Steerzing in a New Direction...

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Service Dog
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1861

Post by Service Dog »

At las, congress should drag the National comic book publishers to DC.

Force them to testify. Ask an expert about the content of the stories-- and societal effects. Then demand an industry-wide code of conduct.

ThreeFlangedJavis
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1862

Post by ThreeFlangedJavis »

Service Dog wrote:
Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:36 pm
I'm listening to 'The Fourth Age', a YouTuber who comments-on the comic book industry.

He says Marvel doesn't want to hire actual lifelong fans of Marvel comics... because those fans have knowledge-of and respect-for the decades of storytelling which came-before... so fans-turned-pro are an obstacle when Disney/Netflix/Sony wants to do Whatever They Want with longstanding characters and fictional worlds. They don't want a consumer audience of 'true fans', either. They want casual dabblers.

A lightbulb flickered in my brain & I realized-- the same is true in all-sorts of industries and governments. No one with a passion for the US Constitution can be allowed to define govt policies which might defy the Constitution. No one versed in history can be allowed a mass platform to comment on current events.

Rather than a mastermind intentionally creating a progressive globalist fuck-topia ... the same result is achieved by job interviews with nothing-but short-sighted expedient motives: Avoid 'difficult',passionate, knowledgeable staff... hire a bunch of compliant know-nothings... and Voila!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esirCJLVbsY
But isn't that the way woke ideology is designed to operate? The MO is modification of the way the young and dissatisified process information and the provision of an easily adaptable rhetorical toolkit. Can it not be the case that the process was deliberately set in motion? In either case, deliberate or not, the way out of the mess is consumer power. If you can hit enough corporations in the bottom line then you might be able to do something.

If Marvel are being guided by any real business sense then they will do whatever sells the most merchandise. Who buys it, children, lifelong fans or casual moviegoers?

MarcusAu
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1863

Post by MarcusAu »

Service Dog wrote: At las, congress should drag the National comic book publishers to DC.

Force them to testify. Ask an expert about the content of the stories-- and societal effects. Then demand an industry-wide code of conduct.
Marvel and Decease - as Dave Sim once put it.

If fiction and mythology are to be seen as necessary thing - then there are those who would criticize the resource being administered centrally - where it be by government or corporation.

There's something to be said for the stoic approach and not worrying about things you have no control over. Probably better to make your own entertainment. And to be fair that seems just what that Zac guy and Ethan Van Sciver are doing.

I really don't see Captain America and Batman going the way of G8 and His Battle Aces or Doc Savage anytime soon. But if they do, or even if they are just badly written for a while - it's not something to feel too sentimental about.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1864

Post by fafnir »

ThreeFlangedJavis wrote: If Marvel are being guided by any real business sense then they will do whatever sells the most merchandise. Who buys it, children, lifelong fans or casual moviegoers?
That's old fashioned. With stakeholder capitalism you can use the shareholders money to work towards higher goals and ambitions than maximizing return.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1865

Post by Service Dog »

MarcusAu wrote: If fiction and mythology are to be seen as necessary thing - then there are those who would criticize the resource being administered centrally....

There's something to be said for the stoic approach and not worrying about things you have no control over. Probably better to make your own ____________. And to be fair that seems just what __________ and ________ are doing.

I really don't see __________ [America] and __________ going the way of _________ or ________ anytime soon. But if they do, or even if they are just badly __________ for a while - it's not something to feel too sentimental about.
Some days I care about comic books, per se. But today-- comic books were just the jumping-off point-- to think about similar patterns elsewhere.

70 years ago-- Walt Disney already figured-out that 'Disney' should be the only name customers know/ not the individual draw-ers and write-ers and the human faces attached to the animated characters' voices. So it's no surprise that 'Disney' would wipe the personally-invested actual-creators' fingerprints off of Marvel & Star Wars, too.

So... now I'll re-read your reply & put-aside all the kiddie-entertainment stuff... & apply what you're saying to nations, universities, global intellectual traditions, ideological movements.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1866

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

Service Dog wrote: I started reading... it was really egregious... waiving ALL rights to pursue ANY matter in a court... if ya don't get paid, if you get intentionally maimed, if something on the job terminates your pregnancy.
Even had you, it wouldn't be legally binding.

When I refused to sign the silly document... the iPad girl drew a little circle on my wristband. I said "What does that mean?" She said, "That means you get zero points today."
Was she joking, or is the Social Credit System already in place?

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1867

Post by MarcusAu »

Service Dog wrote: So... now I'll re-read your reply & put-aside all the kiddie-entertainment stuff... & apply what you're saying to nations, universities, global intellectual traditions, ideological movements.
That may be stretching things way past the breaking point...but let me know how it works out...because you usually have something interesting to add.

P.S. Superman's son is gay.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1868

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

Service Dog wrote: Younger workers signed it.
Of course they did. Their entire generation has been trained to unquestioningly obey.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1869

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

fafnir wrote: The woman in the video I saw had wild yeast.
Best not to stick your dick into that, either.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1870

Post by Service Dog »

US Soldier



22 year veteran State Trooper



More than 100 scientists, nuclear engineers, research technicians, designers, project managers and other employees with security clearances at Los Alamos National Laboratory



https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/1 ... e-mandate/

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1871

Post by Service Dog »

MarcusAu wrote: Captain America... Batman.... if they are just badly written for a while - it's not something to feel too sentimental about.
let me know how it works out


@8minutes&35seconds...


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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1872

Post by Bhurzum »

Just watched the remake of Dune and must admit I absolutely loved it! The two hours and thirty minute run-time flew past at an alarming rate, not one dull moment, thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the movie.

Maybe I'm just a Dune-starved fan who would enjoy anything related to the saga?

Anyway, can't recommend it enough!

https://cdn3.movieweb.com/i/article/Bw4 ... -Video.jpg

My ex used to cry "Shai-Hulud" whenever I dropped my pants!

