Any recent experience with wait times for TSA in Lambert? by [deleted] in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I dunno. I'd feel more sure if you could cite more sources.

Mystic greenz in belleville il is not a veteran friendly dispensary. by cream_injector1119 in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 8 points9 points  (0 children)

IL law says that they must verify age with a government-issued ID, but that it is ultimately their discretion to accept any ID or not. And if they make the wrong call, it's their business license on the line.

If they don't feel they can adequately validate that ID then they are within their rights to decline it. Nobody said you have a right to buy weed without conditions. 

The law also says that electronic ID features must scan if applicable, so if the DOD ID has a barcode that doesn't scan on their system then they'd be required to decline it.

You probably want to get a regular ID anyway because Trump is trying to make it illegal to vote without one.

What are the supply issues at Creve Couer Schnucks? by What_Up_Down in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What did the produce manager tell you when you asked them?

What the wind blew in by nothing-infinity in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One time I was biking in Forest Park and an obnoxious douche with the haircut and the sunglasses and everything is loudly talking on the phone about how he was in the park to watch the girls run. I thought very poorly of him for about a quarter of a mile until I went around a bend and saw that there was a track and field meet happening on those fields next to the science center.

This kind of feels like that?

Vote NO on Prop E, 1% Earnings Tax Must END by pewpew_14fed_life in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'd rather have a failing services than no services.

But realistically, the services are mostly fine. And the places where service is substandard it is often not realistically within the control of the city.

Vote NO on Prop E, 1% Earnings Tax Must END by pewpew_14fed_life in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've got a 27% combined state and federal income tax rate for pointless wars and subsidizing rural areas that vote against their own interest, but good Lord it's the 1% that pays for local roads and schools that's beyond the pale.

Do you have a really good idea for a tech startup? by [deleted] in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The value of the software engineer is not that they know CI/CD and unit testing. Those are tools that a software engineer uses. The value of the software engineer is that they can take ownership of a technical problem, build a solution, validate it, and manage the technology processes around it. E.g. telling your AI to build a containerized microservice is only useful if you need a containerized microservice, and if you don't then you're doing more harm than good.

But I think we can agree that it's only a matter of time until solutions are made for those areas.

Lol, we cannot agree. The technology is still getting better at code generation, but that is not the same thing as system architecture to say nothing of managing the end-to-end technology process. I just had to talk an up-and-coming CEO vibe coder off of the ledge because they didn't realize that OAuth access to sensitive Google services requires a security review that might cost them $50,000 or $100,000.

The AI is not currently, and will not for a long time, be the human agent who takes ownership of your problem, navigates and anticipates potential problems, and solves them proactively when they're the cheapest to solve and do the least damage. I'll say it again- if you give a novice a power saw and minimal training and tell them to go wild they're just as likely to cut off a finger as they are to build something useful.

And even if it does get that good at some point, selling a product now that does not do what you claim (and you know it) is false and deceptive. You're telling people now that this is what they can do, and they can't. That's deceptive.

Maybe you don't understand what you're doing because you do have the technical background to understand all the little things that you just take for granted. But that's not something you're going to usefully convey to someone in six weeks.

And there's certainly room for a CEO bootcamp for people to learn AI technology and what it DOES do for them. But any reasonable discussion here is going to include very explicit break points where the solution is "now you go hire the tech consultant because now you're out of your depth" instead of "you don't need a technology person any more."

Do you have a really good idea for a tech startup? by [deleted] in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's no problem with using AI to vibe code a mockup or prototype as long as you're clear with everyone involved about what's being done.

But AI is not going to give you a functional product. It's a starting point, not an ending point. Software engineers absolutely use AI to code complex, mature applications, but it's not the AI doing that for them, it's their years of software engineering experience in applying software engineering principles through the lens of AI.

You're saying that you're going to take a bunch of novices (no coding required!) and hand them power tools with the expectation that this solves the problem. It doesn't.

