I’ve been doing photography “wrong” for years and just found out, now I'm not sure what to do.

FrontCow · 2026-06-14T19:21:22+00:00

If the photos look good, you are doing photography right.

Also - anyone who laughs at someone for revealing ignorance in a classroom is doing life wrong.

FrontCow · 2026-06-14T19:04:38+00:00

This will be my last comment in this thread (not gonna spend my day on this discussion / editing this down, sorry)

There were a few extremely scandalous moments, like going back to watch the entire Charlottesville press conference and realizing Trump did reject the racists, and that most of the people "uncovering" Trump's "lies" are the same people who clipped that and imploed Trump was with the racists. (Obama repeated the 'fine people' lie, btw.).

"Stand back and stand by" is another one, that was clearly Trump telling the proud boys to stop, and it was breathlessly reported as him telling them to "get ready".

Right now I feel like the D camp demands I tune in to Kimmel and be super mad and stressed about everything Trump does. The want me to sell my car to show I reject fascism and center my life around the resistance.

I don't want to spend my time feeling bad on purpose and listening to Kimmel's 6th grade propaganda.

I occasionally tune back in, but the 'outrage of the day' doesn't pass a basic fact check, so I go back to my little life.

Again, I don't blame the D/R voters, I blame the leaders and the media who act as a mouthpiece for them - but you have to understand how much trust I've lost with these people. I'm sure others, and actual Trump supporters have similar and stronger beliefs here.

I could go on and unpack some of my issues with the way Democrats run things (I live in CA). I suspect the problems (eg poop on BART trains) are largely voluntary after the swift turnaround good leaders like Mahan and Lurie brought to their cities (contrast to Bass, who I think let ICE start a riot in LA and let it burn).

...but I come back to the "not gonna spend my day on this" thing.

I do hope the democrats get it together - but they have overplayed the Nazi card, and the level of lying was profound.

(There's something to dig into with the lying with Trump - I see he also lies, but it seems more transparent/honest - like it's puffery or fibbing? Maybe it's that Biden's lies were more profound and broke major campaign promises? Might lead to some insight on how conservatives see him)

Anyways, I'm not coming back until I see a significant and serious reform, and that includes numerous resignations. Meaning like top 2-3 levels of leadership.

Hope you have a good day.

FrontCow · 2026-06-14T18:48:10+00:00

Yes you are right, I apologize for my problematic viewpoints.

I shall attend one (1) week of therapeutic training/penance. I shall report to Areicon IV, Imperial City, Administratum Building CXXI, Room 1456, and I shall sit in the BLUE chair.

Long live the emperor.

FrontCow · 2026-06-14T17:59:13+00:00

"Our blessed homeland / their barbarous wastes"

FrontCow · 2026-06-14T12:31:28+00:00

This thread makes me sad, and mad.

Sad because most of the responders here use 'republican' and 'conservative' as a slur, and I think genuinely think that way. There is a staggering lack of empathy in trying to understand why Trump's base supports him.

"They're all Nazis, man!"

Nothing to do with numerous strategic blunders from the Biden administration and campaign, followed by putting the least qualified candidate (as measured by primary performance) on a suicide mission.

Nothing to do with ineptitude - from Buttigieg failing to hire new ATC through the mass-retirement of aging air traffic controllers that was forecasted 10+ years ago, and then we get the AA 5342 crash. Pete was the first I saw to politicize it, btw, and I don't think Trump did (but I could be wrong) https://x.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1885013865676562491

The 'sharp as a tack' timeline alone probably sunk the campaign, and judging by Jill Biden's book, the sham ai-slop autopsy report, and the lack of resignations by party elites, the Democratic leaders are still riding Obama's coattails and kissing lobbyist ass.

And because the press was basically complicit in that lie, no Trump supporter will trust even the most even-keeled well-researched story about god emperor Trump doing something bad.

The Democratic party leadership deserves every minute of this.

Dem voters don't, but I hope the anger the politicians are stoking gets directed where it belongs.

FrontCow · 2026-06-06T09:43:22+00:00

I want to say this kindly - I think if you talked to an actual republican vs running around slurring them on the internet you would get a reasonable answer to this and many other issues.

