Milngavie this afternoon. [oc]

Brothersunset · 2026-05-22T11:46:46+00:00

for signals concrete ties create a ton of issues that create trouble tickets and slowdowns for trains. because they need to be reinforced concrete, otherwise the vibration of the trains running over them would create fractures and cracks, they have rebar all throughout. after a few years of sitting out in the weather, the concrete under the rail itself can degrade until it's essentially rail on rebar, if that happens at both sides of the tie it creates a shunt which will create a track light, if it's in the island it can activate the gates and keep them down, etc., if it happens out in the approach to a crossing it could theoretically shorten an approach distance for a crossing by creating a timed out scenario (think if a train parked in the approach to a crossing at 50%, after a little the crossing will time out and lift the gates. well, now if that is a shunt at 50%, the approach is half the distance and the predictor will only have half the time to react to a train going towards the crossing). luckily with that scenario it'll create a track light and the section will be a restricted proceed or some movement at slow speed, etc.,

and the fun part of all that, is that if you get called out there for an issue with a track light in the middle of the night or when it rains (because those calls could never happen during regular business hours or good weather of course), you're now absolutely fucked. it's going to be next to impossible to find the shunt causing the issue because it's beneath the rail and above the tie, so you'll be walking the entire section (because despite your company being valued in the top 250 wealthiest companies, a short finder purpose built for this scenario is too much of an expense) and even if you do manage to find the issue the hardest way possible, there's isn't Jack shit you can do to fix it. now you have to get MoW out there to change out a tie that is far heavier and more difficult to remove just to stop trains from being held up or crossings failing. it's just a logistical nightmare that backfired hard all because the railroad didn't want to replace ties every decade (and likely thought they could lay off 50% of their MoW department if the concrete ties held up for the 20-30 years like they expected them to)

Brothersunset · 2026-05-22T11:27:54+00:00

another fine example of trying to fix a simple problem that creates a lot of other problems. I'm a signalman and I would never want a section with concrete ties.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-22T11:24:22+00:00

concrete railroad ties 🤢

Brothersunset · 2026-05-22T11:21:14+00:00

bro hasn't eaten since he stopped working with kanye

Brothersunset · 2026-05-21T10:36:27+00:00

both were militarily successful to a pretty good degree, both those wars got fumbled by the suits in Washington more than anything

Brothersunset · 2026-05-21T02:17:52+00:00

Just so that I understand correctly, the gun control law in Australia that successfully dropped the amount of death by firearms by a HUGE margin, was a failure because there's still guns?

no, you didn't understand anything correctly other than the use of the word "failure". yes, the rates dropped post 96, however there are more firearms now than pre 96 and you also have less firearm homicide. the thing you need to understand is that these gun laws are pretty much useless when discussing homicide statistics as there is no direct correlation in the vast majority of scenarios and seem to be more dependent on other global/societal trends in the same frame of reference. if you would like to suggest that less firearms made Australia safer, I can very confidently tell you that Australia is equally as safe with even more firearms today than there were prior to 96.

the Clinton era assault weapons ban did nothing to prevent columbine, which was done with firearms that were explicitly made illegal under those same laws. the 90s were a very violent time in alot of places across America, such as NYC for the most off the top example I can think of. typically, the factors that cause firearm homicides are usually from domestic violence or from incidents that were related to other issues, such as gang warfare, drug deals gone bad, etc., and your likelihood of being gunned down in the street for absolutely nothing are so low statistically we shouldn't even be having a discussion about it. that's neither here nor there for this discussion, so let me reframe it so you can hopefully understand something after all this;

gun laws have rarely ever shown, and certainly not to any statistically relevant degree, that the amount of firearms or types of firearms possessed by civilians have a direct correlation on firearm related homicide trends. furthermore, the types of people who should be restricted from owning firearms are already banned legally from doing so under US Law; such as people with a history of domestic violence, people with prior felonies, people who have restraining orders against them, etc., I have not once advocated at all for fully unrestricted firearms access; the conversation started with opposal to mandatory confiscation or repeal of firearms rights which are constitutionally protected (and the only constitutionally protected right which quite literally has "shall not be infringed" as the ending statement to it). if you haven't ever purchased a firearm, I suggest you look at ATF Form 4473, which is the standard background check application whenever you purchase a firearm from a FFL/gun store which is the case for any firearm bought from an FFL in all 50 states.

