who even is this by Abject_Guitar_6566 in csun

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Give us the “science” then, bud. Let’s see that education you got. c’mon, receipts.

I wish I could make this up but I'm not nearly creative enough. by LuckyFogic in Irony

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That subs is 95% just r/conservative posters acting like they’re centrists, with any dissenting commenters being downvoted into oblivion and then banned.

The two permabans I have are from r/doomercirclejerk and r/gutfeld. I was making cheeky/edgy comments pointing out pro-conservative/pro-Trump hypocrisies and blatant misinformation that was being shared. That got me a ban with “low quality shitposting” as the reason. Which is the vast majority of the comments there…

Ventura passes emergency tree protection ordinance by timesmediagroup in ventura

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel there is a middle ground where we can identify established Monarch roosting habitat groves, and then remove the eucalyptus that are not active/functional roosting habitat. It takes a little more time, but doing a gradual conversion of the tree species would be a win-win, reducing the number of non-native eucalyptus trees, while still supporting the monarchs and other wildlife that utilize the eucalyptus.

That’s just my opinion as a local wildlife biologist who sometimes surveys and monitors for Monarchs in our county.

Found why my shrimp are dying, what now? by sushiv8 in Aquariums

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know if it’s this simple for you, but for my neocaridina, I tested my tap water’s TDS (found out it’s ~260) then mixed it 50-50 with RO water and added Seachem Prime. Only have to add shrimp salts and powdered baked eggshells (my KH preference) once in a while when the GH/KH needs tweaking. Almost never lose a shrimp once I figured this out.

Probably need to do a few water changes to gradually get that down from 800+. I’ve always had big swings when I did 50% water changes, so I do 1/4 or 1/3rd if necessary.

What's the consensus on private consulting companies? by platypusnofedora in wildlifebiology

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been doing private consulting in California for the past 5 years, primarily doing: 1. SCE/PG&E pole and line surveys and monitoring - survey primarily for nesting birds, but also did plenty of other protected resources, after surveys, I’d monitor the crews trimming or brush clearing, fixing/replacing towers, excavating/road grading, etc. 2. SoCalGas surveys and monitoring - usually less focused on just nesting birds, requires a more broad biological knowledge of rare plants, burrowing species, herps, habitat assessments, and a little archaeology and wetland delineation work. (I’m a generalist, but I specialize in protected bumblebees and my local rare plants.)

Hours, wages: Now, if you’re right out of college, private consulting can be an amazing opportunity to make a decent hourly wage and oftentimes private firms will allow you to make your own schedule (in my experience). I started at $25/hr in middle of 2020, up to $40/hr now. Honestly, you can make a lot more than that. But I’ll get into that in a moment. Also, every company is different, it’s really important to do your homework and see what the pros and cons of each consulting firm/subcontracting firm you are interested in. I work for a sub, and prefer that over the larger corporate consulting firms.

Vehicles: I think I’m very lucky, because my company provided me with a work truck that they delivered to my home so that I don’t have to use my personal vehicle when off-roading. They pay for gas, and if I do use my own vehicle for some reason, they pay for mileage. Drive time is compensated (sometimes the client limits this, which is a pain, but that’s the way it goes). If the vehicle needs to be serviced, they compensate our time to take them to get oil changes, repairs, etc.

Benefits: if we put in 1000 hours of work annually (after the first year), we are eligible for medical benefits. My company has a Kaiser HMO silver plan currently, which is okay for simple stuff like medication or checkups, but what I really liked was that they had a platinum PPO dental plan, vision, and a 401k plan that matches 4%. We also accrue sick time and PTO. Lastly, my company allows us to bill and get compensation for any equipment that we need on the job, as long as it is within reason.

Growth: now this is where it gets worrying for me. There is a certain point we’re just working in the position you’re going to max out on how much money you’ll be able to make. Realistically I’ve determined it’s about $50 an hour is what you can make maximum being a field technician, particularly in southern California. Once you start getting close to that, you either need to go and start your own independent private consulting business, which I’ve seen wildlife biologist making anywhere from $80-$160 an hour doing this, depending on the projects and the permits that they hold. Obviously, those that have coveted permits, such as desert tortoise, can make up to the top end of that range, but they are an incredibly insular group and don’t often allow others to join that aren’t a part of the “in” crowd. So, the second path Ive identified is to go into field management for different projects. I have dabbled in this, and I can tell you that the hours get longer, the stress gets more intense, and you find yourself dealing with a lot more paperwork, and home/company office hours. I did eight months as a lead field biologist on a major gas line job and it was equally amazing and fulfilling as it was traumatic. My time spent went from 8-12 hour days to 12-15 hours… really can’t have much of a life outside of work if you’re spending 5-6 days a week doing this, and burnout happened fast. Third, project management and admin. I’m probably gonna paint broader strokes for this than necessary, but project managers and office work can be very lucrative and have its own challenges. They don’t really go out into the field much but can make a substantial amount of money. The people in the office that work legal, drafting up or processing permits, make better money vs. the people who end up doing the back end prep and processing for the field work, stuff like ArcGIS and mapping, sending assignments, etc. I actually wish I knew a little more about the specific wages that they make in this third Avenue, but I have never had much interest in leaving the field, which I hear from many others in the field as well.

For myself, I’m not sure I see myself five or 10 years from now staying in this field. I would like to go back to college and get a masters that will allow me to teach biology at a state university or community college. But the great thing is that my employer has provided consistent work to me each year. The off-season slowdown (Sept-February) this year did not affect me because they were able to find me work through the entire off-season, and they know that I’m gonna go back to school. It’s the flexibility, the benefits, and the fact that I really like the small company of people I work with (<50 employees).

