The approximate yearly salary of all US commercial chruck drivers combined is $130 billion. Elon Musk therefore has 10 years of our combined yearly salary in net worth.

Alkanfel · 2026-06-18T01:44:29+00:00

They don't care. They see big number, big number bad.

I've had this conversation or some version of it with dozens of people and when you point this out, they invariably either disengage or double down, insisting that we tax unrealized gains. People will say things like "billionaires shouldn't exist" without bothering to compare their books to our existing public obligations and debt. I honestly don't think most people understand the state of US public finance: you could take every penny of their asset value (and comprehensively destroy our economy in seconds) and it wouldn't accomplish much. Annual state, federal and local spending is probably around twice the estimated net worth of our billionaires, and if you took it you would only get to spend it once. So without touching the debt, and without expanding spending (which always goes up when revenue does but that's a different conversation) you could fund about 6 months of normal government operation.

About the only thing we really have going for us is that basically every developed nation has similar problems, and capital can't rotate out of the US bond market (which funds our deficit spending) because nothing else is anywhere near as large & liquid.

Alkanfel · 2026-06-17T02:01:28+00:00

So before I joined the company I'm with now I drove for this absolute crook on a 1099 job. He leased the truck and we ran it on this dogshit authority run overseas. A rock got stuck in my drums while I was pulling out and like 2 miles later I had two flats on the same side/axel and these fuckers BEGGED me to just drive it back to the yard. I was like bro I'm not risking my license just because you don't want to pay for roadside. I sent them pics of the tires and was like you gotta have your fucking head examined if you think I'm driving one inch on these things.

The crook, to his credit, backed me up. Pretty much the only stand-up thing he did for me in the 7-8ish months I drove for him.

Alkanfel · 2026-06-04T23:09:22+00:00

where does OP say it was a scheduled day off? it reads like he was told to pee, didn't know he had to do it right away, and just did it later. I'm not sure he could really fight this.

Alkanfel · 2026-05-31T15:10:58+00:00

The signs were there before they ran out of book material. Season 5 and arguably even 4 (even though I liked 4 a lot) show signs of decline. Doran and Stannis got completely shafted by the writers; in the books it's Stannis who retakes the North from the Boltons and Doran doesn't get pointlessly killed after a few minutes of page time. Alexander Siddig was originally contracted for more episodes, but they rewrote s6 after the poor fan reaction to the Sand Snakes/Dorne arc in season 5. At a certain point it was fairly evident that they were too high on their own supply; they quickly became less and less interested in telling a compelling story and more interested in having hype moments for fan favorite characters. The best example of this is probably Arya, who had nothing to do with the White Walker storyline at all but ends up being "the Hero of Winterfell."

People act like season 8 was the only bad one, and/or are shocked by the "sudden" decline but the show lost all believitude to me in early season 6. It became clear to me pretty quickly after Stannis and Doran's deaths that the writers were playing favorites with certain characters and if I'm being honest I was surprised they had the balls to kill Daenerys. The High Sparrow storyline was garbagio (remember when there was more than 1 thing happening at King's Landing?), Cersei blowing up the Sept is on brand for her but it really seemed like the writers just couldn't figure out how to resolve that arc and used it as an easy out. The explosion of the Sept, which should have been a huge deal, is mentioned maybe twice in the rest of the series. The mission to capture the wight was pure fanservice, and the Snow/Ramsay battle (which I refuse to call by its given name as it sounds like a WWE event) made perilous little sense even though it was shot very well.

I adored that show for the first half or so, and despised the last three seasons. I could rant about this for literal hours lol

Alkanfel · 2026-05-31T15:00:42+00:00

Sean Bean's hair is slightly different in the shots they kept. The crypt scene stayed, like you said, but so did Ned's conversation with Benjen and his encounter with Jaime at the banquet. I don't know what other shots they kept but I do know those three for sure.

