really helpful (while also trying not to get burnt out in the process). It obviously helps to be interested in Japan and Japanese things, and seeing as I love so many things from Japan and have Japanese writing, it makes it easier.

I also have Japanese friends that I can converse with :)

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

[Tom Servo]

I tried to learn Hebrew when it looked like I'd be taking more regular trips to Tel Aviv with ZipRecruiter. I found Duolingo to be really tough because I couldn't really get a good handle on what the different glyphs sounded like. I have to imagine Japanese would be really similar, though in my experience at least the katakana glyphs are easier to tell apart. Not to sound insensitive, I had a lot with Hebrew where I was like "okay, how does this one that looks like an 'n' sound compared to this one that looks like an 'n'."

[MR2 Fan]

yes, well there's a few things to deal with in Japanese...some Katakana look like other Katakana....some Hiragana look like other Hiragana...oh, and some of each look like Kanji, but apparently they're different meanings (possibly?)

Then again, I suppose someone who isn't used to english/latin style letters could also confuse lower case g and q or i and j if handwritten poorly.

Here's some katakana examples

4322

[Crazed_Insanity]

I shi tsu not, in Chinese, if you put the words ‘up’ together with ‘down’, that means you ain’t going up nor down, you’ll be ‘stuck’. Chinese apparently has the concept of vectors… :p