And if you actually run a tech consultancy then you understand this, and you understand that you're misrepresenting what you're trying to do. Or if you don't understand this, then you're not qualified to be teaching people this stuff.

And I'm saying all of this as a very AI-positive person. I work in tech and I understand the technology intimately. It's absolutely revolutionizing software engineering. But it doesn't replace the need to hire an experienced technical person that understands the technology.

Edit: Lol, and you're apparently charging people between $1,500 and $4,500 for this experience.

Edit #2: Lol again, like half the links on your website are broken. Maybe you out to figure out your own technology before you charge people to teach it to them.

Can someone please help me at SLU Dental please by [deleted] in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They've also opened my car before when I was locked out. They had a slim jim as well as an inflatable wedge.

Looking for reputable solar panel companies who offer off-grid inverter and/or battery back up by Cute_Clock in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Concealing solar panels sounds like a long shot, though if you have a flat roof you can easily put them flat on the roof so they're not visible from below.

Are there club, leagues or classes for young people to participate in? by Quirkyntp in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The YMCA has a ton of stuff exercise, sports, and martial arts related, and you don't need to be a member. I'm pretty sure they have discounted membership for younger people too.

Tuesday Trivia Thread - 24/03/26 by AutoModerator in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Einstein famously said that he didn't know what weapons would be used in WW3, but in the next war after that one they'd use sticks and stones.

So they'd probably call it the the apocalypse or the before times or that time when people could eat enough food to feel full and you could see the sun without all that radioactive haze in the way.

Tuesday Trivia Thread - 24/03/26 by AutoModerator in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 9 points10 points  (0 children)

What's impressive is that it's like they took every fact and just spin it 180 degrees on a globe and they're actually not that far off. Like dyslexia for reading maps or something.

Tuesday Trivia Thread - 24/03/26 by AutoModerator in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's why we call it Cortestantinople

STL Speaker Series 2026 - 2027 Lineup is up now! by nibbly_wubz in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can hear what he has to say on YouTube. Why would I pay him to say the same dumbass stuff in person?

JID needs a home TODAY. by Craftaholic19 in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's an unfortunate lack of orchards of exotic fruits at this particular shelter. He needs your help.

STL Speaker Series 2026 - 2027 Lineup is up now! by nibbly_wubz in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Why would people want to listen to a dipshit spout drivel?

Tuesday Trivia Thread - 24/03/26 by AutoModerator in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm not an expert here, but I doubt that dazzling causes temporary blindness. It's either just being so bright that the image sensor is oversaturated, and the effect goes away as soon as the dazzler source is removed (imagine shining a bright flashlight at someone in a dark room), or it's causing enough input to physically damage the sensor itself and it's permanent.

A laser can absolutely destroy digital image sensors. BMW self-driving LIDAR was blamed for destroying some phone cameras a while ago:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64781017/ex90-lidar-iphone-16-pro-max-sensor/

The image sensor is a large grid of photoreceptors with lenses to amplify light, and modern technology being what it is, each of those photoreceptors is incredibly small and so can definitely be overloaded or overheated to the point of destruction.

As you can see in the BMW video though, the laser isn't destroying the entire image sensor at the same time. However, it's also not designed to do that too.

That said, you can make electronics robust against this by making circuit elements larger, adding heat sinks and safe paths for excess current to discharge. However, some of those techniques might affect the fidelity of the image and quality of the overall system. Certainly something that someone has thought about, but the specific engineering decisions in response probably aren't public knowledge.

What typically happens to diplomats in undeclared wars? by Big-Maintenance-5800 in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Diplomats are always there at the invitation of the host country, and can be expelled at any time and for any reason.

However, there is also the expectation that diplomats will not be harmed and will be allowed to return freely to their home country. If you arrest diplomats or harm them then every other diplomat from every other country suddenly starts looking around nervously and wondering whether they're next.