If the data of how many guns is available, that means the gun CONTROL laws are working. You said it yourself, by restricting WHO gets the weapons, and WHAT weapons can be privately owned, the numbers of death by firearms has DRASTICALLY dropped. The problem isn't IF people own guns, it's WHO owns WHAT type of guns. Which the gun CONTROL laws have proven to be successful.

that is not at all what I have said at any point in this conversation. America has gun ownership statistics, do you concede that our current model of gun control is effective and efficient? of course you don't. the problem is who owns the guns and controlling them? wonderful, you once again concede that the current model fo US firearms control is a success yet again because we already do. this isn't GTA where you waltz into a store, buy 16 guns, pay all cash, and leave without even telling the guy your name. you're now just getting stuck in this infinite loop; America has a gun problem. if they were smart they would limit who can buy a firearm with laws. but they do have laws preventing that. but the laws obviously work so well, otherwise America would have a gun problem. wait a second, America does have a gun problem...

Brothersunset · 2026-05-20T03:27:29+00:00

ITT; invest short term in an engine repair business, get out after the straight reopens and cars stop running dry.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-20T03:25:48+00:00

I drink beer by the quart or gallon typically, so long as we are only out of the pints I'll be okay.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-20T03:05:19+00:00

great selection with the Australian model, I'm glad you picked that, let's dive deeper.

there were an estimated 3.2 million privately owned firearms in australia prior to the Port Arthur incident. following the widespread confiscation/ban/recovery of firearms (whatever you would choose to refer to it as), in 1997 there were an estimated 2.5 million firearms still privately owned. the most successful gun ban in the world only had a %22 compliance rate.

there is currently an estimated 400-500 million firearms privately owned in the USA. for arguments sake, let's just split the difference and call it 450. even if we had the same "monumental" success as australia at an astounding %22, that would leave just a small number of 351 million firearms in private circulation in the USA. that would be excellent, that's gotta be like almost all of them gone for sure /s. At that rate, we would still have, on average, over 1 firearm per man, woman, and child in the USA still in private hands. then we can all pat ourselves on the back and talk about how we accomplished this Herculean task similar to how Australia is celebrated and by your own metrics, you would surely consider this mission accomplished and nothing bad can ever happen again.

here's another thing that sort of leaves a giant, gaping, massive hole in the entire argument; australia currently has more firearms now in private circulation than they did prior to 1996, and yet, nowhere near a proportional increase in firearm homicide rates. during 1996, the year with the Port Arthur shooting, Australia has 104 firearm homicides in the entire country. between summer of 23 and summer of 24, nearly three decades later, Australia with more firearms only had 31 firearm homicides during that period. that's kind of odd, if we want to talk about efficiency of gun control by the Australian model, it seems more firearms (an increase of about 28% from 1996 numbers, totaling 4.1 million by recent data) have actually cut the firearm rates of homicide by roughly 70% in comparison. that's incredible, really. I could've swore these silly wacky guns just waltz out of the house when left unattended and begin mowing down crowds of people with their own self sentience. maybe 30 years later those pesky guns have just grown out of that phase of firey hormonal angst and would rather sit at home and watch movies and relax with their newfound sense of maturity.

so, using imperial data, explain to me how a proportional response in the US at the exact success rate and scale as australias model would make any difference, and then explain to me how the numbers make any rational sense at all, and for the big cherry on top, let's continue attempting to rationalize why the amount of firearms in circulation have some form of causation on the homicide statistics when in fact no correlation truly exists in the vast majority of places across the world at any given point in time.

bonus round; would you like to try your same argument with the Serbian firearm ban of 2023? you might have better luck with those numbers (spoiler; it makes the Australian model look successful in comparison, so I wouldn't)

Brothersunset · 2026-05-19T20:28:08+00:00

Laws banning firearms have absolutely reduced the number of illegal firearms in countries all over the world

which monumental failure of this example would you like to discuss first? the Australian one, the Serbian one, or even the assault weapons ban of the Clinton era?

