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- Nobody in government work gets recognized for good work, only problems. The mindset is to keep your head down and try not to get noticed, even if you're a star.
What agency do you work for? I've met two types of government employees:
1. The low-skilled, low-level, GS in silly paper-pusher roles. You wonder how these people were ever able to secure a job, let alone the quasi-import role the are in now. (think DMV employee)
2. The egotistical and inexorable high-level GS never concerned with good work; only self-promotion. They take all credit for the work of their contractors in order to move from GS to SES.
Both are lower skilled and less intelligent, driven, capable of their free-sector counterparts. Not saying contactors are great by any stretch, but FTEs are the worst -- especially given they are in charge. I've met my fair share of incompetent contractors -- in fact, I've personally been responsible for getting a few fired and/or quit because I simply couldn't stand working with them.
I would say just be thankful they aren't your doctor, but I don't have very high thoughts on doctors as of late...
Don't work for any agency or contractor, never have. My personal experience working with federal government is in a private sector company that's reliant upon them for various things. From my limited exposure to federal employees and contractors, your characterization is more or less correct although probably painting with too broad a brush. My main point is that the same character types are also present in the private sector in proportions that are just as large, if not larger. The whole "federal employees never get fired" deal is just completely wrong. Again it's hard to describe millions of people with one viewpoint but by and large they are screened much more carefully on the way in, and are often under great scrutiny during their tenure. Whenever I hear someone talking about how much better government employees have it, I usually say "why don't you go get a government job then?" Almost every vocation in the private sector has some government equivalent. The real answer to that question is usually either a) the complainers aren't actually qualified and are lucky to have the job they've got; or b) government work isn't that great a deal compared to equivalent private sector work.
With regard to doctors- there are plenty of reasons to complain about healthcare in the U.S. But most of the people I hear complaining are complaining about the wrong things, and are breathtakingly ignorant about how healthcare in a population actually works.
With regard to doctors- there are plenty of reasons to complain about healthcare in the U.S. But most of the people I hear complaining are complaining about the wrong things, and are breathtakingly ignorant about how healthcare in a population actually works.
My complaint is with actual doctors and vets. They are dumb, treat you like a moron, and don't provide any help to your specific needs.
I am a type 2 diabetic. As a result, I am required by my doctor to get fairly regular blood tests, to he can track my blood sugar levels (A1C). Normally, this is a 5-15 minute stop on my way to work, as the lab opened at 6AM, and the wait was dependent on the number of retired old farts ahead of me. The draw itself was usually under a minute.
Well, as was all over the news, many health care workers in Rochester were protesting the mandatory jab. At the end of September, those not submitting to big brother were let go. Then URMC (largest employer in the greater Rochester area) decided to close about half the labs, and reduce the hours of the rest. So, not only can I not stop on my way to work (earliest open lab is 8AM), I have to go out of my way to get to one that is open. And now the wait is an hour and a half! Employees are now working at rush hour pace all day long, tempers of patients are short, and there are people milling about the parking lot waiting to be called in.
The blood draw itself is still about a minute, but the stupid screening questions (no one lies?) and all the rest means it takes longer to process each patient, and it's stressing out those doing the work. **** JB and his Chinese handlers.
Opening a new thread, since the old one has degenerated into juvenile chaos.
In this thread: engage in discussion. Post interesting things. Argue intelligently. Posit controversial ideas. Be civil. Act like a mature adult.
Do not meme-dump. Do not spam with the same **** over and over again. Don't be a dick.
Feel free to post photos, but don't just dump them without context or commentary. Use your grown-up words.
This thread is going to be actively moderated. No one will be banned for saying anything at all in this thread. But BS will be deleted without mercy.
I'll start: ...
.
I really like the idea of a civilized political thread, Joe, and I hope it works. In these overly contentious times, its success would be a lofty achievement, to be sure, and likely one which comes with meager rewards (no good deed going unpunished, and all). In the interest of full disclosure on its inception, I am curious:
Will you be its sole moderator?
Is it possible this thread could devolve into an echo chamber of it's moderator?
What magical powers can a single person have to detect their own biases?
Will the determination of what is BS be akin to Potter Stewart's measure?
Is it possible this thread could devolve into an echo chamber of it's moderator?
What magical powers can a single person have to detect their own biases?
I am free of biases. It's only those people who do not agree with me completely on everything 100% of the time that are biased.
Originally Posted by good2go
Will the determination of what is BS be akin to Potter Stewart's measure?
But seriously, @good2go, you raise an interesting point.
Now, I do believe that, as a broad generalization, the ability of Americans to have productive dialogue about matters of sociopolitical importance has noticeably declined over the past decade or so. And I mean both members of Congress, as well as the general population.