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1873

Post by Lsuoma »

Bhurzum wrote: Just watched the remake of Dune and must admit I absolutely loved it! The two hours and thirty minute run-time flew past at an alarming rate, not one dull moment, thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the movie.

Maybe I'm just a Dune-starved fan who would enjoy anything related to the saga?

Anyway, can't recommend it enough!

https://cdn3.movieweb.com/i/article/Bw4 ... -Video.jpg

My ex used to cry "Shai-Hulud" whenever I dropped my pants!


(And it was Micro Pud, not Shai-Hulud).

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1874

Post by Bhurzum »

Lsuoma wrote:
ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKgBTaLKR84

(And it was Micro Pud, not Shai-Hulud).
Video blocked due to copyright.

So n'yah, your little jokey-joke about my mighty underpants sand-worm didn't work.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1875

Post by Bhurzum »

Oh, not blocked due to copyright, it's age restricted.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1876

Post by Lsuoma »

Bhurzum wrote: Oh, not blocked due to copyright, it's age restricted.
Your mighty underpants are more likely to be crusty underpants, and I suppose that the restrictions are on estimated mental age...

FRISP!!!

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1877

Post by MarcusAu »

Service Dog wrote:
@8minutes&35seconds...

<no vid>
I'd heard. Not a very nice thing to say.

Nevertheless, and notwithstanding that...despite the rumblings about Facebook and Twitter, those on the right have usually displayed a respect for property (or corporate property) rights. So, if something needs to be done (and that's an IF by itself) and if we are ruling out seizing the means of production - the question is what.

Maybe electing Curtis Sliwa will be a step towards nationalizing Batman.

But as I seem to be overtaxing my reasoning ability, and likely the patience of constant reader - let me say sometimes in these intractable situations it helps to think of frogs plopping in ponds...

Or as William Gibson put it: "He took a duck to the face at 250 knots".

Probably my last words on the subject, even if they are someone else's.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1878

Post by Bhurzum »

Lsuoma wrote: FRISP!!!
I'd rather be a FRISP than a mash-man. Fuck, I'd rather be FRENCH!

Bunch of limp-wristed, chinless, fans-of-musical-theatre...

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1879

Post by MarcusAu »

Bhurzum wrote:
Lsuoma wrote: FRISP!!!
...FRISP ...mash [up]...fans-of-musical-theatre...
Since you brought it up...


Service Dog
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1880

Post by Service Dog »

"...without recourse or labour union representation..."

Reminds me of a fight outside a bar, where one guy began by announcing, "No MMA! Just street fighting!" as if that was binding on the other guy.

https://media.patriots.win/post/xdwCTlD7.png

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1881

Post by fafnir »

Service Dog wrote: Reminds me of a fight outside a bar, where one guy began by announcing, "No MMA! Just street fighting!" as if that was binding on the other guy.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1882

Post by Bhurzum »

[/u]
MarcusAu wrote:
Bhurzum wrote:
Lsuoma wrote: FRISP!!!
...FRISP ...mash [up]...fans-of-musical-theatre...
Since you brought it up...

ww.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpk9JNUDr9k
You'd have a point - if I was a fan of that utter garbage.

Anyhoo, enough of this Disney pish, go see "Dune" or I'll come to your house, kick the stuffing out of you, piss in your kettle and hump your wife. There, message passed.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1883

Post by John D »

Bhurzum wrote: Just watched the remake of Dune and must admit I absolutely loved it! The two hours and thirty minute run-time flew past at an alarming rate, not one dull moment, thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the movie.

Maybe I'm just a Dune-starved fan who would enjoy anything related to the saga?

Anyway, can't recommend it enough!

My ex used to cry "Shai-Hulud" whenever I dropped my pants!
"We have worm sign!"

Bhurzum
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1884

Post by Bhurzum »

John D wrote:
Bhurzum wrote: Just watched the remake of Dune and must admit I absolutely loved it! The two hours and thirty minute run-time flew past at an alarming rate, not one dull moment, thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the movie.

Maybe I'm just a Dune-starved fan who would enjoy anything related to the saga?

Anyway, can't recommend it enough!

My ex used to cry "Shai-Hulud" whenever I dropped my pants!
"We have worm sign!"
Now THAT'S how you troll within context!

+1 internets, sir!

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1885

Post by John D »

This...

Matt Cavanaugh
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1886

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

Schellenberger is full of shit.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1887

Post by John D »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1888

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

John D wrote:
Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.
Same old Popular Mechanics/Wunderwaffen approach: Global warming isn't as bad as they say. And even if it is, we'll come up with something.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1889

Post by John D »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
John D wrote:
Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.
Same old Popular Mechanics/Wunderwaffen approach: Global warming isn't as bad as they say. And even if it is, we'll come up with something.
so… that means you didn’t read his book and enjoy simplification.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1890

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

John D wrote: so… that means you didn’t read his book
Not his book. But his manifesto. And articles, including one in Quillette. Plus he ran for governor for about fifteen minutes and got written up and interviewed in the papers.

Tell me I'm wrong that he thinks the free market will come up with some remedy to global warming.

Keep Calm
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Produce Carbon

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1891

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

and enjoy simplification.
Si.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1892

Post by AndrewV69 »

Why do you still live in California?

MarcusAu
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1893

Post by MarcusAu »

AndrewV69 wrote:
Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:58 pm
Why do you still live in California?
There have been no credible death threats.

And he's armed.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1894

Post by fafnir »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
John D wrote: so… that means you didn’t read his book
Not his book. But his manifesto. And articles, including one in Quillette. Plus he ran for governor for about fifteen minutes and got written up and interviewed in the papers.

Tell me I'm wrong that he thinks the free market will come up with some remedy to global warming.

Keep Calm
and
Produce Carbon
How are things going with the alternative plan? Are global CO2 levels dropping fast? China must at least be decommissioning coal power stations?

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1895

Post by Service Dog »

Nebraska's Attorney General issues legal opinion against prosecuting doctors who prescribe off-label drugs to treat and prevent coronavirus infections.

