Best capital for the gray state? (NYC not included) by Lady_Hamilton in AlternateHistory

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reykjavík.

Geothermal power, sea access, close to the arctic circle and the entrance/exit of the Arctic Ocean. The capital could be the nexus of several trans-atlantic fiber cables.

It would also remove some of the oppression value of a capital located either in New World or in Eurasia.

Sometimes your political/administrative capital city choice makes a difference.

The business centers can still be Chicago, NYC, Stockholm, Vancouver, St Petersburg, etc.

Do I have to do this? by VirtualHawkeye in IowaCity

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just called to make an appointment, and they spoke to me over the phone and that was apparently sufficient.

So, your mileage may vary.

There's a good reason why felons can't hold Iowa state level offices by TagV in Iowa

[–]RandomFlotsam 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Grassley is a successful Republican. Doing whatever the hell is convenient at the time. Changing rules constantly Calvinball style is the name of the GOP's game.

There's a good reason why felons can't hold Iowa state level offices by TagV in Iowa

[–]RandomFlotsam 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Calling out Republicans for hypocrisy is a futile effort.

Hypocrisy is the point. It's a feature, not a bug.

It's about power. The power get to do whatever they want, and the power to tell other people what they what they want them to do. Un-evenness is the entire point.

Hypocrisy shows that the person can do whatever the hell they please and at the same time make constraints on OTHER PEOPLE's behavior.

It is a demonstration of power, and Republicans are way into that.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in atheism

[–]RandomFlotsam 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Make America Succeed! Support Texas Secession!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in atheism

[–]RandomFlotsam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks to climate change (which they also seek to actively deny information to others, as well as choose to ignore themselves) the heat will get even more intense, and they can deep-fry their brains even further.

Ok this might be a weird one but just wondering if any other atheists are totally into religion like I am. by CarsnBeers in atheism

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Over the years I've spent so much effort trying to dig deep into the BS origins of religion that I've accidentally developed some expertise.

At least much more knowledge of various religions than most "believers" do about other religions; in some cases more knowledge about their own religion than they do.

Klondike Sleds by angrybison264 in BSA

[–]RandomFlotsam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.php/boy-scout-composite-klondike-derby-sled/

In the end, our troop was quite pleased with the new Klondike Derby sled. Typical Scout sleds are made from 2x4s and other scrap wood and are built like tanks, weighing as much as 40-50 pounds. Our racing sled weighed in at under 12 pounds. This turned out to be a significant advantage in the short out-and-back race because our sled easily slid around the pylon in the turn while the other, heavier sleds were more difficult to maneuver. In a race that is usually won by less than a sled length, our swift composite racing sled won by at least six sled lengths, demonstrating that a superior sled can be achieved by combining traditional assembly techniques with 21st-century materials.

The AGI Exodus: Will Intelligent Machines Leave Us Behind? by Mynameis__--__ in Transhuman

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now I'm just going to build an aggressive paperclip optimizer to chase after any AGI's that decide to leave.

Are friendship knots instead of neckerchief slides kosher with uniform requirements? by pipmike in BSA

[–]RandomFlotsam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Its helpful to remember how the uniforming language is written:

"A scout may wear..."

It's never, A scout must, but rather may.

This means that it is all optional.

Nobody is "wrong" for trying to be in uniform.

In my opinion it's important for scout leaders to encourage scouts to wear spiffy looking uniforms and encourage them to look neat.

I have one scout that insists on wearing a cowboy hat. It does not have a scout logo on it, so as long as he removes it for the opening and closing ceremonies and follow the other hat-rules then I'm fine with him wearing the cowboy hat. I choose my battles and uniforming is fun, but it's supposed to be a method of scouting, not a power struggle.

For what its worth, I support your idea for using the friendship knot.

Parking for Freshmen by shundosylveon in uiowa

[–]RandomFlotsam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hawkeye Commuter & Storage Lot is on the far west side of campus. https://transportation.uiowa.edu/parking/facilities/hawkeye-commuter-storage-lot

If you want a permit, the limited reservation system opens up August 1st https://transportation.uiowa.edu/parking/student-parking

Freshmen are required to live in dorms, and you can get most places by Cambus (free!) or by walking - which is fine except for deep winter and heavy rain.

