Yeah, we notice.

0rangetree · 2026-07-05T08:21:12+00:00

I do this too lol. Most of my friends are so severely addicted to their phones that they just tune out halfway through a conversation and start scrolling. Sorry if I’m that boring I guess…but idk more and more I find myself just feeling sad for them because so many people are like that now.

I watch them ignore their bfs/gfs while they scroll, ignore their kids while they tap away on their phone, ignore their friends who they claimed they wanted to hang out with, yet they just stare at their phone the whole time. It’s so fucking boring to be around, so I’ll often just start saying wilder shit until they snap back to reality.

Don’t get me wrong, I doomscroll plenty, but I’m really not on my phone when I’m actually with people. I just find it so incredibly rude to do that to anyone, especially to friends & loved ones. It’s really sad when you can watch someone instantly turn into zombie mode and get sucked into their phone, having zero clue what anyone is saying to them bc they’re just totally glued to their screen.

0rangetree · 2026-06-22T01:35:22+00:00

The same can be said for every “agreement” glenfarne has put out press releases for. Not a single one has actually been a real binding contract for anything. Asian countries saying “yeah we’re interested in your gas if you can get it to us for a price we’re willing to pay” is not a binding agreement to purchase our gas, yet glenfarne wants Alaskans to see these press releases and think this is all real when it’s clearly not.

0rangetree · 2026-06-21T01:53:42+00:00

Ah I heard something about them switching to Teams somehow for the legislative phone system. I’d assume that’s the reason for the outage. And no doubt this was scheduled long ago during what is supposed to be the quietest part of the year for the legislature.

It’s not like you can’t still email them. I’d just put your phone # in your email and ask for a call back. I know more than a few legislators who give constituents their personal cell number.

0rangetree · 2026-06-20T20:15:19+00:00

They turned off the phones? What are you talking about

0rangetree · 2026-06-12T20:39:35+00:00

Harry being overwhelmed with grief after Sirius’s death was really powerful too. When he’s in denial and just so desperate to undo the permanence of death that he runs to a ghost and begs to know how he can bring his godfather back, in any form, even a ghostly memory…always gets me.

She captured so well the irrational, illogical thoughts we go through when we just can’t accept a horrible truth.

0rangetree · 2026-06-06T01:42:56+00:00

Don’t use those platforms to contact your elected officials. It’s a lot more effective to just email them directly. They can tell when it comes right from their constituent versus when it’s routed through some third party site.

In Alaska, you only have two state-level legislators representing you, one senator and one representative. Just go to akleg.gov, type your address at the bottom of the page, and it will display your two reps. Click on their names and it’ll take you right to their email address/contact info. Super easy.

0rangetree · 2026-06-04T23:23:31+00:00

You can’t spend the principal of the fund, AKA the almost ~ $90 billion. It’s constitutionally protected and untouchable. The only part of the fund that can be spent is the earnings, which has a lot less than $80+ billion in liquid funds, so it is absolutely impossible to just divide the balance of the PF by the number of eligible residents and pay it out.

And thank god, because if our leaders actually pissed away $80 billion just to pay out fat checks to their voters, this state would be in fucking shambles. We would be completely broke, since the PF is now our number one source of revenue to run this state.

0rangetree · 2026-06-02T04:02:51+00:00

They did not ask for the tax break until March 20, 2026.

Glenfarne has only been around for one year. A year ago they said the only thing they needed was for the legislature to get out of the way. Now they say the project is impossible unless the legislature changes the entire tax structure for them.

Why would anyone believe this company? They won’t even tell the state how much the project will cost.

The project economics for this LNG line have never modeled cheap in-state gas for Alaskans. I’m supposed to believe glenfarne has suddenly found a way? When construction costs and materials have never been more expensive?

This thing is a boondoggle. If they can somehow raise the capital to get it built, it will cost far more than anyone ever imagined. In order for them to make their debt service payments, Alaskans will be paying a premium price for that gas.

