gowestyoungman's recent activity
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Comment on School choice programs have been wildly successful under Ron DeSantis. Now Florida public schools might close. in ~life
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Comment on If you had US$50K and had to purchase a classic car, sports car, and daily driver for your budget dream garage, what vehicles would you pick? in ~transport
gowestyoungman LinkDaily: Toyota Sequoia, first generation. Because its built like a brick sh*thouse and will go for 400,000 miles with very little repair. Generally around 5-8k. Sports: Porsche Cayman. Sexiest body...Daily: Toyota Sequoia, first generation. Because its built like a brick sh*thouse and will go for 400,000 miles with very little repair. Generally around 5-8k.
Sports: Porsche Cayman. Sexiest body Porsche ever made. Around 25k.
Classic: C3 Corvette, should be a chrome bumper model with a 454 and standard but those arent cheap enough so Id have to settle for an 78-81 for about 15k
That leaves 2-5k left over for filling each tank. Twice.
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Comment on Celebrities like Elon Musk and Taylor Swift might soon be able to hide their private jet flights from online sleuths in ~transport
gowestyoungman Link ParentIm guessing they also dont want us to see them flying to Really Super Important Climate Crisis Conference where the irony should make them all bow their heads in shame. Admittance should only be...Im guessing they also dont want us to see them flying to Really Super Important Climate Crisis Conference where the irony should make them all bow their heads in shame. Admittance should only be for those who can prove they at least bicycled the last 50 miles.
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Comment on Celebrities like Elon Musk and Taylor Swift might soon be able to hide their private jet flights from online sleuths in ~transport
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentEven top security take public flights. I was in Hawaii quite a few years ago and taking a short hop flight from Honolulu. Our flight was delayed, and then three black SUVs pulled up, some guys in...Even top security take public flights. I was in Hawaii quite a few years ago and taking a short hop flight from Honolulu. Our flight was delayed, and then three black SUVs pulled up, some guys in suits came aboard and checked out all the passengers visually and then asked everyone in the first 8 rows to move back. We did and after another long delay George Bush Sr. entered the plane along with a entourage of about a dozen people.
Was interesting because it turned out I was sitting beside Josh Green, Hawaii senator and he gave me his card and asked me to pass it to the Secret Service guy ahead which I did. That led to Senator Green shaking hands with President Bush after we landed and me getting some close up pics.
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Comment on Randy Travis sings again, courtesy of AI in ~tech
gowestyoungman Link ParentThanks. Pretty astounding. It opens up a whole Pandora's box about what that means for artists still living, but another one for the estate of those who died with unfinished works in the vault....Thanks. Pretty astounding. It opens up a whole Pandora's box about what that means for artists still living, but another one for the estate of those who died with unfinished works in the vault. Not just remastering old singles, but creating brand new ones with AI voices. This is going to get wild.
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Comment on The new propaganda war in ~misc
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentWhich could be true, but in this case the event went from zero to 100 in such a short time that "Russia" wouldn't have had time to amplify it. Which is one of the reasons it was so obviously...Which could be true, but in this case the event went from zero to 100 in such a short time that "Russia" wouldn't have had time to amplify it. Which is one of the reasons it was so obviously grassroots Canadian.
So Russia media showed 'interest' and covered the protest. So did MANY other countries - the protest made news around the world after it got rolling and had garnered significant support, not before. Why would that give Russia any more influence than any other country? RT isnt a common media source for Canadians.
Even this paper suggests Russia had a "strategic interest" in the convoy. That sounds like a fuzzy way to say nothing - there are gov's around the world that have "strategic interests" in anything disruptive in another country. That doesnt mean a thing.
More interestingly there WAS very direct interference from a foreign country in this protest. It was from the United States. The US barely noticed the protest until some people not directly related to the Ottawa protest, but sympathetic to its cause, decided to block the Canada-US border crossings in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and BC. Even that didnt get the US' attention until auto makers in the US, who rely on just in time auto parts manufactured in Canada, started to complain to their Senators about their supplies not getting through. That made it all the way to the White House.
The gov of Canada was sitting on its hands while things were very slowly being cleared in Ottawa and then, in very direct influence, the President called our PM on Feb 11. That never happens. The US barely notices Canada exists UNTIL the money stops flowing. Biden told Trudeau to get his act together and get the borders back open because US businesses were losing business. Three days later, in a move that is highly controversial and later ruled to be unconstitutional and wrongly used, Trudeau enacted the Emergencies Measures Act and used a massive police presence plus freezing the bank accounts of protesters, seizing their vehicles and making mass arrests end the protest and force the borders open.
