I've decided that, if I live to see 80 (I'm more than halfway there) and finally reach the point where my savings are exhausted and I'm basically living as a pauper, I'm going to become a drug dealer, or something in that general line of work. The kind of thing that, when I'm arrested and brought to trial, the jury will feel really uncomfortable about convicting an 80 year old man for. I mean, the worst-case scenario is that the state winds up paying for my upkeep in my autumn years.

I'll also be rockin' a Doc Brown hairstyle. That much I decided long ago. I've got more white than black already, and the Perez men have all died with a full head of hair.

That's pretty much my ultimate goal. Walter White, but with a Jerry Garcia vibe.


Also, it's looking as though the FCC is gonna seriously bitch-slap the folks in Baltimore. This situation is getting very interesting.

My wife and I have decided that around 85 years old is when we will start trying out the hard drugs. At that point whats the problem if I get addicted to heroin, I just need to make the nest egg last until we OD. We will at least know we went out feeling amazing.

Well, guys. Shit is getting real.

A few months ago my friend (Captain with Monroe County Fire Rescue) mentioned that they might have an academy that's free to locals. Well, I just passed my entrance exams (physical and written). I start the full-time academy on the 27th until November 16th. Monday - Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 every day. I'm actually very excited but am extremely nervous due to having to give away all my current clients (and basically my entire private training business). I am going to be extremely broke during all this. Not making any money and I won't have time to train myself in the gym, which I haven't missed more than 4 days in the last 5 years. I am really in for a big shock.

Good job, Josh!

Good job, and food luck. Knowing what a huge life-changer working out has been for you, it's gonna be super hard to miss working out for a while, but it'll be worth it.

Nice!
I can't think of anything I'd rather be than a firefighter.
It's an incredible job, other than occasionally reviving murderers and just generally seeing the worst in humanity.
The schedule is awesome and the work itself is fun though.

Plus kittens!

--Ian

I came within a whisker of becoming a firefighter myself, back in 2008. I tested for the fairly large city I was living in at the time, and 1200 people showed up to take the test. Before the test started the department announced that they were hiring 50 people, because that's how many firefighters were retiring that year. After testing was over, I was ranked 26th overall out of 1200 test takers, and I felt pretty good about that position. Then the financial crash of 2008 happened and all the firefighters who were supposed to retire didn't, so they only hired 15 people. My life almost went in a very different direction back then. It's a great job, but tough on your body, every career firefighter I've ever known has been pretty banged up, so make sure to take care of yourself. Good luck and stay safe!

Exciting, Josh!

I am old enough to have lived in a time before email. Before instant social anything.

I am not decrepit, and I am far from the most ... "statement-conscious" individual I know. And yet .. I am still continually confounded by the amount of shit, the amount of INCRIMINATING, YES I DID THIS shit, people put in email. It's like they expect it to be a private one-to-one conversation, as if it were in person, not recorded, with no chance of it being replicated and spread verbatim.

This is something I keep telling my kids (12 and 14, both boys) over and OVER and OVER. Anything they put on the internet, ANYTHING, including Discord conversations with their ... "friends" ... is conceivably evidence for something. There is no privacy. Say nothing you might regret later.

a closed mouth gathers no foot.

Thanks, guys.

I can't wait. I'm gonna start my training business back up and enjoy the dual income.
Man, it's totally different down here. My class had 33 people show up for the physical test and the instructors said it's a huge turnout. Monroe County is desperate for full-time locals. It's just so fucking expensive down here that people leave after a year. Luckily I have a great and cheap place to live.

I thought you were a middle-class white guy? How did you get accepted to free public anything, let alone in the state of Florida? Also... once passed, how does this academy equal an actual paying job?

Haha. I'm a small business owner aka broke on paper. I flashed my privilege card and made sure I had my Trump hat on when I arrived at the station.

Monroe County is desperate for Civil Service workers. After Irma, we are short staffed on everything including public works. Key West currently has 1 paramedic. My girlfriend (ish) is nighttime supervisor for the Sherriff Office and only has 2 years of experience. About 3 months ago we had out of control fires in Big Pine and didn't have enough people to operate all of the equipment, so they had stations from the mainland drive down to assist. What it really comes down to is people simply cannot afford to live here anymore. I don't personally know anyone who is paying less than $1,200 for a room, or less than $1,600 for a studio. Two homes for rent on my street are asking $3,200 and they will get that easily.

The rules for this academy are you must work full-time for 1 year or 3 years as a volunteer. It's 10 weeks long and includes EMT with the national cert following immediately after the academy. BUT, you have to be a local to get in this academy for free. The class has 4 people from Miami who are commuting every morning because it's so competitive on the mainland. One of my good friends (the guy who got me started on this path) is a Captain with the Big Pine department and he swears up and down I'll get hired within 6 months. So...we'll see.

Hot tub has been drained, cleaned and refilled. Power back on. It should be good to go by tomorrow.

Mythological? :rolleyes:

TOR and Onion Browser would be the only solution I can think of.

How to Use TOR on iPhone and iPad with Onion Browser

Nothing is totally untraceable, of course. So I'd advise continuing to use dead-drops for the purpose of selling military secrets to North Korea. But TOR is probably good enough to prevent your employer from finding out that you frequently visit pony-porn websites while at work.

Tomorrow afternoon, if all goes well, I will be controlling two different spacecraft, each in orbit 42,000 miles above the earth, simultaneously.

Sometimes my job is actually kinda cool.

Joe:

Great film.

I can even overlook the fact that satellite orbits don't work like that.