Guard Dog

You can also adjust your spending accordingly. The fist step to getting out of any hole is to stop digging. Or, you can do what my first wife's uncle did. He got a Citi Platinum card with a really high limit. They consolidated everything on it, cashed out their savings, sold their house and bought a small RV. They defaulted on the card and fled to Cabo San Lucas and opened a coffee stand. He called it the Jimmy Buffet Debt Settlement Program. True story!

Banks are not kidnapping people and forcing them to sign loan contacts. People go to them and ask them for loans. Any law that limits freely transacted private business is a hard sell here.

I'll let Deekin speak for the folks in the USA. Take it away Deekin! Meanwhile my new boss is something of a germaphobe. So we have been copying him on all Coronavirus news e-mails in the hopes he'll tell us to work from home Edit: As for confidence in my government to anything... other than break stuff.... I think you already know the answer. Edit to the Edit: BTW I have not lost a second of sleep over this. We'll be fine.

The struggle is real

Not a workable idea but the minimum age for college admission should be 21 IMO. 18 is the legal adult age but the world is more complicated than it used to be. And an 18 year old today will have led a much more sheltered life than an 18 year old 100 years ago. It used to be a joke among my colleagues a few jobs ago when we described a person as someone whose education has exceeded their intelligence. I once quipped it was like a kid with a gun. They know it's powerful and valuable but have no idea what to do with it and the outcome will likely be bad. Well in this case we are turning out graduates with education but no life experience. The former is a poor companion without the latter. When I started college for real I was 25 years old. I'd already served four years in the military, owned a business, been married and divorced. I thought I would be at a disadvantage compared to my peers at MDCC & FAU. I was only able to take night classes and only complete half the coursework per semester compared to full time students. I realized quickly that the opposite was true. I was older, more experienced, and more disciplined in my study habits and work ethic. Things like that come with age and experience. It might serve some people well to forego college for a few years and pursue experience like the military, or Peace Corps, or something else along those lines. The more you learn about the real world, and the quicker you do it, the less likely it is to devour you.

I planted two acres yesterday. A mixed bag of veggies plus a patch where I'm going to resume my quest to grow a perfect tomato. I actually cut four acres but I think I'm getting too old to handle that much by myself. Very sore today.

It always was a business. Not every degree imparts a skill society finds useful. The skills of a Chemical Engineer are more valuable than those of someone who studied Ornamental Basket Weaving. That does not mean there isn't value in the latter but the former is going to make a lot more money. It's something folks ought to consider when planning their education. If they don't... caveat emptor.

So if their politics are not your politics it's a good thing they get sick and maybe die? Wow, and to think I thought my respect for you had hit rock bottom already. Turns out rock bottom has a basement.

You can also try an Omega 3 supplement like fish oil or flax seed oil in his food. It's great for clearing up skin problems

That is pretty cool! Put your finger on one of the corners and to your eyes they stop moving.

How is it affecting him? Skin? Eyes? Benadryl works pretty well on dogs for short term use. 1 mg per pound of body weight.

Some degrees ARE a waste of money. If there is not demand doe the skills they require. A Master in Art History might land you a job running a gallery or as an editor of an art magazine. But there is not an abundance of those opportunities. Before picking a major a kid really ought to investigate what career fields that education might apply to. And what the potential earnings are. Not that career decisions should be made entirely on money. Take Hurlshot for example. It takes a lot of education and drive to do the job he does. And despite how important the job is I think he knew going into it he will never get rich doing it. So what drives him must be passion and that is worthy of respect. Pursuing passion is never the wrong thing to do but it should also be a decision made knowing what your career prospects are. A college degree is like any other widget you can buy. It has an absolute and objective value. You should never pay more for a widget than what it's worth. The value of the widget might be increased if it's worth something to YOU for your plans and your life. Notre Dame offers an undergrad program in Theology. It costs $50k per year to attend Notre Dame not counting room and board. A graduate with a 4 year degree in Theology will be $200K in debt and the salary of a protestant minister is around $30k. It would be a terrible decision from an objective business sense but if being a pastor is your passion in might still be worth the cost to you.

Like most memes it's meant to be humorous with a grain of truth in it. But tradeskill is undervalued in this country these days and for the life of me I don't know why. I had to replace my home AC last year. That was damn near $5k and I know the unit costs $2650. HVAC guys never want for work because being hot sucks. Does your school system still have vocational ed? I can't remember it I ever asked you. Remember when I was installing WIFI in the schools in Dyer, Gibson, and Weakly Counties a few years ago? I was surprised to learn TN had all but dropped vocational classes from the curriculum. I always wondered why.

Got up early and turned the garden soil then cut the rows. That wasn't hard work because I have a small tractor. Now comes planting. That kind of sucks. And I'm kind of procrastinating

Posting this here since we often discuss education in this thread:

In 2002 the West Nile Virus was going to lead to a global pandemic. Two years later everyone was told to be afraid of SARS. In 2005 ot was the Bird Flu that will lead to human extinction. Four years later we were told to be scared of the Swine Flu. Ebola made everyone nervous in 2014 then in 2016 it was Zika. Now this. See a pattern here? This week the US Congress authorized $8.3B of our money to fight the Corona virus. The request and the plan in place only asked for $2.4B. What do you suppose will happen to the balance? It will disappear into thin air. Just like the other appropriations to keep us "safe" from the other s--t they whipped us into a frenzy over. "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed. Hence clamorous to be led to safety by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins. All of them imaginary." H.L Mencken BTW, the US 10 Year Treasury fell to it's lowest yield yesterday. Lowest yield ever. The United States is $23.46T in debt and unfunded liabilities. The bonds are dropping in value because people think default is likely inevitable. Gold, which is really worth $800 is selling for $1674. Silver is worth $5 and is selling for $17. Bitcoin is worthless and it is selling for $9090. And here in the US we argue among ourselves over who gets to drive the car over the cliff. Because that is where it is going. If you guys have never listened to a thing I say, listen to me now. Get. Out. Of. Debt. If you are in get out. Do whatever you have to do. If you are out, don't go in. Don't make bug purchases. SAVE SOME MONEY. Do NOT buy bonds. If you do invest do so in things that are not tied to any one currency. Things that have value in and of themselves. Real estate is a good choice. It will never be worthless. Commodities are another. Every time I watch the news I feel the need to buy more ammunition and non-perishable food.

Three Yankees players walked into a bar... They all got injured! Judge has a broken rib and is down for two months. Stanton is also hurt (again), Severino is out for the season, Paxton is out until July. https://www.mlb.com/news/aaron-judge-fractured-rib-yankees

A guy walks into Barnes and Noble to buy a book about turtles. After a little walking around with no luck, he decides to ask the girl behind the desk if they have any. "Hardback?" she asks. He doesn't hesitate: "Yeah," he says. "And they bury their eggs in the sand."

SU-57 is faster with a bigger payload.

An article claiming the Douglas A26 Invader was the best warplane ever made. https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2020/03/05/greatest_warplane_ever_485991.html Not sure I agree with that list. IMO the top dog is the F-22 Raptor. Certainly the most maneuverable airframe ever designed. IMO the best ground support plane was the Sukhoi SU-57 for jet engines. The P-51 Musting for radial engines Best air to air is the F-22 and a tossup between the Mitsubishi Zero and F4U Corsair Best heavy lift is the C130 no doubt. The coolest is the Fokker Tri-Plane of Manfred von Ricktofen fame.

Monkeys take over government... https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/marauding-monkeys-take-over-government-21643512 Services and efficiency expected to improve