There are only hints about Russia's 'influence' or 'interest' but the US made a very direct and explicit complaint to our gov, and our PM jumped in response. Such is life as the US' lapdog. Russia isn't our worry.
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Comment on The new propaganda war in ~misc
gowestyoungman (edited )LinkI have a different perspective on "Russian propaganda". I was very involved in the Freedom Convoy protest that happened in Canada two years ago. Thousands of upset Canadians travelled in large...I have a different perspective on "Russian propaganda". I was very involved in the Freedom Convoy protest that happened in Canada two years ago. Thousands of upset Canadians travelled in large convoys across Canada to converge in Ottawa to protest our gov's response to covid and the increasingly irrational restrictions being imposed. Whether people agreed or disagreed with that protest is not my point.
My point is that the movement was absolutely home grown, a grassroots movement from Canadians. Which is unusual, granted, as we tend to be deserving of our reputation for being overly polite. That often morphs into apathy or a sense of fatalistic inevitability. We just get taken for a ride on many things, particularly our cost of living and we just shrug and carry on (take a look at our incredibly expensive house prices, groceries and taxes compared to the US)
So this movement starts, largely organized by a couple of truckers and one very motivated grandmother from Alberta and the press can NOT believe that so many Canadians can actually be actively protesting something en masse. Surely there MUST be a foreign entity at play. This CAN'T just be Canadian?
And thats when we got to the point of Nil Koksal, a reporter with our national public broadcaster the CBC, conjecturing with absolutely zero proof that this must be a protest fostered and grown by Russia. Surely Canadians are incapable of mounting such a massive response? It must be the Russians.
Then they went further. Gov officials were shocked to realize that Canadians were also donating millions of dollars in support of the protest. That cant be right?! Canadians donating millions to a protest against gov policy? Obviously this too must be Russian or some entity other than Canadians doing this. There was more than one article talking about "dark money" and "foreign actors" promoting the protest.
And thus the propaganda machine kicked into overdrive as the media and gov worked overtime to try and find some explanation for the massive support for the protest. They even shut down the GoFundMe that had already raised 10M within a couple of weeks. Another one sprang up on GiveSendGo and THAT one got shut down after another 10M was raised. Much of that money has been seized by the gov and is in limbo awaiting court cases.
After the dust settled both fundraisers donation lists were analyzed and for the first one it was clear that 88% of donors were in fact ordinary Canadians. The second one had more American donors and a few other countries contributed as the protest got international support but the vast majority were still Canadian. The propaganda machine that had been pushing the "Russian interference" rhetoric was dead wrong.
My point is that our gov's and our legacy media cant be trusted when they cry "foreign interference" That seems to be the label slapped on things that they dont want to believe are true. Like the fact that our Liberal gov has become wildly unpopular and the swing back to conservativism is not only foreseeable, its what always happens in Canada. We go too far left then we go too far right and thats been our pattern for decades. But if you ask the media, it's "Russia's fault" Nope. Its just us.
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Comment on Randy Travis sings again, courtesy of AI in ~tech
gowestyoungman LinkIts geo locked in Canada. Anyone got another link?Its geo locked in Canada. Anyone got another link?
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Comment on Pacific Highway trip from San Francisco to San Diego on a motorcycle in ~travel
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentStory time, circa 1995. Wife and I rode from western Canada to San Diego on a V65 Magna pulling a tiny cargo trailer. Great trip, lots of great memories. But we get to Balboa Park, spend the day...Story time, circa 1995. Wife and I rode from western Canada to San Diego on a V65 Magna pulling a tiny cargo trailer. Great trip, lots of great memories. But we get to Balboa Park, spend the day and when it was time to leave, my extremely reliable Honda refused to even turn on. Nothing worked. So in frustration we left it in the park and took a bus back to our campsite.
On the trip back we're chatting with the bus driver and tell him that we left our bike in the park. "Oh. You cant do that" he says. "Why not?" "Cause it wont be there in the morning"
So now we're totally panicked. We're 2600 km from home with a broken down bike, no idea how to fix it no way to retrieve it and its already nightfall.
Got back to the campground, its very late, and I see some guys sitting around a campfire having a brewski. They were already a little loaded but I didnt even see anyone else outside so they were my one and only choice. I noticed they had a utility trailer hitched to their truck. I went over and shedding all dignity BEGGED them to drive me back to Balboa to pick up my bike. They were NOT happy about it but they did it, God bless 'em and I gladly handed over some cash.