Includes scathing critique of Big Pharma misconduct:
By Jarrad Winter
Legal opinions usually aren't terribly fun to read, but if you've been an ivermectin and/or hydroxychloroquine advocate for use against Wuhan Plague, this one definitely will bring you much joy.

It's a rather lengthy and full spectrum opinion issued by Doug Peterson, Nebraska's Attorney General, in response to a query from the state's Department of Health and Human Services as to whether physicians can be persecuted and tormented for prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to patients sick with the China Flu. What the AG's response amounts to is a full and complete takedown of the conspiracy to suppress cheap and effective early Covid-19 treatments.

All the players -- FDA, CDC, Fauci, Big Pharma, the media, all of them -- get a glorious and swift kick in the rear end. Portions of it even made me laugh out loud. As far as legal documents go, it's definitely easy reading and understandable to everyone. It seems clear that the AG's office went to some trouble to layout the whole saga in a way the masses can understand without translation by legal scholars.

What follows are some of the most relevant parts (at least in my sometimes-humble opinion), but it really is in everyone's best interest to personally read the opinion in full. People must individually understand what's actually happening for themselves. This is what will enable We The People to course correct and divert from the ruinous path set for us by the overlords.

As to the question of ivermectin as a treatment option:

The Mahmud study–a CRT that explored ivermectin as an early treatment for 363 individuals–concluded that “patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection treated with ivermectin plus doxycycline recovered earlier, were less likely to progress to more serious disease, and were more likely to be COVID-19 negative on day 14. And Niaee’s research team found that ivermectin can help even hospitalized patients. That group conducted a “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial” with 180 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19. They concluded that ivermectin “reduces the rate of mortality and duration of hospitalization in adult COVID-19 patients,” and the improvement of other clinical parameters showed that the ivermectin, with a wide margin of safety, had a high therapeutic effect on COVID-19.

What initially made ivermectin a target for all the inexplicable slander?

Why would ivermectin’s original patent holder go out of its way to question this medicine by creating the impression that it might not be safe? There are at least two plausible reasons. First, ivermectin is no longer under patent, so Merck does not profit from it anymore. That likely explains why Merck declined to “conduct clinical trials” on ivermectin and COVID-19 when given the chance. Second, Merck has a significant financial interest in the medical profession rejecting ivermectin as an early treatment for COVID-19.

As to the question of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment option:

In 2004, long before the COVID-19 pandemic began, a lab study revealed that chloroquine "is an effective inhibitor of the replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in vitro" and thus that it should be "considered for immediate use in the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV infections". The following year, another paper explained that "chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS-CoV" and "is effective in preventing the spread of SARS[-]CoV in cell culture."

It is widely recognized in the medical community that hydroxychloroquine is generally safe, so safe in fact that it may be prescribed to pregnant women and "children of all ages."


What made hydroxychloroquine controversial in the first place?

A striking example features one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals–the Lancet. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lancet published a paper denouncing hydroxychloroquine as dangerous. Yet the reported statistics were so flawed that journalists and outside researchers immediately began raising concerns. Then after one of the authors refused to provide the analyzed data, the paper was retracted, but not before many countries stopped using hydroxychloroquine and trials were cancelled or interrupted. The Lancet’s own editor in chief admitted that the paper was a “fabrication, a monumental fraud,” and “a shocking example of research misconduct in the middle of a global health emergency."

Interesting note about ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine hesitancy:

As for professional associations' and physician groups' views on hydroxychloroquine, it appears they generally adopt the same position they did on ivermectin. Those like the AAPS who support ivermectin as an option for early COVID-19 treatment generally support hydroxychloroquine too, while those like the AMA, APhA, and ASHP that oppose one typically resist the other.

The AG's conclusion:

Allowing physicians to consider these early treatments will free them to evaluate additional tools that could save lives, keep patients out of the hospital, and provide relief for our already strained healthcare system.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1896

Post by John D »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
John D wrote: so… that means you didn’t read his book
Not his book. But his manifesto. And articles, including one in Quillette. Plus he ran for governor for about fifteen minutes and got written up and interviewed in the papers.

Tell me I'm wrong that he thinks the free market will come up with some remedy to global warming.

Keep Calm
and
Produce Carbon
So... I understand why you may be skeptical of him. I have no doubt he has said and done some things that where not wise or well thought out. But, I really think he scores quite well with his book "Apocalypse Never". I will defend it a bit here.

1) He spends a good portion of the book describing the history of apocalyptic thinking over the centuries. Lot's of detail about Maltusians, and the common human tendency to look for the worst in the future.... and how all of these predictions of disaster have not happened. You know... the ridiculous but popular "Population Bomb"...etc. He discusses the strange change in organizations like Green Peace to go after chlorine once they stopped working on whales (a really terrible idea).

2) He spends some time describing the religious nature of environmentalism; the lack of pragmatism, the purity ideal, the idea that nature is some kind of religious ideal state (without humans).

3) He interviews and follows the story of several people in developing countries to describe the effects on increasing wealth, industrialization, and reducing the number of children. Of course, all those interviewed have used these things to improve their life, and this also reduces environmental harm.

4) He discusses the idea of "energy density". His view is that the higher the energy density the better. He is a proponent of nuclear power and natural gas as being the best choices. Most renewables are lower density so they have more negative effects...they are not superior to nuclear. The biggest improvements can be made by taking people off their dependence on wood and moving them to coal and/or petroleum. Millions of people still cook and heat with wood. This means they create air pollution and cut down forests (that are not re-planted). Promoting coal and petrol use will have very large benefits. Also, promoting industrial farming will reduce the burning of places such as the Brazil rainforest.