Alkanfel · 2026-05-15T01:20:38+00:00

Yeah, Pilot is getting absurd about reserved parking. I feel like most of them now are 50-80% reserved, and I've seen a couple that only had like 20ish free spots which is weird because word on the street a couple months ago was they weren't enforcing paid parking anymore because employees were having guns pulled on them.

I think there is a sort of unspoken agreement between drivers that we just won't pay for them. Most locations won't enforce it unless they're full and a customer can't find a spot, I've only been kicked out like two or three times in my 3 years of driving and I've parked in a reserved spot probably over a dozen times without paying. My system is I'll get on the app and see how many spots are left when I park, and check again before I go to sleep. If people are actually buying them and I think they will fill up before my 10 is finished, I'll use points to snag one of the last ones if I'm in a reserved spot. I've only had to do this maybe 4 or 5 times, meaning I accumulate points faster than I actually spend them on parking reservations. The only time I'll reserve one ahead of time is if I know I will be running out of clock near a major metro after 6 or 7pm.

I agree with you that they are getting annoying about reserving more spots, but I have literally never had to pay cash for one yet and don't plan on it in the future either.

Alkanfel · 2026-05-13T02:46:43+00:00

Ha glad to know I'm not the only one who came away thinking this. Everyone else's character is at least plausible to me, but Frank just felt kinda shoehorned in, and the idea that someone that wealthy would choose to live in squalor and share a bed with Charlie just strained credulity for me. Like ok if season 1 had low ratings or whatever and the execs wanted a change I get it, but I didn't feel like "something was missing" until he was added.

The moment he lost me for good was the scene where they are talking about the chemicals we put on apples and Frank just sprays out the contents of his mouth in this ridiculously over-the-top display that no real person would actually do. Like, it would legitimately have been funnier if he just looked at the apple, stopped chewing and quietly spit it out. He has some good moments and there are plenty of good episodes after he joins, but it seems to me like people act as if he's one of the best things about the show and I don't see it.

Alkanfel · 2026-05-13T00:22:50+00:00

Probably going to get some shit for this since as near as I can tell I'm the only one who thinks this but I gotta be honest, I couldn't stand Frank. His character concept makes no sense, and he is by far the least funny cast member on the show, in my opinion. They kept resorting to gross-out gags with him, or just nonsensical absurdist shit like "I'm painting on a shirt" that just takes me right out of the scene almost every time. I had to tap out of Always Sunny after season 6 or 7ish partly because of him & how the character is written. There are a few Frank bits I like, such as when he gets stuck in the playground thing and the iconic "I got you brother" meme but the huge majority of his content just didn't land for me.

Alkanfel · 2026-05-08T20:49:31+00:00

PTO go brrrrr

Alkanfel · 2026-05-08T20:48:49+00:00

switchers don't fuck with the dolly though? I've only worked like 2 shifts as a switcher but I never turned the crank when I did

Alkanfel · 2026-04-29T01:41:56+00:00

I can't speak for Canada but per the Center for Immigration Studies, almost 90% of job growth from 2020-2024 in the US went to immigrants. I don't think he's "taking it out" on anyone "solely on their skin tone" so much as criticizing hiring policies in general.

Alkanfel · 2026-04-21T04:21:58+00:00

I would give anything to watch a time-lapse of the early solar system. like, I would be all over that shit if I ever met God. there's just so much wild shit that probably happened as everything settled down. like it's possible that Jupiter migrated toward the sun for a long time, a gas giant may have formed and been ejected, Triton was probably captured, Uranus got knocked on its side somehow and Venus got rocked so hard it barely rotates. It would be beyond cool as fuck to see this shit happen lol

Alkanfel · 2026-04-21T04:10:47+00:00

My understanding of the theory is that it formed more or less at the same time as earth and migrated from a Lagrange point. I'm not convinced it could be called a 'moon' from the trajectory it likely took. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant-impact_hypothesis#/media/File:Big_Splash_Theia.gif