With the bike on the trailer they asked where they should drop it off. By chance I had driven by a bike shop earlier that day and I vaguely recalled where it was. We found it, dropped the bike in the back and locked it up as best we could and hoped like mad it would be there in the morning. Later I ask a local whether that was a good shop. He says, "You picked the best shop in town. If he cant fix it, no one can."
Next day I come back to the shop, the owner says, 'Oh I saw your bike out back. Yeah, I cant get you in for about a week. I have 20 bikes ahead of yours and we're way behind' Again, I shed all pride and explained we were stuck in San Diego, had no other way to get home and that I had borrowed a bicycle to make the miles to his shop but we NEEDED the bike. Fortune favors the bold, or else he saw how pathetically desperate I was, and he took the bike in a couple of hours later.
I came back at closing time and he started prepping me for presenting the bill. "It was the ignition switch. Worn out. Had to replace it. But I had a used one laying around. But, you know, this was an emergency repair. And I put you ahead of a lot of other waiting customers, so..."
And at that point I thought, well, an $800 bill is cheaper than staying a week in San Diego I guess.
"so... Im gonna have to charge you... 25 bucks."
I just about fell over. I thought he was joking but he wasn't. No smile. No joke. He ONLY wanted 25 bucks!! I was totally blown away. Paid him as fast as I could and thanked him at least a dozen times for saving my ass.
And then we got on our nicely repaired Honda and rode all the way back to Canada without another hitch.
Not all heroes wear capes, half loaded campers and big hearted bike mechanics included.
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Comment on Housing market predictions in ~finance
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentTrue. The only thing Ive always said about investing in real estate here in the cold and frosty north of Canada is that its that housing is not an option. You can survive in Hawaii in a tent, and...True. The only thing Ive always said about investing in real estate here in the cold and frosty north of Canada is that its that housing is not an option. You can survive in Hawaii in a tent, and maybe half the US States. But at -42c last winter, no one was surviving without secure, warm shelter. So in my view, there's no safer bet than owning an absolute necessity. You can survive a winter without Apple stock, not so without shelter.
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Comment on Housing market predictions in ~finance
gowestyoungman (edited )LinkJust adding that Im in Canada but the situation and economics are very similar, if not worse. Unlike the US, our economy is fairly weak and the ONLY sector thats really booming is housing. Which...Just adding that Im in Canada but the situation and economics are very similar, if not worse. Unlike the US, our economy is fairly weak and the ONLY sector thats really booming is housing. Which isnt good when a necessity becomes an investment commodity. Our gov has gone absolutely bonkers on immigration too - a country of only 39M adding 1M new immigrants a year is not sustainable.
Here in AB we're having a massive amount of investors flooding the province because we are the "most affordable" place left in Canada and thats rapidly disappearing. People who own median priced homes out east in Toronto are sitting in 1.3M homes and have so much equity they can take out second mortgages or lines of credit and come buy another home here where the median home is half that price. Im part of a real estate investors group online and contractors are offering pre-construction multi-family buildings and they are immediately snapped up (and its prime territory for fraud).
Fortunately all my adult children were smart and bought homes as soon as they could and they are all sitting pretty. My tenants on the other hand, are getting the short end of the stick. Between mtg rates jumping astronomically and extremely low vacancy (less than 1%) the rents keep jumping.
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Comment on Weighing in on "Man or Bear" - from a woman that left society to the Alaskan wilderness in ~life.women
gowestyoungman Link ParentIve never heard the word parasocial before and honestly, I dont understand what it means in this context. Feel free to dial me in.Ive never heard the word parasocial before and honestly, I dont understand what it means in this context. Feel free to dial me in.
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Comment on Weighing in on "Man or Bear" - from a woman that left society to the Alaskan wilderness in ~life.women
gowestyoungman Link ParentWell, I would disagree about not knowing her. One of the reasons I followed her so closely was that she was very open about her thoughts and feelings. It was before the blatant kind of attention...Well, I would disagree about not knowing her. One of the reasons I followed her so closely was that she was very open about her thoughts and feelings. It was before the blatant kind of attention seeking that is common online today, because she was articulate, thoughtful, quite philosophical and obviously very intelligent. So the reason I know she quit because she found a man and domestic life is because she said so. Very clearly. That she had fallen in love and despite her younger belief that she would never give up her nomadic life and settle into a more typical urban life, that's exactly what she now wanted to do.
The posts became more sparse as she settled in. Then the first kid came along and there were only a few a year. But the second one came and they stopped. And that was that. And all her blogs disappeared, which was disappointing. -
Comment on Weighing in on "Man or Bear" - from a woman that left society to the Alaskan wilderness in ~life.women
gowestyoungman LinkShe reminds me of Sol, an intrepid single female traveller that I used to follow on social media about 15 years ago. She travelled to something like 40+ countries and found work when she needed to...She reminds me of Sol, an intrepid single female traveller that I used to follow on social media about 15 years ago. She travelled to something like 40+ countries and found work when she needed to as a bartender or a salsa dance instructor.
