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zk
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]Tell that joke to peter strzok[/quote]
Yeah, apparently we’re not all free to criticize our president.
ParticipantNot sure I get it.
An American is free to praise his president. He only risks being called out for praising such a wicked and revolting human being. In other words, he risks hearing the free speech of others.
Participant[quote=flu]Bump. Solar company recommendations…Anyone anyone .[/quote]
We went with Home Energy Systems. That was 4 years ago. They did very good work. They hid the conduits or whatever very well. No problems then or since. However, having worked with no other companies, I can’t really say they’re better or worse than anyone else.
Full disclosure: I’d get a $500 referral fee if you say I referred you to them. I’d split it with you.
Edited to correct name to Home Energy Systems (not Home Energy Solutions).
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=spdrun] Marijuana legalisation/criminal justice reform also started under Obama. Again a good thing.
[/quote]Very bad. I support 3 strikes and you’re out. In this regard, I support traditional values and the power of “just say no” for another couple decades.
Flooded with opioids, Appalachia is still trying to recover
Some prison time and personal responsibility will help them recover faster, hahaBasing marijuana legislation on opioid problems is like basing kitchen knife legislation on gun problems.
Which is to say phenomenally ignorant.
Participant[quote=flu]
The conversions is only $20k
9.25 sec 1/4mile runs is just insane…
[/quote]
Damn, that Miata leaps off the line like a scalded cat.
I’m skeptical that you can get a 9.25 second car for only an old Miata and 20k. Unless maybe the battery you’re getting only lasts a couple years or has some other shortcoming. If you can, it seems like quite a steal to me.
[quote=Hobie]Flu: Maybe I’m just old. Drag races *need* to be loud. Quiet electric, albeit fast, just doesn’t do it for me. Part of the full tactile experience.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s the other issue. I used to mock rice racers back when their cars were 14-and 15-second cars getting smoked by 11-second V8 muscle. Partly because of the lame 4-banger sound but mostly because they were slower. But now you’ve got these electric cars, many of which can smoke the fastest muscle cars. The damn Tesla Roadster does 0-60 in 1.9. Yikes.
Still, the sound does complete the experience. I have a Challenger Scat Pack which can be blown away by your faster electric cars. But I wouldn’t trade it. I love the sound too much.
[quote=flu]
So…I broke down finally and caved. I ordered a Model 3 today for my mom. Hopefully it gets here before her birthday.[/quote]Very generous! A couple of my friends have the 3. I think it’s a fantastic car.
Participant[quote=lindismith]I’m a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, (and lurking after many years of non-posting to see if Piggs think we’re recession-bound,) but I am opposed to Rent Control. It just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, and everyone loses.
I recently invested in some RE in Portland, and was a little worried about their RC initiatives, but so far they are saying 7% annual increase for landlords, and that seems more reasonable than other areas, but I’m still nervous.[/quote]
Dang, great to hear from you, lindismith! It’s been a really long time.
As a left-leaning centrist with positions across the spectrum, I’m also against rent control. But apparently not for the same reasons as you. This is one of my conservative positions. I don’t agree with the idea of rent control in general. I don’t think a person is entitled to live somewhere he can’t afford the rent.
I am generally for rich people paying more than poor people in order to fund…the country in general. But taking money pretty much directly from property owners and giving it pretty much directly to low-middle income people places the burden too directly and too deeply on too small a segment of the population.
Participant[quote=flu]I might have come across as a heartless dick that doesn’t care about the less fortunate. But I am not…
[/quote]To me, you didn’t come across as a heartless dick at all. A little angry, perhaps, and not without justification. As for the rest of your post, you’re pretty much preaching to the choir.
Especially this:
[quote=flu]
All our ‘fixes’ to try to address any sort of inequality is always quick fixes AFTER the impact of adversity has happened. If anything, if money/resources should be spent, it should be spent to shore up those blight communities with adverse environments at the grade level… not lowering the bar after adversity has happened.[/quote]
That would be a lot more expensive, time-consuming, and politically difficult than just lobbing an “adversity score” into the mix. Hence the lack of action. But I agree 100% that that’s what’s necessary if we want to our country to be everything it can be.
Participant[quote=flu]
Evidence. None… yet. Especially since the score is confidential and private and how it is used will be behind closed doors, which was intentional…Perfect for institutional discrimination, just like affirmative action and quota limits.