I define "productive dialogue" as meaning that people acknowledge opposing points of view, directly address them when argue for or against them, and perhaps even reach a compromise position which recognizes the wants and needs of both.
After I made the Darth Vader meme, I started thinking about movie scenes which concern the concept of truth.
The great one, of course, is Obi-Wan backtracking his way out of a lie expounding upon his earlier explanation of the fate of Anakin to Luke.
"So, what I told you was true. From a certain point of view. (...) Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”
Now, I'm not sure that Luke actually bought the "point of view" explanation, and insofar as the story was concerned, he just kind of let it go. A little too casually perhaps, but, hey, we're psychoanalyzing a movie about magical space wizards at this point.
Another good one is from the 1992 film Sneakers, which is about two old friends who were black-hat hackers in the 70s, but turned into rivals after one was arrested (and subsequently vanished from prison, thought to be dead) while the other changed his identity and eventually started a cybersecurity company, back before a name for such things existed:
Cosmo: "When I was in prison, I learned that everything in this world, including money, operates not on reality..."
Marty: "... but the perception of reality."
Now, in this one, Cosmo is using this analysis to justify his "day job" in organized crime, and his grandiose plans to bring down the world financial markets for the purpose of establishing the classless utopia which the two used to dream about as teenagers. (Mind you: he's pretty much gone crazy.) But his point, which is not crazy, is that everything in this world is not actually about what it is, but about what people perceive it to be. And different people may perceive the same thing differently, which from the point of view of justifying or driving human action, makes it function as though it literally were two different things.
Both Kenobi and Cosmo make essentially the same point: "The Truth" can mean different things to different people.
I think that perhaps part of the reason why it's become all but impossible for people with strongly-held opinions about politically contentious subjects to have a rational discussion is that we're forgetting this basic principle.
We're losing the ability to comprehend that a belief held by someone else, which differs from our own, might be based not on malice or fear or hate, but merely on the fact that their perspective, which is informed by their life experience and circumstances, differs from our own.
Last edited by Joe Perez; 10-11-2021 at 07:15 PM.
Reason: Added photos
Basically, all small off-road gas engines. So, you’ll have to replace your gas generator with a plug-in for when the electric grid fails due to the insufficiency of wind/solar generation in your neighborhood. Oh, wait…..
... I started thinking about movie scenes which concern the concept of truth.
...
but, hey, we're psychoanalyzing a movie about magical space wizards at this point.
... ... his point, which is not crazy, is that everything in this world is not actually about what it is, but about what people perceive it to be.
...
Joe, for no particular reason, I'm now compelled to ask you about your position on like, micro-dosing psychedelics, man?
In my position I am frequently presented with several conflicting viewpoints on a single topic, all of which are truth or "right" depending on indisputable context or perspective. I just assumed that everyone experiences the same, and recognizes the fact that it is how (and possibly why) things work.
There will always be those who are absolutely unwilling to compromise or deviate from a hard-line stance. They don't usually stick around if it becomes routine.
Obi-wan speaks truth, Vader killed Skywalker. Change my mind.
Basically, all small off-road gas engines. So, you’ll have to replace your gas generator with a plug-in for when the electric grid fails due to the insufficiency of wind/solar generation in your neighborhood. Oh, wait…..
Well, yeah. I mean, this is the same state which has also now mandated that toy aisles in large department stores must become gender-neutral. It will be interesting to see how that is enforced, and whether it will apply to the manufacturer's packaging or merely the arrangement of the aisles.
I do miss living in San Diego. But the state as a whole is merely continuing its decades-long push to be as woke as possible. The gas-powered engines mandate is no surprise at all. Obviously this will hurt small businesses the most; landscapers who will, in the future, have to carry a fleet of batteries with them for their large riding mower, leaf-blowers, and such. It's reasonable to assume that they'll also be carrying chargers with them, so that batteries can be recharged on the go by leaving their diesel trucks idling while they work.
Funny thing, though. Within the past month, I have purchased a lawnmower, and weed-trimmer, and a snowblower. Despite Illinois having no such laws, and gas-powered units being readily available, I chose battery-powered units from Ryobi. 17 years ago, when I last owned a lawnmower, it was corded electric model (Black & Decker, I think?) and I really liked the quiet operation and instant starting. Battery technology has, thankfully, evolved to the point where the cord is no longer necessary,
And Illinois, for all its faults, is a perfect place to own such things. IL generates more nuclear energy than any other state, is a net exporter of electricity, and a whopping 54% of all electricity in IL is generated at nuclear plants.
Illinois (and New Hampshire, and South Carolina) are just absolutely trouncing California in terms of clean energy, and CA seems not to care about catching up, only about projecting the image of being a leader in the field.