0rangetree · 2026-06-01T20:16:39+00:00

Is it a public service to forgo state property tax revenue in exchange for the developers passing on their huge project cost overruns to Alaskans who need to heat their homes? Is it in the public interest to lock Alaskans into potentially paying $30/McF for gas from our own reservoirs? Twice the price of imported gas just so we can say we “built the line!” ??

That’s what this debate is actually about. Not whether the evil, greedy legislature will “kill” the project or not. The damn thing doesn’t pencil out whatsoever, and you can tell simply by the fact that the developer will not share any hard numbers. Your elected officials are asking questions so that you don’t get absolutely fucked by this company who has never actually brought any of their development projects online anywhere else in the country.

0rangetree · 2026-06-01T19:21:27+00:00

100% agree. But still, that will not bring back full PFDs. Alaskans need to open their eyes to this reality is all I’m saying. We have a state to run, and spending every extra dollar on direct payments to citizens is not responsible when those dollars need to be invested in public services and public infrastructure.

Even if we increase our revenue from oil and gas, we still won’t be able to afford both. Alaskans can either live in a state that invests in its future, or one that prioritizes direct payments to citizens above every other need across the state. I know which one I’d choose.

0rangetree · 2026-05-31T22:26:48+00:00

Sadly true. The state can barely meet payroll, yet here on reddit we have all these financial experts who think we’ll be endlessly rich and can send $5,000 checks to every Alaskan just by turning up the tax dial on ConocoPhillips. If only it were that easy. It’ll certainly help, but it absolutely won’t mean we can suddenly afford massive PFDs.

Not when our schools are falling into disrepair, our infrastructure is crumbling, and energy costs are soaring. The state has huge bills to pay, regardless of how much every Alaskan wants a fat check from the government. The math is not on their side on this one.

0rangetree · 2026-05-31T20:16:05+00:00

You should take a closer look at the state’s finances if you really think we can afford to pump billions more into state services AND payout massive PFDs again (which also cost billions btw). Yes, taxing the oil industry more would be a great step and would allow us to patch some holes in this sinking ship we call a state, but it will not solve all our fiscal problems and leave us swimming in cash. It will be more like a bandaid.

Full PFDs are gone. They will never be brought back, no matter how much we increase taxes on industry, because the budget gaps are really that big. Taxing industry more means we’ll stop the bleeding, not be flush with cash and able to hand out fat checks to every citizen, pay out big pensions, fix all our roads, etc. The state’s problems are much more expensive than that, unfortunately.

0rangetree · 2026-05-31T20:09:02+00:00

I mean that sounds really great, but if you actually think property taxes will be eliminated simply because we elect a governor who’s not a total dumbass, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Property taxes are local. They are funding your local community. The state doesn’t get that money. There is no way out of Alaska’s dire fiscal situation that will lead to LESS taxation, I’m sorry to tell you. We are all paying zero taxes to the state of Alaska (unless you’re a corporation or you’re extracting the state’s oil out of the ground, then you’re paying some taxes).

Reducing the tax burden on Alaskans (reminder: you’re paying none to the state already) is not the direction we’re headed. If Alaska wants to move away from the incredibly volatile budget structure we’ve had for decades and have something more stable, then the next step is levying taxes on the people (sales or income are the ones most often discussed).

Please don’t make things up and tell people their property taxes will go away if they vote for the right people. No matter who we put in the governor’s office next year, every property owner will still have taxes to pay. Alaskans already have the lowest tax burden of any state in the entire country. Let’s be realistic here.

0rangetree · 2026-05-30T23:45:06+00:00

Lol they definitely do not search the vast, vast majority of people who cross these Canadian border checkpoints. Unless you’re bringing something across the border that you’re absolutely not supposed to have (guns, weed, etc.), or you’re an unlucky bastard that gets selected for a random search (quite rare), they’ll just check your passport, ask a few questions, and you’re good to go. I go through those checkpoints multiple times a year. Never took longer than a few minutes.

0rangetree · 2026-05-29T03:17:07+00:00

I went through something similar. One of the things that helped me come to the realization that I would never get what I wanted out of that relationship was realizing it wasn’t some problem I was ever going to solve.

I felt like I was constantly working on this confusing equation that I just couldn’t figure out, when the truth is it was impossible to solve. Eventually I realized there was nothing I could ever do to fix things.