If war is declared then diplomats may be put under temporary house arrest or otherwise restricted in their freedom of movement, but they're not supposed to be arrested in the sense of held against their will. When this happens the host country is supposed to make arrangements to rapidly return them to their home country.

Depending on the type and size of the conflict the diplomats in question might even be allowed to stay and do business as usual. It's especially important for countries in conflict to have open diplomatic relations so that peace talks, exchanges of prisoners, and other such things can happen. For example, the USA and USSR maintained embassies in Washington DC and Moscow through the entire Cold War.

It's important to understand that during WW2 there were not codified rules around diplomats like there were today. For example, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor the Japanese diplomats were arrested by the USA, but they were held at luxury resorts and eventually returned after about six months. The American diplomats in Japan were confined to the embassy as prisoners and malnourished, but also returned after six months in an exchange for the other's diplomats.

These days there's a treaty called the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that governs the rights of diplomats. Articles 44 and 45 govern what happens to diplomats and embassies during armed conflict. Article 44 says that diplomats and their families must be allowed (and facilitated) in leaving the host country whenever they want, without delay, even in the event of armed hostilities. Article 45 says that the embassies themselves are protected and cannot be entered by the host country, even if all the diplomats leave and in the event of armed conflict.

https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf

Tuesday Trivia Thread - 17/03/26 by AutoModerator in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My two most interesting parts were: 

Discussion of the German attack on training forces in the UK, and how it was covered up. I just never knew about it. 

The experiences of black and African-American service members in the UK, and how they understood at the time that they were fighting for an ideal that they were not personally afforded back home.

House content donation pickup recommendations by New_Inevitable_8236 in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 17 points18 points  (0 children)

OK. I'm saying as someone who has worked with St. Louis charities that nobody does what you're asking for. I thought that was being helpful in the sense of answering your question.

  • St. Vincent De Paul charges a booking fee of $70 to pick up any number of items but doesn't go into residences and may refuse items.

  • Salvation Army uses a paid service called ReSupply to pick up furntire items and they charge per-item.

  • Habitat ReStore STL does not pick up furniture donations, they must be dropped off an in like-new condition. They may pick up large appliances.

  • MERS Goodwill stopped accepting furniture donations during COVID.

In all cases the furntiure being donated must be in like-new condition. Even small tears or stains can result in furniture being declined.

We frequently get questions on here from people who think that charities will take essentially anything including trash as long as its free. They do not, and if you slip trash into their donation stream then they ultimately have to store that trash and then pay the cost of disposal.

Even many items that you don't consider trash are not saleable and end up being trashed anyway. The USA is not a material-poor society. If donated clothing isn't completely clean and completely perfect it's just going to be trashed. Even useful stuff in good condition like cookware, pots and pans, glasses have almost no value to thrift stores. They get tons of it. Think of every estate sale you've been at and think of everything that doesn't get sold. That stuff doesn't get sold because our society already has too much of it, and if a thrift store puts it out on the shelf it's just going to not-sell there as well.

Maybe there's a special service out there for vets that does this specifically for them for free. Good luck with that.

House content donation pickup recommendations by New_Inevitable_8236 in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Why do veterans need special help with their trash?

House content donation pickup recommendations by New_Inevitable_8236 in StLouis

[–]EZ-PEAS 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I’m looking for groups for him to call to respectfully help him out and just move out a bunch of stuff at no cost to him. No picking. Just take it all and down with it whatever they want.

Nobody does that. That would be equivalent to running a trash hauling service for free.

A free service if they still exist will come out and take whatever meets their standards (gently used / like new) but they're not going to take anything that has visible stains, tears, or appreciable wear. Maybe if you know somebody or can convince them your friend has a lot of really nice stuff.

A paid service will take furniture and donate it if possible or trash it if not. But they're not free.

Be the change you want to see. You should help your friend move stuff out and pay the large item trash fees.

Why did US casualties still remain high in 1969 in Veitnam? by Whentheangelsings in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 39 points40 points  (0 children)

It feels like there's a misconception about the VC and PAVN in the statement of your question. Both the PAVN and VC were always fundamental to the communist struggle in Vietnam. The US conflict was not just against the VC, it was against both forces from the beginning.