But along the way, she hinted that she had found more than one suitor and didnt seem to mind the attention she got, while at the same time explaining that she was on this journey to escape the normal upwardly mobile career and settled down US life she had openly rejected and left behind (If I recall she was a a well educated and well paid executive before she hit the open road).
Sol had a lot of insights as she travelled and seemed to be on the way to being the most decidedly single, most travelled women ever.
And then, after years of travel and thousands of very cool blogged experiences, she met a guy, fell in love, moved back to the US and had kids. And then all her blogs and hundreds of pics disappeared off the net.
I guess my point is, Ive seen this kind of insightful writing before, about the patriarchy and independence as a woman, but it seems that things can change pretty quickly if one falls for a man.
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Comment on Today is the UK courts decision day on Julian Assange's extradition to the US in ~news
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentThey wont bother killing him on foreign soil or if they can keep him permanently embroiled in court cases but they've already plotted. Skip the first part of this article but start reading at "A...They wont bother killing him on foreign soil or if they can keep him permanently embroiled in court cases but they've already plotted. Skip the first part of this article but start reading at "A Yahoo! News investigation last year revealed newly installed CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s swift and furious reaction: He instructed the agency to make plans to kidnap and murder WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange..."
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/us-government-murder-julian-assange/
The fact that he has the support of some high profile people and his wife and legal team keep his profile high means the US isn't going to do anything to draw undue attention. But the fact they want to kill him has already been exposed.
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Comment on What kinds of part time jobs did you do when you first entered the job market? in ~life
gowestyoungman LinkPainted houses in university and for a year or two afterwards. Started my own company and had enough business to run two crews. It didnt make me a millionaire but it was steady work during three...Painted houses in university and for a year or two afterwards. Started my own company and had enough business to run two crews. It didnt make me a millionaire but it was steady work during three seasons of the year and it kept 5 of us employed. Winter time I did interiors but that takes more skill and I worked alone on those.
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Comment on Today is the UK courts decision day on Julian Assange's extradition to the US in ~news
gowestyoungman Link ParentThe reason Epstein is particularly appropriate in this case is because there is very real concern that he won't suicide, but that those he has exposed will find a way to kill him in prison and...The reason Epstein is particularly appropriate in this case is because there is very real concern that he won't suicide, but that those he has exposed will find a way to kill him in prison and make it look like a suicide. Thats different than committing suicide and why the Epstein moniker was used.
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Comment on Today is the UK courts decision day on Julian Assange's extradition to the US in ~news
gowestyoungman (edited )Link ParentYou seem to be focusing on one dump, the Turkish names released, and ignoring some of the very significant cables and videos that he released. Not the least of which is Collateral Murder, which...You seem to be focusing on one dump, the Turkish names released, and ignoring some of the very significant cables and videos that he released. Not the least of which is Collateral Murder, which fundamentally changed the way many people viewed the US Armed Forces and their view on the war in Iraq. You cant watch American soldiers shred the bodies of journalists with massive rounds and then go on to kill the Good Samaritan who stops to help the wounded, while nearly killing his children, and not be moved to anger. I would go so far as to say it was a significant turning point that caused a massive drop of support of that war, which ultimately ended up costing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, possibly up to 600,000 and over 4,000 American troops.
For NOTHING.
Bush, Powell, Cheney and Rumsfeld should all be serving hard time in a federal penitentiary for their war crimes. Instead the US is leaving no stone unturned in an effort to harass Assange, keep him in prison for the rest of his life and outrageously arguing that his leaks 'may have put people in danger' - Its so outlandish its lunacy.
Trillions of dollars wasted, hundreds of thousands of people killed, and a pointless war that turned much of the world against the US Endless Wars and starkly pointed out that the US administration will bold face lie and deceive (no weapons of mass destruction, chemical warfare mobile labs, nuclear weapons) its populace in order to promote a pointless war.
We wont even go deep into the mass troop suicides that have happened after Iraq as soldiers come to the realization they were used and their buddies died for zero reason - Thirty thousand veterans have died by suicide in just the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom conflicts over 20 years. That's sickening.
Against this profound and starkly shocking release, your complaint about the release of names of Turkish female voters, while disturbing, is hardly enough reason to imprison the man and make his life hell for years. Several American politicians have called for his head on a platter and the way the US has spied on him and tried to trap him even while he was hiding out in the Ecuadorian embassy is reprehensible.