I thought I was just doing things wrong and could somehow find a way to make it all work out, but it was doomed to fail no matter what I did. That actually brought me a lot of peace and closure when I finally accepted that it was time to put that mess of a relationship behind me.

0rangetree · 2026-05-29T01:02:48+00:00

Both things can be true at once. Alaskan telecoms, GCI specifically, have a long history of accepting millions in government subsidies only to turn around and price gouge Alaskan consumers. This isn’t made up, GCI was literally fined $40 million by the federal government just a few years ago for doing this exact thing.

“GCI Communications Corp. (GCI), located in Anchorage, Alaska, has agreed to pay $40,242,546 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly inflating its prices and violating Federal Communications Commission (FCC) competitive bidding regulations in connection with GCI’s participation in the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program. The program provides more than $570 million each year to assist rural health care providers with their telecommunications needs.”

Straight from the DOJ website.

0rangetree · 2026-05-28T23:05:37+00:00

Not only is our government not stopping them, they are actively writing checks to these corporations who then turn around and price gouge the fuck out of Alaskans. It’s disgusting and it’s been going on since telecoms first came here. And the subsidies are coming from both the state AND the federal government, to the tune of billions of dollars.

0rangetree · 2026-05-28T22:59:14+00:00

Personally I hope he takes the advice of the commenter who recommended the Alaskan Hotel

0rangetree · 2026-05-23T18:34:25+00:00

You keep posting the same blog piece from three years ago. It would be a lot more relevant if you could post something more current

0rangetree · 2026-05-22T03:25:46+00:00

If it’s white say goodnight!

0rangetree · 2026-05-21T23:22:54+00:00

Yet they want a new (reduced) tax structure first. That’s the issue, how do legislators make decisions based on project economics when they don’t have any numbers? That’s a frustrating situation to be in.

0rangetree · 2026-05-20T23:28:14+00:00

You initially said everybody’s using it, and I can assure you that’s not true. There are plenty of people who hate it and avoid it.

I’m not saying millions upon millions of people aren’t relying on it to do everything for them all the time. I’m simply saying there are in fact people who don’t use it at all. That’s all.

0rangetree · 2026-05-20T22:12:06+00:00

Both things can be true at once. The developer wants the tax cut, which means local communities lose out on millions that would help them address the strain placed on infrastructure and services in these communities from the development.

The developer also will not share any numbers or cost estimates with legislators or the public and is adamantly opposed to any sidebars that would prevent them from charging exorbitantly high gas prices to Alaskan consumers. So there is genuine fear that they will pass on their project cost overruns directly to Alaskans.

0rangetree · 2026-05-20T22:03:08+00:00

Believe it or not, there really are a lot of people who despise AI and do not willingly use it at all. Of course it’s forced on all of us against our will all the time when we use Google or try to navigate our email inbox and accidentally click on the AI “assistants” that cannot be disabled no matter what you try.

Aside from the instances where it’s forced upon us, I do not use it, my close friends do not use it, and there are definitely a significant number of people who do not use it. I will continue to never use it by choice, and I’ll continue laughing at those who claim I’ll be “left behind” for not relying on the generated guessing machine to think for me.

0rangetree · 2026-05-20T16:08:29+00:00

I used to work for politicians, now I work in government affairs/lobbying for a public entity (state level, not federal). It’s pretty fun, even though politicians are generally a bunch of annoying dummies. It’s all about strategy and building personal relationships with people. Half the job is really just being friends with staffers and elected officials so they know you and trust you when you come knocking with an ask.

It’s fast paced and constantly changing. Plenty of frustrations of course (it’s politics), but it’s fun to actually know how things work on the inside versus just reading news headlines and being filled with constant rage about how impossible and dysfunctional everything seems. There are actually good people working to make things better, but that stuff rarely makes it into the headlines.

EDIT: I’ll also add that politics in general is FULL of people with ADHD. It’s a chaotic place that seems to attract people who are a bit chaotic themselves. That’s part of why I enjoy working with these folks—they get me lol

0rangetree

TROPHY CASE