5) He also points out the obvious... that political agreements such as the Paris Accords do almost nothing to reduce CO2. This agreement is expensive and only delays CO2 by a few years. Certainly not enough to make any noticeable change.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1897

Post by ThreeFlangedJavis »

John D wrote:
Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:02 pm
Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.
Let me put it this way. You can read some people's work knowing that the facts they use and the quotes they give are presented honestly. Their mistakes are just that, mistakes. There are other people, like Nukular Shillenberger, who you cannot trust to present an honest assessment of counter arguments or counter argumenters. If Shillenberger needs an opponent of his to be a screaming ideological nutbar environmentalist then that is what will be presented regardless of the truth. He needs climate science to be dominated by "alarmists" and "environmentalists" just the way creationists need biology to be dominated by "Darwinists". Look at the reviews and critiques of his book and you will see where he has strawmanned the positions of his opponents. It is easy to make convincing arguments if you can create your own custom environment with it's own set of facts.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1898

Post by John D »

ThreeFlangedJavis wrote:
John D wrote:
Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:02 pm
Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.
Let me put it this way. You can read some people's work knowing that the facts they use and the quotes they give are presented honestly. Their mistakes are just that, mistakes. There are other people, like Nukular Shillenberger, who you cannot trust to present an honest assessment of counter arguments or counter argumenters. If Shillenberger needs an opponent of his to be a screaming ideological nutbar environmentalist then that is what will be presented regardless of the truth. He needs climate science to be dominated by "alarmists" and "environmentalists" just the way creationists need biology to be dominated by "Darwinists". Look at the reviews and critiques of his book and you will see where he has strawmanned the positions of his opponents. It is easy to make convincing arguments if you can create your own custom environment with it's own set of facts.
Of course, your stupid joke about his name does nothing to convince me you know anything about his writing. If you want to point me to a criticism I will happily spend time reviewing it. At this point you just sound like an alarmist yourself. Not well played on your part.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1899

Post by John D »

Here is one criticism. I agree with a few points in this criticism.

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020 ... pse-never/

I think Shellenberger is wrong in his assessment of the original effectiveness of Green Peace. While I think part of the reason whaling was reduced was economics, I think it was also important that the public was made to understand the risk of whaling to the extinction of species. I think he is wrong in his interpretation that this was almost entirely driven by economics.

I also think his view of diversity is wrong... and frankly it is a bit stupid. He actually claims that the addition of invasive species to an environment increase bio-diversity. This makes no sense. Diversity is improved by protecting diverse biospheres, and not by smoothing everything out.... by introducing invasives. He is just playing word games here... and it is pretty annoying.

His personal attacks on some people are pretty well targeted in my view. A personal attack on Paul R. Ehrlich, the writer of "The Population Bomb" is appropriate. He is a fraud... and yet he is still a professor at Stanford. He is the lowest of the low.... Fuck him into the ground. Shellenberger went easy on him in my view.

I think though, that this criticism is not correct on most other topics. I will not repeat everything I wrote above. Claiming he thinks all problems are saved by nuclear is a mischaracterization of the book and an intentional over-simplification. He dose not deny climate change. He primarily proposes the best pragmatic choices of what we do next.... nuclear needs priority, removing wood as an energy source, industrializing farming. The Paris Accords is a joke....etc.

John D
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1900

Post by John D »

And... talk about a strawman. I am not a Cornucopian just because I am not a Malthusian. Talk about the trap of two over-simplified ideas.

and I get so frustrated by the low quality discussion on this topic.

NPR - which I still listen to... as a kind of self tortue... reports on wildfires as I outline below.

1) Climate change caused fires are sweeping through parts of California.
2) Regulations have prevented small fires so a great amount of brush has accumulated in Cali forests.
3) Sequoia trees are evolved to live in an environment of small fires on a regular basis
4) Aggressive fire suppression and the reduction of logging of dead trees has resulted in the burning of many rare live Sequoia trees
5) Global warming must be stopped

Seriously. I am not exaggerating how this story was presented. and so... I can't help but think climate change is used as a kind of boogie man that prevents people from doing anything practical. They don't want to do the work of managing the forest so they just say we need to do more on climate change. Fucking amazing.

Matt Cavanaugh
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1901

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

John D wrote: 1) ... apocalyptic thinking over the centuries.... Maltusians .... the ridiculous but popular "Population Bomb"...etc.
Malthus wan't wrong: exponential growth in population with linear growth in resources will lead to collapse. Sure, the "Green Revolution" staved off collapse, but it was heavily dependent on irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and expansion of land put under the plow. And how many more genetic tweaks to crops are left up our sleeve? China already can't feed itself through agriculture, so is plundering the oceans. India may be covering its food needs for now, but it's almost out of water.

Limiting the fights you pick to patsies like Ehrlich is an indicator of disingenuousness -- it's like the Bulldogs playing Decatur Community College. Has Schellenberg addressed the concerns laid out by Diamond in Collapse?


2)... the religious nature of environmentalism; the lack of pragmatism, the purity ideal ....
A lot of environmentalists do use the environmental crisis, climate change, as an excuse to control how others live. [Which, with covid, we see is always this crowd's ulterior motive.] But that doesn't mean the problems aren't real.

3) ... the effects on increasing wealth, industrialization, and reducing the number of children. Of course, all those interviewed have used these things to improve their life, and this also reduces environmental harm.
Better living conditions lead to lower birth rates, but the biggest factor in that regard is increasing women's rights. But more people around the world having more stuff produced by more industrialization fed by more resource depletion, dramatically increases harm to the environment.

4) He discusses the idea of "energy density". His view is that the higher the energy density the better. He is a proponent of nuclear power and natural gas as being the best choices. Most renewables are lower density so they have more negative effects...they are not superior to nuclear.
A simplistic assessment using a single metric, which ignores all the ancillary costs and negative effects of getting the energy from those 'dense' sources to the the user. Me heating my house with wood, processed using gas-sipping [albeit now banned by environmentalist kooks] two-stroke tools, is a lot more efficient than building a nuclear power plant, manufacturing power lines, running those power lines, then building roads so work crews in F-450s can service those lines. One size does not fit all.

