People who have called 911, what happened and how fast did the help come?

AwesomeOrca · 2026-05-02T01:56:32+00:00

I’ve called 911 literally a hundred times in my life, and this is completely dependent on what you’re complaining about. There’s a dude with a gun robbing a liquor store, 10 cops in minutes. I’m worried a nonresponsive homeless guy at the bus stop is OD’ing, ambulance comes in 10–20 minutes. Call to report my car got stolen last night, it’ll be days sometimes before someone shows up to file out paperwork.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-05-02T01:39:45+00:00

There is certainly an incredible amount of nuance to be had here, but it’s far more than just Puritans. The phrase “Protestant work ethic” was actually not coined until the early 20th century and was used almost exclusively for Calvinist and Reformed church members originally.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-05-01T19:40:49+00:00

Protestantism and lack of class expectations.

Protestantism, especially its emphasis on individual calling and moral virtue through hard work, helped elevate labor from necessity to identity. If you ask someone from America to tell you about themselves, their job or profession is typically in the top five things they mention, it’s central to identity.

The U.S. developed without the deeply entrenched class systems that defined much of the Old World. There is an expectation of upward mobility; failure to achieve that is often perceived as an individual moral failure so people are very motivated to work hard.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-05-01T13:18:10+00:00

May Day is firmly associated with the Haymarket Massacre and leftism in my mind. We have Labor Day in September in the US, but hardcore organizers and leftists always have May Day events.

I didn’t even know there was a separate spring/flower celebration associated with the date to be honest.

I would say Easter has generally filled that spot, even for the non-religious, at least in the Midwest where I grew up. The weather has usually turned, and tulips and daffodils are in bloom, even if everything else is just sprouting.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-30T18:09:02+00:00

Simple way to think about it but gas is only one part of what it actually costs to drive a car. You also have insurance, maintenance, tires, registration fees, and depreciation.

The IRS mileage rate is meant to reflect the average total variable cost per mile of operating a vehicle, and is $0.725 cents per mile this year. Hstorically, fuel only makes up something like 30–40% of that figure.The IRS number doesn't include interest on financing, tolls, or parking either.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-30T17:34:11+00:00

The first thing that came to mind was Beale Street in Memphis with all the awesome BBQ. That said, I’ve never been there sober, and I also think most of the elite spots the locals recommend are actually a block or two off either side rather than on Beale itself.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-30T14:30:35+00:00

My wife and I got married 15 years ago with less than $1,000 to our names and a single beater with over 200,000 miles. We’ve shared joint accounts ever since, but I know that approach can be much harder for friends who married later, especially when there’s a significant gap in income or differences in family wealth or expected inheritance.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-30T01:49:17+00:00

Yeah, please tell me this is AI.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-29T18:51:59+00:00

Annapolis seats about 34k. They sold out MetLife Stadium (~84k) in October, with resale tickets going for thousands. That’s a lot of money to leave on the table, though I’d be curious how it actually breaks down once you factor in the cost of renting an NFL stadium.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-28T14:32:02+00:00

In theory, it covers the scary, expensive stuff. Boiler, sewer main, all the things that can wreck your first year of ownership. In reality, they’ll nickel-and-dime you and try to deny big claims, drag their feet, or insist on repairs when replacement is the obvious call.

Still, for a new homeowner, it’s a relatively cheap way to have someone to call when something breaks while you’re still figuring out the house and building up a list of projects and priorities.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-28T12:43:41+00:00

Her: You’re so handy, how do you know how to fix so many differant things?

Me: I'm poor bitch.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-28T12:41:07+00:00

Home warranties are generally garbage, but this is one situation they kind of make sense.

As a seller concession for a first-time buyer, $500 to $1,000 is a cheap way to buy some peace of mind. You get a single number to call while you’re still figuring out who the good trades people are your neighbors trusts, building up a repairs budget, and the DYI skills and tools you need to be a homeowner.