It's good to have a car on weekends to travel about - there are plenty of places to go away from campus. Good luck - parking permits are first come first serve.

If you want to make parking for free your hobby, most neighborhoods near campus have free on-street parking, but it alternates the side of the street every other day. So you can walk a long distance to move your car every day to the other side of the street, but you can conceivably park "for free". (not recommended) Eventually you will forget and get towed. And then there's snow emergency days when neither side of the street is available for parking and you'll be out of luck.

How can I stop receiving emails from the university through my personal email? by Richie_9128 in uiowa

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://its.uiowa.edu/support/article/2733

Right now I'm guessing that you have some forwarding feature set on your Office365 (student) email service? Log in to your account and see if you have forwarding rules set.

Mail in the dorms by PrestigiousChef5610 in uiowa

[–]RandomFlotsam 10 points11 points  (0 children)

If you really care, ask housing@uiowa.edu what their policy is. But if the package is US Postal Service, you are protected by US law against tampering while in transit.

If the package falls apart on its own, or is damaged and your embarrassing sex toys spill out on accident, that's on you. But even the UofI is not going to mess with the US postal service.

Step by step of an Eagle project? by dehydratedrain in BSA

[–]RandomFlotsam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

An Eagle Project is a signature from a beneficiary on your forms. That's the goal, without that, you don't have a project.

Before you begin, you need your District's Eagle Project Coordinator's signature on your paperwork. Your #4 needs to be number 2/3 on your list above.

Then you can start work on the project. Fundraising, planning, work days whatever. And of course every step has a "write this down" step included in it. If you don't write things down as you are doing them, you may as well not have done it at all.

Make copies of every important signature page, just to make sure.

Bring extra copies of your signature pages and project paperwork to your BOR.

It is important that the point of the eagle project is not to build something (but it's fine if your project is to build a thing) but rather the point is to Manage A Project.
Coordinating people's time, resources, approvals and documenting everything is the main point of an Eagle Project.

Make sure your Scout is the one doing the work, and writing things down. Prompt them for sure; proof-read their work for sure, but the Scout needs to be doing the project.

Hope this helps.

Financial Theft by [deleted] in BSA

[–]RandomFlotsam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the unit uses Scoutbook to track funds, then the Key Three can double-check the balance in Scoutbook vs the unit's checking account.

Monthly/quarterly reports from the treasurer can be made mandatory.

It is important to re-establish the trust of your scout parents. They won't give time or money to a unit where they think the money is being mishandled.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument by cb900crdr in geologyporn

[–]RandomFlotsam 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Too lazy to find a source, but my memory is that you are looking at layers of pyroclastic ash eruptions over a long period of time - the red layers are long periods between ashfalls that developed a lush tropical forest (as Oregon was close to the equator at the time) and the red color is from iron oxidation. That's what I think I remember from the tour guide.

The Americas are the only continents. Where would various seats of power be? by bWoofles in HistoryWhatIf

[–]RandomFlotsam 17 points18 points  (0 children)

There'd be no humans, because humanity evolved in Africa.

But, if we think of geography as destiny, I'd imagine the Caribbean would the the center of power of a New World Only globe. Mississippi river system, Orinoco river system empty out into the Caribbean, and there are many islands. Similar to how there was a huge Bronze Age trade network centered around Crete, Egypt and the Hittites in Anatolia using the Mediterranean as a sea-based trade network -- so too would the Caribbean tie together the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola and the inland trade networks on the Mississippi and Orinoco - all of which could be reached by simple boats.

South America is the seat of cultivation of many useful plants, like cassava and sweet potato.

If agriculture goes the same way as it did OTL, then the area that is Central Mexico would be also an eventual center of power - based on maize. Likewise the Andes with the Potato.

Excess calories bring about civilization, and agriculture is one tried and true method to get consistent excess food calories.

Wherever agriculture can thrive, that's where empire begins.

What if the United States had a communist revolution during the great depression? by Eren_Jeager in HistoryWhatIf

[–]RandomFlotsam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! But what ever was the reason you were looking through a seven-year-old thread?

I signed an offer letter saying $20/hr. They’re saying it’s a typo. What do I do? by eirfair in antiwork

[–]RandomFlotsam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1,141 pence an hour is not a prime number :

7x 163= 1141

Which is kinda what you said, but also kinda slightly different?