The biggest improvements can be made by taking people off their dependence on wood and moving them to coal and/or petroleum. Millions of people still cook and heat with wood. This means they create air pollution and cut down forests (that are not re-planted). Promoting coal and petrol use will have very large benefits. Also, promoting industrial farming will reduce the burning of places such as the Brazil rainforest.
LNG is a good alternative for a lot of applications. But burning coal to avoid burning wood is just fucking stupid.

Industrial farming has major associated costs that Schellenberger ignores or trivializes. Living in California, he has to stick his head in the dry, dry sand to not see how our water supply cannot sustain either our population or our agriculture.

Recognizing that certain regions of the world just can't sustain the number of humans currently living in them, is apparently inconceivable to Schellenberg.
5) that political agreements such as the Paris Accords do almost nothing to reduce CO2.
The Paris Accords were designed to hamstring the West's economy, while allowing China's to continue to expand. Doesn't mean than a fair and honest international agreement to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be desirable and feasible. You just need to grab those purple pissers by the nose and kick 'em in the pants.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1902

Post by John D »

Appreciate your rebuttal Matt. I almost entirely disagree with you... and I doubt I will change much about you. This is fine with me. Thanks for sharing. I think we are in totally different places on these topics. I am humble enough to say I could be wrong.... but right now... I think I am right. I will keep an open mind and I will read Diamond's book next (after I finish Victor Davis Hanson's "The Dying Citizen").

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1903

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

John D wrote: NPR - which I still listen to... as a kind of self tortue... reports on wildfires as I outline below.

1) Climate change caused fires are sweeping through parts of California.
2) Regulations have prevented small fires so a great amount of brush has accumulated in Cali forests.
3) Sequoia trees are evolved to live in an environment of small fires on a regular basis
4) Aggressive fire suppression and the reduction of logging of dead trees has resulted in the burning of many rare live Sequoia trees
5) Global warming must be stopped

Seriously. I am not exaggerating how this story was presented. and so... I can't help but think climate change is used as a kind of boogie man that prevents people from doing anything practical. They don't want to do the work of managing the forest so they just say we need to do more on climate change. Fucking amazing.
The proximate causes of our wildfires have been: lightning strikes, faulty power lines, arsonists, idiots.
The ultimate causes are heavy fuel load containing a lot of stressed or dead trees, which is extremely dry due to drought, which is acerbated by global warming. The fuel load is a direct result of mismanagement.

Also a problem is the so-called Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), best exemplified by the town of Paradise, with its suburban neighborhoods smack up against deep forest. WUI's ultimate cause is overpopulation, plus lefties moving out of the cities they fucked up to come fuck up where I live.

Yet, instead of reducing the fuel load or making PG&E replace its transformers, the lefties ban leaf blowers. We're in agreement on the lunacy of this approach, but NPR vs. Schellenberg/Cato Institute is a false dichotomy. Both can be, and imo are, wrong.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1904

Post by fafnir »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote: The Paris Accords were designed to hamstring the West's economy, while allowing China's to continue to expand. Doesn't mean than a fair and honest international agreement to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be desirable and feasible. You just need to grab those purple pissers by the nose and kick 'em in the pants.
I'm puzzled. This seems like an argument along the lines of Communism would be possible if only everybody agreed to happily go along with it. The reality that has to be dealt with is that while the leaders of the world pretend to be enlightened servants of the common good, in fact they aren't. There is no such thing as the common good. In exceptional circumstances, like Germany being on the brink of conquering Europe you can get some countries to temporarily recognize a limited common good. The crisis, such as it is, would have to be far more immediate and tangible for that to happen.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1905

Post by fafnir »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Malthus wan't wrong: exponential growth in population with linear growth in resources will lead to collapse. Sure, the "Green Revolution" staved off collapse, but it was heavily dependent on irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and expansion of land put under the plow. And how many more genetic tweaks to crops are left up our sleeve? China already can't feed itself through agriculture, so is plundering the oceans. India may be covering its food needs for now, but it's almost out of water.
This is like the "Climate Crisis". I don't think the main argument is about whether the most basic claim is in some sense true. The question is whether it is a crisis now and, given the uncertainty, whether the cure being offered isn't worse than the disease. The crisis has been just around the corner for more than 200 years.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1906

Post by Stankeye »

Yglesias, Slow Boring, had a good article on the case for more energy helping us. Cheaper energy will allow us to do a lot more, even grow food with less water.

https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1907

Post by ThreeFlangedJavis »

John D wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:44 am
ThreeFlangedJavis wrote:
John D wrote:
Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:02 pm
Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Schellenberger is full of shit.
I have read his "Apocalypse Never". It is a very good read. I guess you can just make a claim about his impacted bowels... but I find this less than informative.
Let me put it this way. You can read some people's work knowing that the facts they use and the quotes they give are presented honestly. Their mistakes are just that, mistakes. There are other people, like Nukular Shillenberger, who you cannot trust to present an honest assessment of counter arguments or counter argumenters. If Shillenberger needs an opponent of his to be a screaming ideological nutbar environmentalist then that is what will be presented regardless of the truth. He needs climate science to be dominated by "alarmists" and "environmentalists" just the way creationists need biology to be dominated by "Darwinists". Look at the reviews and critiques of his book and you will see where he has strawmanned the positions of his opponents. It is easy to make convincing arguments if you can create your own custom environment with it's own set of facts.
Of course, your stupid joke about his name does nothing to convince me you know anything about his writing. If you want to point me to a criticism I will happily spend time reviewing it. At this point you just sound like an alarmist yourself. Not well played on your part.
Interesting. I'm not saying anything about his book other than the fact that I wouldn't believe a word of it without 5 other sources because of what I have seen of him before. That says nothing about what I think on the issue of global warming. If you think you can diagnose someone as an "alarmist" from that then it about sums up the value of the label.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1908

Post by fafnir »

Stankeye wrote: Yglesias, Slow Boring, had a good article on the case for more energy helping us. Cheaper energy will allow us to do a lot more, even grow food with less water.

https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance
It's always easier to argue on the basis of future efficiency savings than it is to deliver them.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1909

Post by ThreeFlangedJavis »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:55 am
John D wrote: 1) ... apocalyptic thinking over the centuries.... Maltusians .... the ridiculous but popular "Population Bomb"...etc.
Malthus wan't wrong: exponential growth in population with linear growth in resources will lead to collapse. Sure, the "Green Revolution" staved off collapse, but it was heavily dependent on irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and expansion of land put under the plow. And how many more genetic tweaks to crops are left up our sleeve? China already can't feed itself through agriculture, so is plundering the oceans. India may be covering its food needs for now, but it's almost out of water.

