Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

[Kriegsspiel]

I think it's clear that governments all over are just "doing something" in hopes that it does... something. Either secretly reveling in the fact that people aren't fighting against them on it, or not caring because they think they're doing the right thing (thinking they're on the right side of history, in modern parlance). Another aspect of these people just "doing something" whether it helps or not, is that eventually the virus will mutate and the situation will stabilize, but they're going to think that whatever draconian measures they took were necessary. So we can probably look forward to more authoritarian measures in the future. Maybe we'll start *noticing* the normal plagues that happen all the time that kill more people than the Wuhan.

I, for one, welcome my benevolent dungeon-keepers.

[dualstow]

I think it's clear that governments all over are just "doing something" ...
Another aspect of these people just "doing something" whether it helps or not, is that eventually the virus will mutate and the situation will stabilize, but they're going to think that whatever draconian measures they took were necessary.

In France, they've got the police out taking whatever draconian measures are unnecessary. Out of control.
Everything short of creating a clone army.

[yankees60]

I was working on my food production capabilities yesterday as well, digging a couple more beds. I'm going to try growing potatoes this year. Today's task is to prep logistics for free wood chips.

My neighbors had a big Easter Egg hunt with a bunch of kids and a gramps. I also have several old neighbors and it looks like they host the Easter get togethers for their kids.

I'll have more to say about my gardening in the next few weeks (with pictures taken by my CAMERA!). For mulch I use all the leaves from my property (and neighbor's properties).

Vinny

[yankees60]

I was working on my food production capabilities yesterday as well, digging a couple more beds. I'm going to try growing potatoes this year. Today's task is to prep logistics for free wood chips.

My neighbors had a big Easter Egg hunt with a bunch of kids and a gramps. I also have several old neighbors and it looks like they host the Easter get togethers for their kids.

You must not live in Michigan, where the Governor has now banned the sale of garden supplies, including seeds and tools.

What is the rationale for that??!!

Vinny

[WiseOne]

Wow, Whitmer is bats**t crazy is all I can say. The list of things you're allowed to buy makes no sense at the core of it - if the store is open, it's open and why do you care what they sell. I have to say that i82start's theory is about the only viable explanation for this. And short-listed as Biden's VP nominee? Scary.

Hopefully the good people of Michigan will still be able to buy those things online. Which means that instead of supporting their local garden centers, they'll be lining the pockets of Amazon, Walmart, and Burpee. Rather a strange policy decision for a Democrat, wouldn't you think?

[yankees60]

Wow, Whitmer is bats**t crazy is all I can say. The list of things you're allowed to buy makes no sense at the core of it - if the store is open, it's open and why do you care what they sell. I have to say that i82start's theory is about the only viable explanation for this. And short-listed as Biden's VP nominee? Scary.

Hopefully the good people of Michigan will still be able to buy those things online. Which means that instead of supporting their local garden centers, they'll be lining the pockets of Amazon, Walmart, and Burpee. Rather a strange policy decision for a Democrat, wouldn't you think?

I wanted to buy a wheel barrow today from Amazon. But I was not going to get delivery until May 4th. Way too long.

I went to Home Depot. They have two in stock and if I buy it today I have up to 72 hours to pick it up.

During these times Amazon is no longer the go to source that it has been.

Vinny

[yankees60]

Wow, Whitmer is bats**t crazy is all I can say. The list of things you're allowed to buy makes no sense at the core of it - if the store is open, it's open and why do you care what they sell. I have to say that i82start's theory is about the only viable explanation for this. And short-listed as Biden's VP nominee? Scary.

Hopefully the good people of Michigan will still be able to buy those things online. Which means that instead of supporting their local garden centers, they'll be lining the pockets of Amazon, Walmart, and Burpee. Rather a strange policy decision for a Democrat, wouldn't you think?

I wanted to buy a wheel barrow today from Amazon. But I was not going to get delivery until May 4th. Way too long.

I went to Home Depot. They have two in stock and if I buy it today I have up to 72 hours to pick it up.

During these times Amazon is no longer the go to source that it has been.

Vinny

Yep, Prime is now 1-2 weeks instead of 1-2 days.