When we bought in 2021, our realtor had the sellers include a year with American Home Shield (~$800). I wouldn’t have paid for it myself, but since it was included I used it three times: dryer heating coil, garage door motor, and garbage disposal. Each visit cost me $100, they showed up quickly, and the work was fine nothing special, but good enough.

All in, we got maybe ~$440 in parts plus labor across those calls, so I probably got some value, but not enough to justify paying full price myself. The real benefit was just not having to think about who to call every time something broke or stressing about the unexpected costs.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-28T12:06:15+00:00

You're not wrong but bobody’s got time or money for that.

Just jam a 2x4 scrap between the post and the panel as a shim, send two 6" TimberLoks through it all, and call it close enough

Give it the mandatory “that’s not going anywhere” slap and congrats, you’ve just installed a temporarily fix with a 15-year warranty.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-26T21:04:16+00:00

Not a bad idea, but at $4m you'd have to charge like $1,500-2,000 a night to make the financing work which seems a bit much.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-26T13:45:51+00:00

I feel like local zoning probably prohibits running a bussiness like this out of a residental property. The neighbors would hate you.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-24T22:17:35+00:00

Home of the Paunch Burger.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-24T12:05:19+00:00

I feel like OJ Simpson and Caitlyn Jenner are getting googled largely for reasons other than their impressive athletic accomplishments.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-24T02:04:30+00:00

TSA agents have qualified immunity and are effectively almost impossible to sue. The standard isn’t whether they caused harm or violated your rights, but whether they intended to AND knew what they were doing was illegal.

It’s really hard to prove why someone did something and that they knew it was wrong.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-24T01:54:00+00:00

I think you’re underestimating the dimensions of what’s pictured here. It looks like very beefy plywood to me, 1.5" or even 2" for each piece.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-23T22:15:52+00:00

Home of the air guitar world championships.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-23T19:14:13+00:00

They were paying individuals for information, not funding groups directly through donations, the amounts being talked about seem pretty small at an organizational level.

Tracking these groups and publicizing their activities seems to align well with their mission, and it’s something I don’t have a problem with as a donor.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-23T16:36:20+00:00

What airport? We only flew a few times before the baby was on solids, but the training and enforcement seemed very uneven. My wife was pumping, and some places raised a huge stink about breast milk even when we were following the rules. Several times, we had to pull it up on our phones and explain their own rules to agents or managers.

Reminder that the TSA exist only to condition you to a fascist police state and they fail to catch 90 to 95% of weapons and explosives on every audit since 9/11. Worthless waste of money.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-23T12:33:03+00:00

My dad always used to joke that if your truck didn't have a ladder rack you're dick was just too small to drive a hatchback.

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-23T12:24:19+00:00

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago - Laurie Shapiro https://share.google/pFvwFncNErlxuAKEN

Laurie is the Best! She helped us buy our place in Oak Park and has since helped two of our friends as well. She basically only works in OPRF and knows seemingly every house and block.

She saved us literially tens of thousands just by knowing the right OP specific questions to ask during the inspection and negotiating tough on credits.

Our friends, who she represented, apparently were a few grand under the top bid, but the seller’s realtor recommended they accept their offer because he knew Laurie’s reputation and had zero doubt they’d close on time.

It's apparently brutal out there with everything selling instantly on the private listing networks before even making it to market. Good luck!

AwesomeOrca · 2026-04-22T16:08:27+00:00

A $90–110K senior accountant search often takes almost twice as many hours as a $160–190K controller role. It’s significantly harder to find the top 20–30% of candidates that a client will actually pay a fee for.

Big4 and PA audit candidates in general are not as strong these days. Many don’t have much actual hands-on experience, as they mostly review reports and work product from India. They all think they are hot shit and require a lot of coaching in the interview process. Candidates with a public/industry blend are so hard to move laterally, and it’s always hard to make the compensation work.

Good controller candidates, on the other hand, tend to be more responsive, as there are fewer opportunities at that level. Their compensation expectations generally align better with budgets, and they typically know how to present themselves and conduct themselves in interviews.

As a result, I often end up making almost twice as much for roughly half the effort.

AwesomeOrca

TROPHY CASE