Limiting the fights you pick to patsies like Ehrlich is an indicator of disingenuousness -- it's like the Bulldogs playing Decatur Community College. Has Schellenberg addressed the concerns laid out by Diamond in Collapse?
John D wrote:2)... the religious nature of environmentalism; the lack of pragmatism, the purity ideal ....
A lot of environmentalists do use the environmental crisis, climate change, as an excuse to control how others live. [Which, with covid, we see is always this crowd's ulterior motive.] But that doesn't mean the problems aren't real.
Quite so. There is a lot of conflation of different categories of people and their opinions and motivations coming from the AGW self-styled skeptics and pragmatists. NPR isn't the IPCC and Greta Thunberg isn't jack shit. There is a tendency to project absolutist and value driven religious style thinking onto anyone stating the obvious about human impact on the planet and it's ecosystems. I think that there is a limited sustainable (in the dictionary sense) population level beyond which the environment and quality of human life is compromised. That means I want people to live decent lives, not that I hate people and think they're fungi.
Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
John D wrote:3) ... the effects on increasing wealth, industrialization, and reducing the number of children. Of course, all those interviewed have used these things to improve their life, and this also reduces environmental harm.
Better living conditions lead to lower birth rates, but the biggest factor in that regard is increasing women's rights. But more people around the world having more stuff produced by more industrialization fed by more resource depletion, dramatically increases harm to the environment.
CO2 emissions per capita knocks the idea that increasing industrialisation is easier on the environment on the head. The lowest emitters tend to be the dirt poor countries, next are the developed countries which have exported manufacturing. The heavily industrialised manufacturing countries and the oil producers tend to be the lung cloggers. The US and Canada are notable outliers, both having shifted manufacturing to China yet still managing to produce twice as much CO2 per capita. Turns out making stuff is a dirty business. Who knew?
[/quote]
John D wrote: 5) that political agreements such as the Paris Accords do almost nothing to reduce CO2.
It's almost as if politicians have their own crappy agendas.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1910

Post by ThreeFlangedJavis »

I cannot believe this bitch! Obviously you shouldn't believe the bitch, but you know what I mean.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1911

Post by Service Dog »


Matt Cavanaugh
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1912

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

... carbon capture is a means for developed countries to pay reparations for our outsized role in contributing to the global stock of emissions.
I Thought we'd already paid in medicine, education, and Coca Cola.

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1913

Post by Service Dog »

Recently, I've been posting minutiae from work, such as specific pay rates. I'm not simply over-sharing... I think it's indicative of the current state of the world.

After I typed those last couple sentences-- before I could tell my next story-- GF came home from dinner with a tough old homo who casts models for one of the biggest men's underwear companies. His stories are more vivid than mine:

The modelling agency they usually-use-- has a long roster of tall, thin, muscular guys from Europe, who are very white. But no one wants to use healthy, manly, white models right-now. And-- they're obstructed by covid border restrictions.

So the company is relying on 'street casting'. The old homo is stuck searching for man-meat on random Instagram accounts, in skateboarding parks, chatting up guys who pole dance for spare change in subway cars.

Homo found a young skateboarder-- asked if the kid could send a picture shirtless/ just in jeans. The kid replied, "Can I wear a bra?"
"You're trans?" "Yeah, I've just started hormones. I'd feel more comfortable in a bra." Homo said "ok"-- rather than tell the kid s/h/it just lost the job.

A skater-girl... hired for girl clothes... showed up on crutches in a full leg cast. She said it was 'just sprained' and threw a fit, "Why can't I have a cast in the pictures?!"

Another model showed-up with a black eye.

These colorful minority amateurs show-up late... keeping the photographers, make-up artists, hair, lighting, etc. ...waiting. Burning location-rental time. Even if they've never modelled before, they act like they're a prima donna big deal-- because they think that's how they're supposed to act.

A dark 'spanish' thug guy-- showed up for hours of fittings-- tailors adjusting everything he'd wear in the shoot-- the next day. The next morning he called the homo... saying "I think I broke my thumb". Homo told him to come in, they wouldn't be shooting his hand. "You don't even care. You aren't *sorry* that I'm hurt." Homo said: "That's right. I'm not sorry you're hurt." He scrambled and found another dark spanish thug.

Art directors & photographers are requesting chubbier models. One went into an elaborate description of what he's looking for, "A wrestler. But not a professional wrestler. One who wrestled in high school, but was injured & now he does a hard physical job... but he enjoys beer and greasy food... and he's married & recently became a dad and... " Homo said, "I don't need to hear this backstory you've constructed. It sounds like you've got a fetish. I know the body type." (Just say "Chris Pratt", dude.)

--
In other news from the same old homo-- he was approached outside Whole Foods by some soft spoken blacks with "Green Mountain Energy" (or some name like-that). They said they could switch him to Green Energy & reduce his bills. So he signed something-- to switch power providers. Then his electricity bill shot-up to $700 per month. He called to complain. Then some other people showed up at his door-- said they knew he'd signed-up with the rip-off company. The convinced him to switch to a 'different' provider. ...Just another scam company/ more huge bills.
This has been a hustle over the last few years-- usually slide into apartment buildings behind someone who holds a door open. Then go door-to-door, preying on gullible people, old people. I confronted them in anger-- a few years ago-- and they called me racist, got very loud & indignant. The old homo is usually street smart... but he fell for their shit.