[/quote]Having always opposed affirmative action and similar programs/ideas, I agree with your basic position. I think that discrimination against more-well-off students is already occurring. This may add to it; it may not. It certainly won’t help those with resources. UCs in particular already give a massive advantage to first-generation students.
[quote=flu]
seems like our colleges care more about making things “fair” than expecting the best. and yet, employers always say they can’t find enough well qualified technical people, and that’s why they need to hire H1Bs. [/quote]
I think you overestimate the effects (on the size of the pool of well-qualified technical Americans) of colleges’ efforts to make things “fair.” But that doesn’t change the basic truth that it is, in fact, unfair to students with resources.[quote=flu]
Your kids might not have gotten into those UC schools if they had the same crendentials today. neither would I. of course we can’t turn back time and prove that is true. and since your kids don’t need to worry about it, it’s not your problem. so this is a good thing obviously…. lucky you.[/quote]
My kid graduates high school this week and did, in fact, get into UCSB and UC Davis (she’s going to USC). Would she have gotten into Berkeley and L.A. without the priority given by UC to first-generation students? I’m pretty sure she would have. So, maybe not so lucky in that sense. But, the way I see it, she’s lucky to have resources and to be smart and to live in California and to have what it takes to have gotten into some excellent schools. So, despite that probable discrimination, I don’t think she or I are in a position, overall, to complain about luck.Would she have gotten into L.A. and Berkeley if we had the same resources but moved to a poorer neighborhood to take advantage of a higher adversity score (if they were in play now)? I doubt it. I doubt it more for the additional, peer-generated motivation she had in Carmel Valley than the lack of impact of the adversity score.
At this point, obviously, it’s impossible to tell what impact the adversity score will have. But it obviously won’t help and probably will hurt the already-discriminated-against, better-off applicants. Which I agree is unfair and, to some small degree, results in fewer well-qualified job applicants.
ParticipantThe adversity score does not affect your SAT score. It is provided in addition to the SAT score and tells the schools considering the student a little about the student’s socioeconomic background. If you are a disadvantaged student, any schools you’re applying to should already know about it (you should tell them).
If you aren’t disadvantaged, and you move to a poor area to get a better adversity score, you have to consider whether that’s worth it. That seems extremely unlikely to me, even if the school doesn’t notice that you’re not poor (which it likely would).
As far as 4S vs. CV, I highly doubt there’s enough difference to matter in any way. But I’m no expert, and I really don’t know. If I were in your shoes, one thing I would do is to see what colleges kids from those places are going to. My daughter just graduated from Canyon Crest Academy, and quite a few of her peers are going to Ivy league schools, MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, etc.
It does seem notably hard to get into the better UCs from CCA. I don’t know whether going to a crappy school district in National City would improve one’s chances or not. Plenty of kids from CCA got numbers in the range of 35 ACT, 1550 SAT, 4.3 gpa, with good essays and plenty of extracurriculars and did not get into some (in some cases any) of the the mid-tier UCs (Santa Barbara, Davis, San Diego, Irvine). I have a hard time picturing kids from National City with similar resumes not getting into all the UCs, including L.A. and Berkeley. I don’t know what the UC situation is in 4S.
An advantage to better school districts, in addition to better resources, better teachers (theoretically) and more parental involvement/encouragement/motivation/pushing (with its pros and cons) is the pressure to keep up with your peers. Not peer pressure (pressure purposefully applied by peers) so much as just the desire to keep up with them (not sure if it’s different or not…) If a student cares about such things (and most of them do), it seems to me they’d be more likely to push themselves at a school where a preponderance of students seems to be aiming for the likes of Harvard and Stanford and Cal Tech and a lot of them hit those targets while many others “settle” for UC Santa Barbara or Vassar (or similar excellent schools).
Participant[quote=flu]The adversity score does not affect the SAT score but it does affect your chances of getting accepted.
[/quote]
What information/source are you using to come to that conclusion?
Participant[quote=flu]I’m not very religious…
But for argument’s sake…
What’s the difference between ridiculing people of Christian faith over a blog, hurling insults at such religion, and religious people, spitting and pissing on what probably matters a lot to them…versus hurling a bunch of stereotypes and a vulgarities about a say an Latino or African American or Muslim?