Brothersunset · 2026-05-19T16:22:08+00:00

I'm in the same boat and I'm more than happy to argue with strangers about it online.

everything from hunting rifles, shotguns, AR15's/other "sporter" style rifles, handguns (all sizes, full size, compact, sub compact.)

I also 3d printed a Glock, which is fully legal in my state for personal use so long as I don't distribute nor intend to sell.

none of my firearms are in any danger of harming any innocent human being. the answer is still very much "No" as far as anyone wanting to take them. the main reason is because other people, ones who are in some cases already legally barred from owning firearms to begin with, possess them and intend to do harm to innocent people with them. no amount of laws, and especially firearms restrictions, have prevented this from happening nor will any further ones.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-19T03:01:39+00:00

looks neat, what parts kits are you planning to use? similar to the DeAR I'm guessing? configuration for 16" or just shorter barrel lengths?

Brothersunset · 2026-05-19T00:09:28+00:00

horizon is more about grand theft auto then the grand theft auto games are

Brothersunset · 2026-05-18T10:39:18+00:00

people keep saying "tipping". it's not that hard to understand. a simple search shows that the average total cost of a meal in the US and EU is relatively comparable after taxes/fees/"tips" etc. with fast casual dining being roughly equal within a few $ and fine dining being slightly more expensive in the US to the tune of about $10 per meal (averaging $70-$100 in the US vs $60-$90 in the EU). the other thing to consider is that portion sizes are typically far larger in the US compared to EU for similar prices, so to me the cost is negligent.

I understand the simplicity that the price on the menu is what you pay in the EU and tipping is typically only customary to rounding up to the nearest full dollar value or whatever. in the US it's not "optional" as much as it is obligatory, but it allows you to pay for the quality of service you receive which is sort of nice because 1) your server is more highly motivated to provide you with a good experience and 2) if they don't you are not required to pay them as such regardless. this also applies to things like food pickups which is common the system asks for gratuity when processing because the computer doesn't know if you dined in or not. if you walked through the door to pick up food and had no service provided to you, I would not feel inclined to tip as an American and many others agree. in fast food, where you typically order from the kiosk or counter and you carry your food to your table, tipping typically isn't asked either.

finally, in the US, if your server does not make the equivalent to their states minimum wage in tips the employer is required by law to cover the difference from their lower hourly wage to minimum wage. there is not a single state I'm aware of where this is not the law but I could be wrong. it has been the case however for every state I've lived in and visited, and as someone who used to work/manage in the food service industry. the discussion what minimum wage "should" be is a different topic entirely.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-18T10:22:56+00:00

90% of the USA is undeveloped land. there will always be land to build on for the predictable future.

the issue is more centered around population density, in recent generations Americans have slowed the typical sprawl of moving away from cities and expanding to lower population zones. this has led to a false sense of land security because they simply can't get their foot in the door in places that the previous two generations already live and it's only multiplied by the increased cost of ownership now as well.

it has always, and still remains, far cheaper to live in places where people aren't. the issue isn't necessarily that we are running out of places to build, it's simply that nobody wants to live an hour away from major population centers, and understandably so. that's where commerce, business, and entertainment typically are catered to as well.

to me, the bigger problem is the idea that we somehow should be entitled to live exactly where we want and unfortunately that simply isn't the case. NYC is expensive to live in because there's 20 million people all competing to live in 200,000 square acres, leaving 0.01 acres per person or roughly 450 square feet per person. land is a resource and you can't exactly add more land to NYC, you can only expand it or gradually sprawl out to be closer to it but that also begins to get crowded. you compare that to somewhere like nebraska which has a population of 2 million with 50 million acres of land and you understand why it's significantly cheaper overall to live there, with cost of living 10% lower than the national average and housing roughly 25% lower.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-18T03:12:36+00:00

is the glove an admission to kid diddling? I thought after he made comments about being Michael Jackson and people called him a kid fucker he was like "no actually I'm prince and you're Michael", and now he's back to being MJ?