There was a super expensive garden cart ($200+) I could have bought today from Amazon and had it delivered on Thursday. I was almost about to buy it until I saw some negative reviews regarding it. I think decided to go in the complete opposite direction (inexpensive).

At this point the next phases of my garden work as to wait for three events in this sequences: 1) Rain stops 2) Dirt dries 3) Temperature is above 55 degrees. Since it may be a while for all three to occur there is no urgency for me to purchase.

Vinny

[dualstow]

@kriegsspiel,

The mask ⇢ shemagh thread has me thinking:

Did you have the opportunity to eat local Afghan(i) cuisine before you left? Did you like it?
I've been to one restaurant in the States. (They're all called Kabul). Amazing.

[Libertarian666]

Wow, Whitmer is bats**t crazy is all I can say. The list of things you're allowed to buy makes no sense at the core of it - if the store is open, it's open and why do you care what they sell. I have to say that i82start's theory is about the only viable explanation for this. And short-listed as Biden's VP nominee? Scary.

Hopefully the good people of Michigan will still be able to buy those things online. Which means that instead of supporting their local garden centers, they'll be lining the pockets of Amazon, Walmart, and Burpee. Rather a strange policy decision for a Democrat, wouldn't you think?

I wanted to buy a wheel barrow today from Amazon. But I was not going to get delivery until May 4th. Way too long.

I went to Home Depot. They have two in stock and if I buy it today I have up to 72 hours to pick it up.

During these times Amazon is no longer the go to source that it has been.

Vinny

Yep, Prime is now 1-2 weeks instead of 1-2 days.

It depends on what you order. I ordered a monitor cable on Saturday and it arrived today.

[dualstow]

Yup, and I had a third party item arrive yesterday that was due on April 20. Came just a few days after I ordered it.
Maybe in these weird times it makes sense to bypass UPS and Amazon's usually great logistics.

[CT-Scott]

Yep, Prime is now 1-2 weeks instead of 1-2 days.

Yeah, I've been thinking about trying to contact Amazon (they make it difficult to find a "Contact Us" page) to complain that I'm not getting my money's worth on their Prime membership and requesting a cancellation and partial refund, at least until the craziness ends. Paying that membership was worth it to us to have quick delivery. I've never been particularly impressed with Amazon's streaming TV offering, so I'm not giving them my money just to get that.

[Tortoise]

During these times Amazon is no longer the go to source that it has been.

For most people, apparently the 0.0001% risk of getting infected with coronavirus at a brick-and-mortar store just isn't worth it. They prefer the 0.00001% risk of getting infected with coronavirus by a delivered package. A 10x reduction in risk!

[Kriegsspiel]

@kriegsspiel,

The mask ⇢ shemagh thread has me thinking:

Did you have the opportunity to eat local Afghan(i) cuisine before you left? Did you like it?
I've been to one restaurant in the States. (They're all called Kabul). Amazing.

My terp brought some almonds from his family's almond farm once as a present. I got quite the dysentary from eating them. I ate a few times at an ANP outpost and goddamn it was unsanitary, but no ill effects afterwards. I ate goat once from a dude that made it at our FOB, it was pretty good. It was some kind of curry or something.

[Kriegsspiel]

Wow, just saw what Michigan's nanny-state banned. If their name meant anything (lol), the ACLU would be working around the clock. I'm sure they're busy bugging somebody because they put on a MAGA hat or whatever.

[Kriegsspiel]

My bad, I thought they were all defined a couple weeks ago. Terps are interpreters, ANP is the Afghan police, FOB is a forward operating base.

[dualstow]

EDIT: Seeeeeee, Vinny? See how I’m working my fingers to the bone for you?

My terp brought some almonds from his family's almond farm once as a present. I got quite the dysentary from eating them. I ate a few times at an ANP outpost and goddamn it was unsanitary, but no ill effects afterwards. I ate goat once from a dude that made it at our FOB, it was pretty good. It was some kind of curry or something.

That’s funny. I think Terps are what they call the Maryland Terrapins.

Well, none of that sounds appetizing , maybe the curry, but it paints a picture. Thank you.

[yankees60]

Yep, Prime is now 1-2 weeks instead of 1-2 days.