Is this sort of ridicule here on this thread *that* much different than Donald Trump’s ridicule and disdain for Muslims, or have we all sunken to an all time low across the board?[/quote]
Yes, the sort of ridicule on this thread is *that* much different from trump’s ridicule and disdain for muslims.
Non-religious people ridiculing religion is totally different from a person of one faith ridiculing another faith.
Non-religious people ridiculing religious people is a matter of people who use evidence, logic, and reason to determine how to go about life mocking people who use fantasy to make that determination.
People who have one fantasy ridiculing people who have a different fantasy is like…well, it’s like people who have one fantasy ridiculing people who have another fantasy. It’s imbecilic.
All of this is setting aside that it’s extremely likely that trump’s ridicule and disdain for muslims is strictly for the purpose of stoking fear and hatred among his ignorant base. Which, while it’s less ridiculous (to me) than a person with one fantasy mocking people with another fantasy, is much more dangerous to our country.
And all of that sets aside the fact that the standard for our president should be higher than the standard for some random internet forum.
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]
id be violating the honor thy mother commandment. my extremely jewish mother would never recover if i went jesusy. literally. it would kill her.
it would be more disrespectful to her than crapping on my dads grave.
also, keep in mind ive been programmed since birth to believe the christians are out to fuck with us, which is, well, historically true, and even now, with judaism fashionable amongst evangelicals, i still actually physically recoil and feel slightly sickened just by the word jesus. when someone says jesus, basically i hear, fucking disgusting jew.
and i think theres still a small chance the christians turn on the jews, if the tide turns, judt like everybody thonks the muslims suck. same reason id never trust a german or a german car. my mom.
so there is no way in hell its even possible for me to accept jesus. to me, he seems threatening, like a klansman robe. the odds of me beconing a trump supporter are at least 500x more likely than me accepting jesus as my savior.
even if jesus came to my house personally and did a cool miracle id be like.
sorry dude, i get it.. youre all powerful, and i loved your work in the new tedtament, big fan, , but…cmon…you get it…my moms…i cant do that to her.
jesusd’d be like, yeah. i get it, man, jews are definitely weird.
and im like, tell me about it.
and hes like, takes one to know one. and we laugh. and hes like man you have nice digs.
and im like, we bought at the bottom of the market.
and jesus is like, well, you shouldnt worry so much about money dude, its just like paper.
and im like i know i know.
and hes like, you sure you cant do the christian thing?
and im like, i try to be decent. you know me man, you made me. youd have had a better chance walking in to bin ladens mosque and talking him out of the whole allah thing over bacon n eggs.
and hes laughing, were both laughing. and hes like i know. i know everything. i get it. its not in the cards..
and im like, yeah, being a jesus guy…just cant. like muslim. couldnt do it. same difference. im so glad you get it. you totally get me
and hes like, well, no prob. im not going to rewire you just so you can relax while saying my name and not have an anxiety attack when you see a cross. see ya round.
. and he disappears in thin air.
and id be like, wow, what a chill bro. i believe . . that he is a cool dude.
but i still, even then , after the miracle and so on, would be like, what other layer to reality exists under that
and what is this jesus guys game? and why is dying such a big sacrifice? people die all day long for others. shit i forgot to ask him. jesus? i had a couple more questions.
and jesus is in heaven like, i guess hes an ok guy, but i wish he would shut up with the questions. im patient but i could not take this guy for all eternity. how does his wife stand it. shes a saint…[/quote]
You’re a beautiful and gifted man, scaredy. I’m very happy to have access to your art and your philosophy.
Participant[quote=flyer]
Personally, we’re very much at peace with everything about our beliefs and our lives-[/quote]
Well, sure. Easy to do when you decide which parts of your scriptures to believe in and which ones not to.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]I believe in Feng shui.
Some years ago a friend who is very reapectable, honorable and honest gave me a cutting of a jade plant (money plant). I tended to the plant which has flowered. Ever since, prosperity has been coming my way. There is too much coincidence for there not to be some kind of special energy.I was told that if you buy your own plant or if a bad person gives you a plant, then there will not be the same auspicious effect.[/quote]
What a pathetic load of nonsense.
If you believe the above, you can’t criticize or mock religious people (or those who believe in astrology, for that matter) for their beliefs without being extraordinarily hypocritical.
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