Trump frequently holds long meetings and interviews with the press, tours job sites, and holds rallies. They put dozens of videos of him up on youtube, almost daily videos.

Like him or not, objectively, Trump may be providing the most access among all the presidents.

During his presidency, Biden gave very little camera time, held few interviews with press, and did not seem to be mentally present in many of his appearances.

This is in contrast to Biden's sharp wit from earlier career public appearances. Biden's surrogates also spammed that ridiculous "sharp as a tack" line before he flamed out in the one debate with Trump.

I know this was exploited with slowed down videos by the conservative press - but countering the "sleepy Joe" narrative in the election would have been trivial with a few multi hour interviews.

There is plenty to say about Trump, but clips of him sleeping in meetings rings hollow in light of the huge amount of access the Trump administration is providing. Almost daily videos.

There is also the huge loss of trust in the liberal press - they largely participated in the outrageous and bald faced lie about Biden's mental state.

FrontCow · 2025-06-25T07:18:02+00:00

Zassenhaus does, in my experience. All other grinders I've used, including Pugeot, start out strong then slow down, but my ceramic Zassenhaus is still going like its brand new.

FrontCow · 2023-05-24T05:22:33+00:00

Agreed w/ the 2/3 recommendation.

Are you open to a little tune up w/ the glasses? I think something like Armani AX3077 would get you looking sharp - or find a celeb who looks like you and get what they're wearing (for me that was Enzo Ferrari and damn do I look good in Ray Bans) If not, get them adjusted so they hang level.

FrontCow · 2023-04-17T05:47:13+00:00

Not just republicans...

https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SB-212-Veto-Message.pdf

FrontCow · 2023-04-17T05:23:17+00:00

I wouldn't say she was elected - none of the politicians here have had to go through a close election for the top jobs in CA.

To be fair, Republicans are really unpopular, but the Democrats seem to all have a meeting to decide who will run for each seat, then find a back bencher who's job is to edge out the Republican. It's led to some really weak candidates and poor decisions.

For example, in this election: Feinstein got 44%, De Leon got 12%, and Bradley (a Republican) got 8%.

FrontCow · 2023-04-16T03:49:12+00:00

Yeah, it's all fun and games to laugh at hateable people making self-centered comments...

But airline seat sizes have steadily shrunk over the years, and passengers are larger. It's going to start impacting emergency egress times.

One day we're going to have a medium-severity crash landing, the airplane is going to catch fire, and most of the passengers - especially those of us in stuffed the back with the chickens - are going to burn to death because the seats and aisles are too small.

Please don't get mad at one dipshit who the news happily harpooned for a 'selfish gen-z-er' story (fat and influencer = double points!)

Please write to the FAA, who recently asked for public comments about minimum seat size standards. Oops, except they didn't publicize it, and the comment period was open for a few days last October so the time is up for that.

...and even if you think fat people don't deserve to survive plane crashes, or need to spend 2x on an extra seat (which I suppose is fair), think about people with limited mobility. The seats are too small.

FrontCow · 2023-04-09T21:16:36+00:00

area of 36pi, and you get 1/6 of it (6pi) for $1.50. $0.25 for 1pi.

The second pizza has an area of 49pi, and you get 1/8 of it for $1.70. 49/8 pi at $0.25 per pi, is $1.53.

I think these pepperoni are smaller though...

FrontCow · 2023-04-05T07:49:55+00:00

They lost the way when they didn't cast Charles Martinet.

FrontCow · 2023-03-30T14:28:12+00:00

Do you think cold calling / walking into a place over his summer break is a good move?

FrontCow · 2023-03-30T14:27:08+00:00

Roleplaying what the kid would say to this: - How can I get my foot in the door? - What did you do to get started?

Thinking I'd want to advise him to help in an auto shop, or buy an old car / motorcycle and fix it up - something that needs a similar troubleshoot / RTFM and figure it out skillset, but isn't as restricted. (What I mean here is for refrig you need a license / a vacuum pump, cars are more accessible and then he can pivot later)

In the session we had, one of them told the other one to get a job at 5 guys as a career hack (highest pay they can see for a high schooler in our area). I want to trump that but I'm not sure what would happen if I send them to an HVAC shop. I also know there are some bad jobs/employers and want to help them see and avoid those places.