I support the man for numerous reasons. One is that Ive read a lot of the cables and releases and the information in them is shocking. We are so often fed bs from our gov's but its very eye opening to read how they actually operate behind the veil.
Also, he has the support of some brave and honorable people who have also gone to the wall for truth, not the least of which is John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, Tulsi Gabbard, Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers, Vietnam War).
In comparison those who hate him are those who hated being exposed. Hillary Clinton is at the top of that list. She was extremely embarrassed by some of the manipulation and outright gossip that he revealed from her diplomatic cables and harming her chances at the presidency.
I also support the man because major news organizations around the world can see the lasting effects that his conviction would bring and many are in support of him. Just the fact that he's been in prison this long awaiting a decision on his extradition has had a chilling effect on reporting corruption. Thus organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists, The International Federation of Journalists, Pen International and most importantly Daniel Ellsberg's Freedom of the Press Foundation are all shouting the message that if Assange is convicted then freedom of the press is in jeopardy and corrupt governments will be able to hide their crimes in the dark without a free press. With all due respect, I trust their judgment of the situation much more than any average observer - they have a lot of skin in the game.
Assange's personality may even be objectionable in some ways, but its not his personality thats on trial. Its literally the right to publish gov secrets that are damaging to our society, to the entire world. Truth wants to be free, but it needs very brave people to push it out into the public and face the anger of those who have been exposed. He's one of the only people to do it, and the list of whistleblowers is so short that we know them by name.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
gowestyoungman Link ParentI learned most of it from my father and woodshop in school, but youtube does have a surprising number of helpful videos.I learned most of it from my father and woodshop in school, but youtube does have a surprising number of helpful videos.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
gowestyoungman Link ParentThe water stays in the tub, which is good because currently our well is not producing very much (5 gallons a day - it should be 5 gallons a minute) and we cant afford to waste any. Yes, the tub...The water stays in the tub, which is good because currently our well is not producing very much (5 gallons a day - it should be 5 gallons a minute) and we cant afford to waste any. Yes, the tub water is filtered with a disposable filter that gets replaced every few months. Meanwhile you have to test the water periodically and add chemicals to keep the pH in the proper range. That keeps the water clear and keeps it from getting smelly or even growing algae.
Thanks, Im 100% sure she's gonna love it, especially in winter since she loves cold air and hot soaking.
I was very directly involved in this type of situation except in Canada, as an independent school principal in direct competition for students with the local school board. The difference being that, at that time, we didnt receive full funding and only got about 60% of the funding that the public schools received, so in economic terms we were a very good deal for the provincial gov since we taught the mandated curriculum but for 60% of the cost to the taxpayer.
But I was and remain a huge supporter of independent and alternate school programs. Alberta is Canada's Florida in that regard, generally conservative and somewhat untrusting of gov agendas. Independent schools thrive in this environment because they meet parents goals, which can be pretty varied. We have schools of all stripes - religious (Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Catholic, Jewish), science based, athletics based, project based, technology based, a school for single teenage parents, Special Needs schools specializing in different areas, indigenous schools, French schools, Waldorf, Montessori, early childhood specialist schools - independent schools cover it all and thats in addition to charter schools.
The ironic part is that when I was the principal I went to the local school board and inquired if our school (3 campuses, pop. about 650 at that time) would be able to come under their umbrella as an alternate program. That would've meant they would receive some provincial funding for our students and we would also receive more funding so it was a win-win in our view.
I was soundly rejected by the chair of the school board, with very detectable disdain. She made it very clear that the public school was capable of doing it all, serving every student and parent need except for religious parents. They weren't going to touch us.
Then in an inventive twist, our school applied to become an alternate school in a rural division just outside the city. At that point the city school division took us to court! Their argument was that no other school division could fund us if we weren't geographically within their area. Turns out the court saw through that shady argument and ruled against them.
The school is now a FULLY funded school through that rural school division and has grown substantially - so the city divison loses out on hundreds of thousands of dollars a year because frankly, they were too stuck up to accept a religious school. Not so ironically there are now multiple religious schools within the city division. I guess they learned their lesson.
If public schools arent meeting parent and student needs they need to allow freedom of choice in education and support that choice. The public schools cannot and should not expect to be all things to all people. There are just too many special interest and special need students to do a good job of educating all students and that's where the freedom to choose comes in. The province still mandates the core curriculum that we all teach but every school can add its own specialties on top - parents are happy, kids needs are met and the only one upset is the public school because they've lost their monopoly. Competition works in every other aspect of our society - it works in education too.