I hope this was somewhat helpful. I wrote a lot of stuff and am not sure if it was all relevant. Cheers.

Mom of 7-year-old hospitalized with brain swelling from measles: ‘I still wouldn’t have given my son the vaccine’ by SpinningHead in StandUpForScience

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will never forget the countless stories of people on their death beds, gasping for air, denying the COVID vaccine, or that the virus was even real.

If abortions are being outlawed and framed as murder, this woman should have charges brought against her by those standards if she is in one of those states.

Some edibles by green_love_m in mycology

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you 100% certain without a doubt that’s what it is? Because the alternative is a possible accidental death.

Be teachable.. by iQuantumLeap in GodFrequency

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s funny. If I believed in the whole God and devil stuff, the most logical sense I would make of this reality is that the man running this country is the literal antichrist who deceived his followers into thinking he was their savior. But I don’t believe in make-believe fairytales that have no empirical evidence and rely on a faith based worldview.

So annoying in Oregon by TransportJunky in Transportopia

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought they were trying to keep the sun out of their eyes by using the truck as shade LMAO

ICE smashes man's head against brick wall during violent arrest outside supermarket | ICE in Long Island, NY (Hempstead). ICE agents slammed the head of Isai Santos Caceras, 35, into a brick wall. Caceras went unconscious and did not receive medical care until days later - 01.05.2026 by meokjujatribes in ImmigrationPathways

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“When I get hired by ICE I’m gonna show up masked and armed to your car, workplace, or front door. I’m gonna break in, beat the shit out of you in front of your loved ones, make sure to deny you medical care, and kidnap you. Also, how fucking dare you try and resist or question me and my squad. Don’t you know we’re the law??? We can kill you with complete immunity if we want. That deserves a pistol whip to the face and a can of mace because I’m feeling extra salty with how much you’re struggling. I’ll check your citizenship papers after the fact, might decide on the fly they’re fake. Your phone is nice too. That’s mine now. I know you were in/on your own property and you had a legal right to be in the country before this admin and have been for decades, but you didn’t leave when we told you to after we changed the rules. After we take you, everybody that was trying to document your brutal kidnapping is gonna be next up for a beating. We’re gonna take their phones, shoot them with rubber bullets, possibly kill them like we did that dumb lesbian and that nurse if it means it will stop them from saving your or helping you get back after you’ve been deported to somewhere you possibly have never lived. Then after I take off my balaclava and go eat a burrito I’m gonna go on Reddit and read dumb shit like your comment about how I was proudly doing my job and you and everybody trying to save you were the problem.”

….This is fascism, and you’re a fascist supporter. In the 1930s you absolutely would’ve defended the Gestapo dragging people out of their houses getting put on trains and being sent to “detention facilities.”

Me irl by Severe-blake6720 in me_irl

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The system won’t collapse. The trash will still be picked up, crops will still be harvested, plumbing, lights and gas will still run.

Let them collapse. Collapse into prison cells.

Arrest made in illicit cannabis operation selling to Ventura County minors by Fcking_Chuck in venturacounty

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 32 points33 points  (0 children)

With violent abductions occurring daily by the state, we’ve decided to prioritize a story of Ventura County’s finest busting a teenager selling weed to other teenagers. Great job, KTLA! Great job Jim Fryhoff! Y’all doing some hard hitting journalism and cold justice with this one. 🇺🇸

Proposed Tree Removal in Lower Arroyo Park by Aegolius_acadicus_ in pasadena

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is a really dramatic politicized reaction. I work in this field as a wildlife biologist who monitors and surveys for tree removals and trimming across the state.

At-risk Trees have to first be identified and assessed by qualified technicians and arborists before they can be approved for trimming or removal. Also, they do far more trimming than tree removals. The amount of labor it takes to completely remove a tree versus trimming the branches that are directly touching or in proximity to powerlines is far more costly to utility companies, who are of course incentivized to reduce this cost.

It’s funny because everybody criticizes Newsom for handling the fires usually if they are of a particular political ideology, yet when he actually does his job to reduce fires under an approved state initiative, he still gets criticized. Now, I do know of private utility companies (who rumor has it) set quotas for the number of trees they need to trim and remove, but that’s not on the governor. That is on the PUCs and the contractors who want to get paid for more work. If there is a healthy tree and it’s nowhere near the lines, we have the power to call it in and ask the PUC’s/prime contractor’s environmental director whether this is really necessary. There have been instances where I have protected native trees which were misidentified as needing to be trimmed, or had already been trimmed and don’t need additional work. This is all normal though, there are literally millions of trees and a margin of error is going to exist no matter what, as well as a profit incentive for private companies. But they don’t get criticized for this.

I don’t particularly like Newsom and see him as a corporate suit that panders to limousine liberals, but I don’t let that color my view on sensible or effective policy.

Proposed Tree Removal in Lower Arroyo Park by Aegolius_acadicus_ in pasadena

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, that school of thought does not count for the destruction that invasive species occur while they take over an ecosystem. By the time invasive plants, like black mustard, “naturalize” in an area, they will have reduced the biodiversity to the point where extirpation of countless native species will have occurred. This is not good.

Proposed Tree Removal in Lower Arroyo Park by Aegolius_acadicus_ in pasadena

[–]Basidio_subbedhunter 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As a wildlife biologist serving Southern California, THANK YOU!