--

Back to the story I originally intended to tell... not nearly as amusing as that homo's stuff...

A few days ago-- I got an email from an entry-level office girl from a California company, offering work. Girls like her are consistently hired to interface with guys like me. Some of them *know* they know nothing-- and are timid & terrified. Some know-- and try to disguise their ignorance with bluffing, or Nurse Ratched officiousness. Some think it's necessary to signal that they find the gross old worker men to be sexually-disgusting & unfit mate-prospects... with every interaction. (Not necessary. We know, bitch.)

After nearly 2 years of interrupted business... the new crop of these girls are even-less connected to understanding the normal workings of business... than before.

Beyond that... California publicity companies --trying to operate remotely in New York-- are always a headache. This girl made the classic Californian move-- of asking if I have a car & can drive around running errands. (You're gonna pay for cabs, honey. There's nowhere to park here, half the errands you have in mind are a 2 block walk to the grocery store or hardware, & use of my hypothetical car would NOT be included in my usual rate.) Plus California has weird labor laws... which they do/don't try to apply here... with no consistency. My inbox has several emails from her company-- wanting to do a security background check on me... AFTER I finished my last job with them.

This girl wants me to work the premiere of an Apple+ TV show. Day 1, a full-day to load in gear to the venue. Day 2 is 16 hours: help vendors set-up(camera crew, catering, etc.). Then red carpet arrival, showing a couple episodes of the show, afterparty, strike the vendors' equipment. Day 3: Short (but early) day of Load out.

She asked my rate. I told her $500 for 10 hours/ overtime beyond that. She seemed flustered. She said they pay "hourly", not day-rate. Asked me to email my rate-- that she'd have to get approval from above. I said 'Ok'. I asked at what point does her company start overtime (after 10 hours? after 12?) She said "above 8 hours". That doesn't sound right.

I sent the email: pointed-out that another producer from her company hired me at $500 for 10 hours, just a month ago. I broke down the 3 days she had offered as:

Day 1 from 9AM-6PM = 9 hrs = $450

Day 2 from 9AM – 1AM = 10 hrs @ $500 + 6 hrs OT @ $450 = $950

Day 3 from 9AM – 3PM = 6 hours = $300

Estimated total: $1700.

---

Meanwhile-- she contacted my GF & offered the same job. Probably doesn't realize we're connected. She arranged a Zoom call time with GF... then never called. Eventually emailed GF-- saying they had met all their staffing needs & wouldn't be using her.

---

Then an email appeared in my inbox:

"2:31 pm your rates are approved! Excited to have you with us and I’ll circle back with more info on the event. More to come!"


I was busy, didn't reply.
---

Then another:

"4:27pm So our HR team mentioned that NY only pays OT if someone works more than 40 hours in a week. Based on your target rate of $1700 and approx. total work time of 31 hours, I can propose a rate of $54.84 (1700/31)."

I was busy, didn't reply.
---

Then a text:

"Hey! Just wanted to see if you saw my email about the new rate our HR provided."

That arrived at 10pm my-time, so I'll reply tomorrow.

---

Several things are going-wrong at-once here. First-- they're trying to be cheap-- trying to hire me for partial days, instead of paying a flat dayrate-- up-to 10 hours. This is stupid-- because I'll work as fast as I can for a flat rate/ but there's incentive to drag my feet if I'm only paid by-hour.

Second-- California has that new anti-freelancing law, so they're giving-in & trying to treat me like a permanent employee. But it doesn't work-- because I'm not locked-in to negotiating a single wage. I can re-negotiate every time they call me & beg me to work.

Third-- they're using a 3rd party automated, online payroll system... which can't handle the actual deals they negotiate with me. It applies overtime at a set cut-off point. Not whatever I negotiate. So the usual workaround is to cut one deal with me-- then reverse engineer my invoice with an imaginary hourly-rate, so it matches the way their computer program calculates pay... so I get the correct final sum. The tail is wagging the dog.

Fourth-- HR & this girl are under the false impression that my rates are dictated by some government rules about overtime. Maybe they're just trying to make this work-- not scam me. But all hours are not the same. That 16 hour Day 2 is not a normal work day, with normal pay rate. Intentionally-or-not... they're likely to lock me in to that 31-hours-for-a-set-payrate deal... then do some weird shit, like try to make me work 31 consecutive hours at that rate.

Fifth-- The first time I did a gig with this company-- was pre-Covid. I remember their company webpage had a new age culty feel. Meaningless breezy slogans. Sunset colors. Cursive typography. Everyone looked blissed-out, like they walked-around on mescaline with soothing vibrating eggs up their asses. Their feet don't quite touch the ground.

--

I'm sure my tale wasn't very fascinating... but, like I said, I think it is a microcosm of the hapless n00b world we're livin' in, these days.

--

Tomorrow I'll figure out how to play this hand. Would be funny to back out of the deal-- then wait for them to call GF... and have her demand a higher payrate. tee hee. And... what about that security background-check in my inbox. What happens if I just neglect it? And what happens if showday comes & I get rejected from working due to Covid vaxcheck? Not caring if this job falls-through... is an enjoyable wave for me to surf. Cowabunga. Cal-eeee-forn-ya. Except our whole society seems to be just-as-flimsy as this stupid little gig.

John D
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1914

Post by John D »

Service Dog wrote: Recently, I've been posting minutiae from work, such as specific pay rates. I'm not simply over-sharing... I think it's indicative of the current state of the world.
The amount of work that gets done is inversely proportional to the amount of rules involved. The world is a funny place and many things are not better than they used to be.

About once a year our "system" goes down. I am not able to issue an invoice to a vendor and the work is super urgent. If we don't respond to quality issues at the auto plants it can cost us hundreds of thousands of bucks. So... we sometimes need to hire inspectors within hours of learning we have a problem. The inspectors will not start working without an invoice. So... I (or one my my staff) run around getting an invoice.