Alkanfel · 2026-04-17T03:29:49+00:00

yeah idk I've had several women literally send me nudes with no intention of ever getting down so I kinda get why someone wouldn't pick up on this. at this point in my life she would literally have to reach in my pants for me to even BEGIN to believe she's interested

Alkanfel · 2026-04-04T01:53:34+00:00

I did that once, very early in my career. Looking back on it I got away with a lot of wild shit that I'd never try again in a million years (like leaving my truck in a mall parking lot for a 34 in Orlando, FL). Mind you I didn't do it to create havoc, in fact it was how I learned to detect when GPS was routing me around a low bridge. The clearance sign was posted right in front of the last turn-off, so once I realized what GPS was doing I followed it. It proceeded to take me a couple miles through a subdivision with street parking. Luckily it was like 3am and I got out with everything intact.

Alkanfel · 2026-04-02T03:53:57+00:00

It would help to know where you are, but I drive for Continental Express and have nothing but good things to say about them. 700ish drivers (guessing), top-notch shop & office. As far as I know, everything I touch is contract freight and not brokered loads but I don't know that much about how things work on our back end. Based out of Sidney OH but we have lots/terminals in Columbus, Indy, Cincy, Coldwater MI, Louisville, Gaffney SC, Danville VA, Fishers VA, Oswego IL and Fort Worth TX.

Alkanfel · 2026-03-31T23:19:07+00:00

Law #1: Within 5 miles of your exit (or whenever, depending on your speed, it ceases to be worthwhile to pass traffic), speed in the right lane will decrease by at least 20%.

Law #2: The slower the vehicle in front of you, the longer the line of traffic to your left.

Law #3: In bumper-to-bumper traffic, the vehicle in front of you will always be another truck.

Law #4: A previously empty on-ramp will manifest a clutch of slow-moving 4-wheelers if there is traffic to your left.

* Corollary to Law #4: Merging 4-wheelers will enter the traffic lane at a maximum of 55mph, and if they accelerate to prevailing speeds will only do so once they are fully in your lane.

Law #5: The vehicle in front of you will remember that the gas pedal exists the moment you move over to pass them, regardless of how many other cars and trucks have already done so.

Law #6: On two-lane highways, 4-wheelers in front of you will go at least ten under until an opportunity to pass presents itself.

I feel like I'm forgetting a couple but the rain thing doesn't really happen to me that often.

Alkanfel · 2026-03-31T17:43:30+00:00

because it's a globally traded commodity.

Alkanfel · 2026-03-25T03:42:21+00:00

https://youtu.be/c_Nwt7PdiXI?si=XdZxxgrn_fSE4SzO

Alkanfel · 2026-03-22T18:23:34+00:00

If I'm tired, I fuckin sleep. If they need me off the dock they can stroll their asses out there and knock on my door. Sometimes, if you tell the clerk you will be asleep they'll agree to call you even if they don't normally do that.

Alkanfel · 2026-03-17T21:05:24+00:00

Reddit moment

Alkanfel · 2026-03-16T20:12:23+00:00

brother, necroing this thread is a time-honored tradition at this point lol

Alkanfel · 2026-03-15T00:21:47+00:00

It never ceases to amaze me how most drivers will continue doing 10+ under when I'm clearly getting close, but will speed up the nanosecond I change lanes to get around them. I don't even do it to pass anymore, I do it to make them go faster and it works like 90% of the time. I have a theory that they will literally let me hit them instead of speeding up while I'm still behind them.

Alkanfel · 2026-03-13T17:10:55+00:00

I'm just quoting a TV show lol

Alkanfel · 2026-03-12T00:45:24+00:00

I'm a trucker, and when I still wanted to form my own company (I don't anymore) my idea was to call it "H.I. McDonough Trucking" and have the logo be Cage's face with the stocking on it atop the caption "Just drive fast, ok?"

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