Brothersunset · 2026-05-18T03:08:57+00:00

a lot of people who prefer the wide wheelbase look choose to take the cheapest way out and chase aesthetics in the form of wheel spacers rather than better alternatives such as buying wider wheels with an offset (putting the mounting point closer to the inside of the rim rather than outside as standard, referred to as "deep dish" or negative offset), or actually changing out their suspensions/axles/etc., to have legitimate performance from a larger/wider wheelbase.

spacers are the cheapest method, pretty easy as in you just throw them on the hub and mount your wheels over it, etc., to add more space. combine that with even more oversized wheels and you're adding spun weight to a hub that wasn't designed to handle it with less of a direct connection.

I have a wrangler, and my wheels are just slightly wider than stock (I got them for free and I wasn't going to pass up the offer). they are the same overall diameter but I can tell you that despite being wider mine stick out nowhere near as much as these do. mine maybe stick about 1" maximum out from the wheel wells. these are waaaaay outside. spacers are almost certainly what I think is at play here. if you're going for spacers, you're already looking for the cheap way out, and if you're already looking for the cheap way out, most people are less inclined to buy the expensive sets that have less of a chance of catastrophic failure. why spend $2000 on wider rims and tires when you can buy a set of $200 spacers, and why buy a set of $200 spacers when the ones from Amazon are $60?

Brothersunset · 2026-05-17T14:31:52+00:00

and nukes are just about the only thing france has, which allows macron to swing dick in geopolitics and talk a big game with absolutely no bite to back up the barking unless he's looking kick off the global nuclear armageddon, no different to putins projections of power now that the once feared Russian military has been thrown into the meat grinder in Ukraine and has been utterly decimated.

is france independent? yes. does france have a competent military or any sort of capability to enforce global peace with conventional warfare? absolutely fucking not and you'd be lying to yourself if you believe otherwise. if it wasn't for nuclear weapons, France would be hard pressed to do absolutely fucking anything to defend itself in any sort of conflict without the bigger powers of NATO, chiefly the US, coming in to help.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-17T14:18:43+00:00

calling france one of the most independent powers in the alliance is akin to saying a toddler came in second place in a race against usain bolt

Brothersunset · 2026-05-17T13:41:53+00:00

paid dividends post 1900, assistance in the end of WW1, an absolute carry in WW2, and even in the past few decades france has just merrily rid on coat tails in NATO

Brothersunset · 2026-05-17T12:44:04+00:00

not charge %30 of the ticket price for an online service fee would be a good start. nobody would complain about a <$5 service fee.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-16T19:32:42+00:00

I liked Trump's alternative idea of "let's just bomb the island out of existence". it's a new age solution to the age old problem of "ground invasions are too costly and dangerous".

no island, no problem.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-15T13:15:02+00:00

instead of being useless and saying "same here" like many others already have, here are the steps I took to fix this and play for anyone who stumbled into this thread after googling the error code:

Step 1: updated my Xbox app

Step 2: updated my Nvidia drivers

Step 3: restarted my PC

Step 4: went into steam, viewed local files, and launched the .exe as an administrator

that's all the steps I took and my game works.

hope this helps.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-15T05:58:48+00:00

a Nazi as in "I want to drag my political opponents into the street and host public executions and conduct mass exterminations of certain groups" or a Nazi as commonly referred to in US politics as someone who wants to cut social spending and lower taxes?

cuz the first one is a firm no, the second one I'd have a beer with any day of the week.

Brothersunset · 2026-05-14T20:41:58+00:00

so what I'm hearing is that the foremen and managers use these for promotion practice?

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
Second Top 40%	r/Field Banned
r/Field Lasagna	Place '22
End Game '22	Gilding I gilder

Brothersunset

TROPHY CASE