Well, yeah. I mean, this is the same state which has also now mandated that toy aisles in large department stores must become gender-neutral. It will be interesting to see how that is enforced, and whether it will apply to the manufacturer's packaging or merely the arrangement of the aisles.
I do miss living in San Diego. But the state as a whole is merely continuing its decades-long push to be as woke as possible. The gas-powered engines mandate is no surprise at all. Obviously this will hurt small businesses the most; landscapers who will, in the future, have to carry a fleet of batteries with them for their large riding mower, leaf-blowers, and such. It's reasonable to assume that they'll also be carrying chargers with them, so that batteries can be recharged on the go by leaving their diesel trucks idling while they work.
Funny thing, though. Within the past month, I have purchased a lawnmower, and weed-trimmer, and a snowblower. Despite Illinois having no such laws, and gas-powered units being readily available, I chose battery-powered units from Ryobi. 17 years ago, when I last owned a lawnmower, it was corded electric model (Black & Decker, I think?) and I really liked the quiet operation and instant starting. Battery technology has, thankfully, evolved to the point where the cord is no longer necessary,
And Illinois, for all its faults, is a perfect place to own such things. IL generates more nuclear energy than any other state, is a net exporter of electricity, and a whopping 54% of all electricity in IL is generated at nuclear plants.
Illinois (and New Hampshire, and South Carolina) are just absolutely trouncing California in terms of clean energy, and CA seems not to care about catching up, only about projecting the image of being a leader in the field.
Contractors may be an issue with recharging, but for the rest of us ... I've got a Stihl Farmboss chainsaw, hasn't been used in years - certainly not since I bought a battery chainsaw. It is not as big, but for 98% of my work it's fine. Didn't even have to buy batteries for it, as I bought the same as my drill, rattlegun, saw, grinder. I used both 4ah batteries to cut down and then cut up an Ironbark Euc that was about to shade my solar panels, and the diameter of that was bigger than the blade. Little batteries have come a long way, and the cost/capacity is only going to improve. The contractors may have second thoughts about charging while idling, the price of diesel will likely be go up as a result of taxing to discourage its use - you want it, you will be paying for it.
Edge cases will be a problem, but the network will evolve in reach and reliability - it will have to.
The biggest battery issue is for domestic use. A standalone battery still has a longer payback than its projected life (based on tariffs/costs here), something that may be overtaken with utilisation of your EV as a household battery though I haven't seen any serious assessment on the life of the EV battery when (also) used domestically.
Well, yeah. I mean, this is the same state which has also now mandated that toy aisles in large department stores must become gender-neutral. It will be interesting to see how that is enforced, and whether it will apply to the manufacturer's packaging or merely the arrangement of the aisles.
I do miss living in San Diego. But the state as a whole is merely continuing its decades-long push to be as woke as possible. The gas-powered engines mandate is no surprise at all. Obviously this will hurt small businesses the most; landscapers who will, in the future, have to carry a fleet of batteries with them for their large riding mower, leaf-blowers, and such. It's reasonable to assume that they'll also be carrying chargers with them, so that batteries can be recharged on the go by leaving their diesel trucks idling while they work.
Funny thing, though. Within the past month, I have purchased a lawnmower, and weed-trimmer, and a snowblower. Despite Illinois having no such laws, and gas-powered units being readily available, I chose battery-powered units from Ryobi. 17 years ago, when I last owned a lawnmower, it was corded electric model (Black & Decker, I think?) and I really liked the quiet operation and instant starting. Battery technology has, thankfully, evolved to the point where the cord is no longer necessary,
And Illinois, for all its faults, is a perfect place to own such things. IL generates more nuclear energy than any other state, is a net exporter of electricity, and a whopping 54% of all electricity in IL is generated at nuclear plants.
Illinois (and New Hampshire, and South Carolina) are just absolutely trouncing California in terms of clean energy, and CA seems not to care about catching up, only about projecting the image of being a leader in the field.
Battery powered lawn equipment is fantastic. Although I will admit, we are the epitome of upper-middle class suburbians, and we pay someone else to do it now. A 10,000 sq ft corner lot is a ton of edging.
This is from an Opinion piece in Fox News, by Bernie Sanders:
I the poll data quoted are correct, we are in a world of hurt. Our school systems are just big propaganda houses. Why would we want to start at Kindergarten?
Hope is an emotion. And for those of a certain political persuasion, feelings and emotions are the most important thing.
This is how we get the sort of blind image-consciousness which drives a state to essentially mandate increased poverty and unemployment, in order to project the image of being progressive and forward-thinking.
If making people feel like you're doing "the right thing" is how you measure success, then hope is most certainly a policy.
I mean, it was literally a campaign platform in the 2008 presidential election.
10-08-2021, 08:32 AM
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