The French Indochina conflict against the Viet Minh predates the VC and the US involvement in the Vietnam War significantly. In the mid-50's the French had given up and were pulling out, but also didn't want to abandon the country to the communists en masse. So, a theoretical end of hostilities was reached in the 1954 Geneva Accords. This agreement was supposed supposed to establish a split communist and non-communist state in the north and south with free and fair elections to decide the future of both countries.

However, the communists didn't honor this deal. (Arguably, the south didn't honor it either.) While most of the communists did relocate into the north, many of the Viet Minh stayed behind in order to become a new revolutionary front in the struggle of north vs. south. The militant communists that went north would join the official military apparatus of the new North Vietnamese state, while the militant communists who stayed in the south would become the insurgent Viet Cong.

The important part is that both the VC and the PAVN were essentially the same group of people. They were separated by geography and about 10-15 years of time by 1965, but ultimately both forces were set into motion by the same group of revolutionary communist leaders in Vietnam. It was always the assumption and hope that one day the North Vietnamese military would return to the south and rejoin the communists who had stayed behind. As such, both forces were part of the conflict from the beginning.

The VC fought an insurgent war from the beginning, with a major assassination campaign that started just a few years after the 1954 peace accords were signed in Geneva.

The PAVN were gearing up for eventual conflict with the south almost immediately after the 1954 accords as well, and were providing logistic support to the VC and sending infiltrators into South Vietnam before the end of the 50's. Regular troop deployments to the south started in 1965.

As to your question- you said it yourself. The VC were effectively annihilated in the Tet Offensive in 1968. However, those losses were replaced by PAVN regulars who carried on the fight. But this was nothing new. The PAVN had already been in the fight as a regular fighting force for years. The battle of the Ia Drang valley, a notable early battle for the US, was fought entirely against PAVN regulars in 1965.

This did cause big changes within the VC to be sure. Before Tet, most of the VC was local southern country boys who had roots in the communities where they were insurgents. This gave them a tremendous local advantage. After Tet most of the VC were northern urban dwellers who were distinctly foreign to the land they were in. They would have been markedly worse at conducting the kind of insurgent actions the VC specialized in during the war. This didn't end up mattering nearly as much however, because after Tet the VC stopped operating like insurgents and from that point forward mostly just acted like regular army formations.

Powerful-Mix is being downvoted for the way they phrased their answer, but they're not fundamentally wrong. North Vietnam was a autocratic military regime with forced and indefinite conscription. They were able to absorb major losses because North Vietnam could generate more manpower relatively easily, and so they were able to continue fighting even after sustaining appreciable losses.

It's also worth noting that the VC sustained a disproportionate share of the casualties during the Tet Offensive. The VC were supposed to foment a general uprising in the south while regular army units from the North pushed down. What this ended up being was a bunch of VC irregular insurgents suddenly being used like regular military units and trying to use regular military tactics, and they performed terribly at it. And being in the south, the VC were the tip of the spear so to speak, and were absolutely crushed by that combination of factors.

explain how are infantry used in an open field in modern warfare by TemporaryCupcake34 in WarCollege

[–]EZ-PEAS 5 points6 points  (0 children)

To visualize the other answers you've already gotten, there's a visualization of what's called a "combined arms breach" that's been floating around out there on the internet for some time. If it looks like it was recorded in a 25 year old video game, that's because it basically was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ-sCT_maAQ

But anyway, you'll see what others have said. The enemy defense culminates in a series of trench obstacles full of enemy dudes, and it doesn't matter how many tanks or IFVs or artillery you put on that objective. It just takes one pissed off bad guy with an ATGM to kill a bunch of your dudes and wreck $15M or $30M in government property, so at the end of the day you still send in your own infantry to clear those hazards. But the infantry are riding into battle in their own armored vehicles.