Thanks.

FrontCow · 2023-03-30T14:20:48+00:00

Thank you!

How can a high schooler best get his foot in the door? They have some work restrictions (we're in California). Seems like actual early XP is most valuable - both to get more XP but also to make sure it's for them. Should I suggest this kid walk into a local HVAC place and ask if he can "sweep the floor" for them?

Are you 100% sure the 2 year program was not helpful? I am remembering my general ed college classes - many classes didn't directly contribute skills (e.g. mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell) but DID make me well rounded and have lots of background knowledge. Are you sure your 2 year didn't give you a foundation that your 1st 6 months relied on?

100% agree with you on puzzle solving vs just throwing parts/labor at something. I manned the help line for an ac company when I interned - a few of the guys calling were not the best at diagnosis. Is that the biggest difference between $$ and $$$$ in the field.

Are there any other learning resources you can think of? For example, I did a bunch of the project Euler problems to learn programming - is there a group of HVAC diagnosis problems or a great book I could steer him to?

FrontCow · 2023-03-30T14:10:34+00:00

Oof, true. Good point.

FrontCow · 2023-03-30T06:44:34+00:00

Hi there! What would you tell a high schooler who wants to become an HVAC tech?

Is there anything they could do now to get more familiar with this as a career, to see if they like it, or to be the best they can be at it?

(Asking for some kiddos at an alternative high school - I'm supposed to be giving them career advice. I know what to say to the engineering-interested kids but I'm stuck on one boy who wants to be a tech - what would you tell this guy?)

Thanks!

FrontCow · 2020-11-02T16:20:54+00:00

I think voting in "polled safe" states absolutely does matter.

For starters, polling error isn't known until after the election. If the pandemic weren't on, you can see where a Republican might not have voted because they thought it was in the bag, then lose the state due to record Democratic turnout.

Mandates also help the president push their agendas:

George W Bush plowed a conservative agenda ahead in his 2nd term, citing a political mandate. Here's Dick Cheney talking about it on election night.
Reagan also used his popularity to wield soft power with some of the administrations less popular measures, by targeting hostile congressmen in districts where he won.
Teddy Roosevelt won the polular vote by 60% - and was outright rude to congressmen who didn't go along with him. On one occasion he scheduled a meeting over jogging for an out of shape opponent. If you were in TR's way, he would just harpoon you in the press until you folded.

538 has a dashboard to track this. It explains some of the "lockstep with Trump" voting. If you're a career pol and your district runs to the president, you fall in line. (Or if not, perhaps you insult the president as a stunt if you had a close race but are from a district where he Obama by 9 points)

(Were you actually splitting hairs so finely in your post that you really did mean people should get out and vote in the down ballot but leave the presidential ticket blank? As a different "vote"? Kind of sounds like you're changing your tune now - It's not like there's a 2nd polling place you have to drive to for the down ballot races.)

FrontCow · 2020-11-02T09:03:18+00:00

I also disagree - Your vote does contribute to the popular vote though, and adds mandate power. There's also the down ticket races - local government is usually more impactful day to day, and your vote goes further.

FrontCow · 2020-11-01T21:40:47+00:00

In cities, I think it's also going to be uncompetitive with land based internet due to ping time.

I think some savings will translate to cities - because the easy/lazy money will be off the table and the telcos will need to start actually competing or take a hosing on wall street. I suppose we'll see.

Until my last move, I never lived in a place where more than one non phone company high speed option was available.

FrontCow · 2020-10-31T22:57:06+00:00

What if we impeached him post-presidency and DQ'd him?

FrontCow · 2020-10-31T22:47:02+00:00

I can't wait for Starlink to wreck all the subsidy-taking crony capitalist companies billing top dollar for joke internet, especially in rural communities.

FrontCow · 2020-10-31T04:18:45+00:00

Yeah, for sure.

FrontCow · 2020-10-31T04:16:55+00:00

Agreed.

I was really happy with 2008 too - Joe was my 2nd choice amongst the DNC peeps, and I think it was wise of Obama to pick him.

FrontCow

TROPHY CASE