Once in a while the purchasing system crashes and I can't get an invoice created. So, I end up yelling at someone saying "Don't we have a typewriter around here? Can't we just make an invoice? I used to write them by hand!" Haha. Then some dickhead will say .... "I can't do that... it violates Sarbanes Oxley." Ohhhhh.... fuck right off!

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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1915

Post by Stankeye »

I don't understand how you are not a 1099 employee and your rates are your rates. They should have no issue with this even as a CA corp. They are just being lazy on their end in trying to make you fit some wierd mold they have.

Unless you are not a 1099 and you are a W2, which makes no sense for your position.

John D
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1916

Post by John D »

Watching "Gutfeld!" and they start talking about being CIS.... and some of them joke about being CISgender.

My wife says: "Well that means that I am CISgender."

and I say: "I know what I am and they can call me whatever they want."

and my wife says: "Well... that is not very progressive of you!"

and I say: "I am joking...but...yeah... they can call me whatever they want!"

I think she would walk out on me except that she can't live alone. She really wants to get along with all these progressives and I just want to tell them all to fuck off.... Get off my fucking grass! Dear Progressives: "I don't care how you label me....and I get to call you whatever I want....deal?... you fucking freak!"

Definition: Fucking Freak = anyone who thinks it is a good idea to use the term CISgender

Matt Cavanaugh
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1917

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

Bummer there's no HVAC in LGBTQ:

Male Workers Allowed Into Baldwin, Unsettling Residents

In general, I am very averse to people entering my personal space. This anxiety was compounded by the fact that the crew would be strangers, and they were more than likely to be cisgender men.
....
Baldwin Cottage is the home of the Women and Trans Collective.
....
Cisgender men are not allowed to live on the second and third floors, and many residents choose not to invite cisgender men to that space.
….
I was angry, scared, and confused.
….
The workers began installing in common spaces, and I could see immediately that they were all men. It was clear that the College had not made a special request that male workers not be allowed onto the upper floors of Baldwin. Predicting when they would reach my room was pure guesswork.
….
When the insistent knock eventually came, I scrambled to get my mask on and repeatedly shouted, “Coming!” through the door…. We stared at each other for a moment before I moved aside to allow the workers to enter.
….
Sure enough, they were back the next day. I felt mildly violated and a little peeved.
….
A significant portion of students choose to live in Baldwin because they are victims of sexual assault or abuse, have suffered past invasions of privacy, or have some other reason to fear cisgender men.
….
They should have taken measures to keep students comfortable and safe — especially those who have elected to live in a specifically designated safe space.

John D
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1918

Post by John D »

Matt Cavanaugh wrote: Bummer there's no HVAC in LGBTQ:

Male Workers Allowed Into Baldwin, Unsettling Residents
In general, I am very averse to people entering my personal space. This anxiety was compounded by the fact that the crew would be strangers, and they were more than likely to be cisgender men.
....
Baldwin Cottage is the home of the Women and Trans Collective.
....
Cisgender men are not allowed to live on the second and third floors, and many residents choose not to invite cisgender men to that space.
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I was angry, scared, and confused.
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The workers began installing in common spaces, and I could see immediately that they were all men. It was clear that the College had not made a special request that male workers not be allowed onto the upper floors of Baldwin. Predicting when they would reach my room was pure guesswork.
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When the insistent knock eventually came, I scrambled to get my mask on and repeatedly shouted, “Coming!” through the door…. We stared at each other for a moment before I moved aside to allow the workers to enter.
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Sure enough, they were back the next day. I felt mildly violated and a little peeved.
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A significant portion of students choose to live in Baldwin because they are victims of sexual assault or abuse, have suffered past invasions of privacy, or have some other reason to fear cisgender men.
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They should have taken measures to keep students comfortable and safe — especially those who have elected to live in a specifically designated safe space.
Too bad there aren't any bitches that can fix shit.

Asking for a friend. He was mugged and beat up by a negro once...Can he demand to live is a space with no negros?

And... this is the story that was on "Gutfeld!" when they started the CISgen discussion...haha.

Service Dog
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Posts: 8652
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1919

Post by Service Dog »

Stankeye wrote: I don't understand how you are not a 1099 employee and your rates are your rates. They should have no issue with this even as a CA corp. They are just being lazy on their end in trying to make you fit some weird mold they have.

Unless you are not a 1099 and you are a W2, which makes no sense for your position.
That's how I see it, too. Yet they emailed: " [Company Name] has made a few changes and now onboards all temp individuals who come on board as a W2 employee." The use of 'onboard' and 'on board' in the same sentence is a hint of what we're dealing with-- an entity of the sort Hunter S Thompson and Joseph Heller warned us about. And the movie Idiocracy.

The only valid reason I can think-of... to make me a ' W2 employee'... is that the IRS does catch some companies in this business... accounting people who Should Be 'employees'... as outside vendors/contractors. And, afterward, those companies convert _everybody_ to employee status, rather than risk whatever-the-penalty-is for further violation. Maybe that happened at this company/ or someone at this company witnessed that happen... so they're doing it this-way. More likely... they don't know what the fuck they're doing.

New arrivals in my inbox:



I suspect that New York law is a Minimum requirement-- that one must pay overtime *beyond* 40 hours of work.
I don't think New York law forbids them from paying overtime when I cross the 10 hour mark-- in a single day.

I'll have to decide-- whether to express my skepticism, or just let it slide.
"It's not my job to educate you" as the baboons used to say.

The actual offer letter doesn't strike me as egregious. Just slightly weird
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Matt Cavanaugh
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Posts: 15449
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Re: Steerzing in a New Direction...

#1920

Post by Matt Cavanaugh »

That offer letter reveals the true effect of CA's asinine AB5 -- the employer ends up with increased negotiating leverage, while the now 'employee' gets nothing but worthless benefits that will never kick in during the term of the contract.

You should counter by demanding use of their company gym.

Locked