Yeah, I've been thinking about trying to contact Amazon (they make it difficult to find a "Contact Us" page) to complain that I'm not getting my money's worth on their Prime membership and requesting a cancellation and partial refund, at least until the craziness ends. Paying that membership was worth it to us to have quick delivery. I've never been particularly impressed with Amazon's streaming TV offering, so I'm not giving them my money just to get that.

Don't they all try to make it difficult for us to contact them by phone or chat or email??!!! Once I'm logged into Vanguard it's sometimes impossible to find a phone number to call them.

I too have Amazon Prime. However, though I've not been buying much recently I'm still getting the value from Prime as each night I watch one of their movies until my eyes start losing focus and I listen to an Amazon Prime Music Station ("Deep Purple" my all-time favorite) fairly frequently.

Vinny

[yankees60]

During these times Amazon is no longer the go to source that it has been.

For most people, apparently the 0.0001% risk of getting infected with coronavirus at a brick-and-mortar store just isn't worth it. They prefer the 0.00001% risk of getting infected with coronavirus by a delivered package. A 10x reduction in risk!

For me Amazon has always been first because a) I can know that I can buy it from them, i.e., they have it in stock b) I get all kinds of reviews on products rather than a store clerk who knows nothing about the product c) it takes way less time.

Vinny

[yankees60]

Kriegs,
Love your stories, but you gotta know most of us have not served in the military, so have no idea what Terp, ANP, FOB, etc, mean. And half the time Google is no help.

Same goes for what many post here regarding many aspects of the Permanent Portfolio. For a newcomer it can be quite bewildering, constantly having to ask, 'What does that [abbreviation] mean?"

Effective communication entails the recipient actually understanding what has been communicated.

Vinny

[dualstow]

As for Permanent Portfolio abbreviations, I haven’t seen that many, but I was constantly encountering financial ones at b’heads. FI means fixed income, except when it means financially independent, ugh. They finally made a glossary. Maybe we could make one here at this forum, Vinny.

[yankees60]

As for Permanent Portfolio abbreviations, I haven’t seen that many, but I was constantly encountering financial ones at b’heads. FI means fixed income, except when it means financially independent, ugh. They finally made a glossary. Maybe we could make one here at this forum, Vinny.

And easy way to make one is to have One Topic with One Post. Each someone uses an abbreviation the person needs to check if it has already been defined in that one post! If not, quote the post and add to it!

Vinny

[Smith1776]

That reminds me of this gem from Elon Musk.

There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees.

That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action - I have given enough warning over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary. If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past.

For example, there should be not "HTS" [horizontal test stand] or "VTS" [vertical test stand] designations for test stands. Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. A "stand" at our test site is obviously a test stand. VTS-3 is four syllables compared with "Tripod", which is two, so the bloody acronym version actually takes longer to say than the name!

The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication. An acronym that most engineers outside of SpaceX already know, such as GUI, is fine to use. It is also ok to make up a few acronyms/contractions every now and again, assuming I have approved them, e.g. MVac and M9 instead of Merlin 1C-Vacuum or Merlin 1C-Sea Level, but those need to be kept to a minimum.

[yankees60]

That reminds me of this gem from Elon Musk.

There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important.

For that reason I try to avoid using abbreviations, pedantically spelling out every word.

People forget that the burden of communication falls on the sender not the receiver.

I've seen too many lazy business emails where basic punctuation is left out. Yes, the sender saved some time but then created more time necessary to be spent on the receiver's end.

Vinny

[Mountaineer]

No TLAs for Vinny!

Join the anti-TLA movement. And FLA, FLA, SLA, etc.

Oh, and good morning to my PP faves.

[Kriegsspiel]

Thanks guys for driving the point home, good info.

WRT Elon Musk, each field has their own jargon, some are more heavily into it than others. Noobs are always going to have to get up to speed on the jargon, that's just part of being new. The Army has regulations for everything, and the one for how to write tells you to define abbreviations and acronyms the first time you use them, to avoid confusion.

I will disagree about acronyms in general, of course. Some things are basically only known by their acronyms, and it would be detrimental to communication to spell them out (this especially applies to military jargon). IE, the acronym/abbreviation is the preferred way to express the concept. For instance, you would never say "He had an Automat Kalashnikov 47." It's always AK-47. I assume doctors don't tell their patients (or other doctors?) that they're going to do a Papanicolaou test on them either.