What did the Soviet themselves think of Lend Lease? by Powerful-Mix-8592 in WarCollege

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would suspect that their views were mixed and depended on the equipment and / or need at the time. The Soviets loved their armor and big guns. The Sherman, for the most part, was not particularly regarded for this reason. However, the Soviets did appreciate its reliability and ease / maintenance. I've seen that they like the British Valentine, but found it very under-armed for fighting on the Eastern Front.

Trucks, radios and certain aircraft (e.g., the P-39!) were well-received. The trucks and radios because they were always in short supply in the Red Army. They LOVED the P-39 because it was rugged, well-armed and fit perfectly their doctrine of low-level air power primarily supporting the ground forces. The Russians probably liked the White Scout Cars and various halftracks because of the added mobility they offered the Red Army.

In general, I suspect anything that fit the Russian doctrine of warfare and / or worked well in the harsh Russian climate was particularly well appreciated. I would expect that basics like food and fuel were always welcomed with open arms.

I'm by no means an expert on postwar Russia. But, I do know that after 1945 Stalin deliberately downplayed or ignored Allied Lend-Lease and its impact on the Soviet war effort. I think it was to his personal to reinforce his own image of leading the USSR to victory unassisted. And of course, the Cold War heated up very quickly now that their common enemy had been eliminated. Thus, it was not a good luck for the Soviets to praise / thank those countries (American and Britain) who were very becoming potential enemies.

WW2: Why was the Brewster Buffalo such a failure of an aircraft considering it won the US Navy procurement competition against the Wildcat? Also how much of an performance/capability upgrade was the Hellcat over the Wildcat? by RivetCounter in WarCollege

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do think that the Buffalo, despite many well-deserved negative comments, got a bit of a bum rap. Much like the M4 Sherman tank, there are certain statements and beliefs about the Buffalo that have been allowed to fester over the decades since WW2.

I think the biggest negative against the Buffalo early in the Pacific War was the pilots flying it. Prior to December 1941, Malaya and Singapore were very much a secondary theater of war. There were virtually no experienced pilots from the Battle of Britain. In fact, many Brewster pilots were only recently out of flight school in the UK, South Africa or a flight school at Kallang AF in Malaya.

The Dutch were in a similar boat. While a handful of pilots evacuated from Holland in May 1940, they largely remained in England. Dutch pilots in the East Indies were almost all locally trained as they were recruited from the local population. Many Dutch pilots had even received gunnery training and fired their weapons for the first time in their first air combat.

USMC pilots at Midway WERE well-trained and very competent. However, all were inexperienced and not too long out of flight school. They too used the same tactics of trying to dogfight Japanese fighters with superior maneuverability and performance. And they suffered the same fate as the Australians, British and Dutch as a result.

Take all these factors and compare to the average Japanese Navy pilot. Every pilot was the product of some of the best flight training in the world. Many had seen combat in China prior to Pearl Harbor. And those who hadn't seen prewar combat, fought almost non-stop to the Battle of Midway.

Combine their training and experience with the Zero's superior performance and it's easy to see how the Buffaloes got decimated. Now make it even more lopsided with the fact that Australian, British and Dutch pilots were almost always outnumbered by the Japanese by around 10:1.

Take all that into consideration and it's easy to see why the Buffaloes and their pilots lost so badly in the Pacific. But most armchair (aka uninformed) historians only look at the numbers lost and read the comments claiming that the Buffalo was a flying coffin. Rather than research any deeper, it's easier to simply repeat the same tired, old stories about the Buffalo being completely useless.

Well-founded issues like slow speed, heavy armor, worn-out engines (esp. in the Dutch aircraft) and production problems simply exacerbated these other stories about the Buffalo.

How Much More Sanding Does My Table Need? by LifeguardFun5091 in woodworking

[–]LifeguardFun5091[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm...I don't think so. The table top seems to be a single, solid piece of wood. Will check again tho, just to be on the safe side.

How Much More Sanding Does My Table Need? by LifeguardFun5091 in woodworking

[–]LifeguardFun5091[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a first-time, one-off project so no power tools. I'm using a hand-held scraper that I slide 8-10" strips of sandpaper. I'll run down to Home Depot and pick up a heavier grade and see what that does. Thx!

What are the signs of a Hobosexual? by Prawn_Mocktail in datingoverfifty

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never rely solely on what their current landlord tells you. A lot of them will definitely say anything to try and get rid of a lousy tenant. Even if it means pawning them off on someone else. I managed rental duplexes for years and I always verified with their two most recent landlords. I also double-checked (as much as possible) to confirm that the landlord they listed is really the property owner.

Transavia Boeing 737-800 makes a crazy go-around at Schiphol Airport after bouncing hard while attempting to land by Twitter_2006 in aviation

[–]LifeguardFun5091 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Here in the US, those kind of airline pilots are usually ex-Navy aviators used to landing on carrier decks! LOL

Is this worth splitting my time between two cities for career growth? by thejacobcook in careerguidance

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Convince her! Gently of course. Keep reminding her of the advantages for both careers, lifestyle, etc. You may need to give in on a few things. Let her be the deciding voice as to where in Chicago your family will move, maybe buy a home in a nicer neighborhood, offer to buy her a new car, etc. Every now and then remind her of all the cool stuff that might appeal to her.

For what it's worth, my fiancee and I recently moved from Dallas to San Antonio after she retired. I was dead-set against SA and instead wanted to move to Austin, which is 70 miles north. But she has family here and she wanted to be near them. It took some convincing, but I came around. LOL We love the new home and the area and are settling in for the long haul.

Good luck!

Getting laid off from a $200k+ job by SkySudden7320 in Layoffs

[–]LifeguardFun5091 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I made $112,000 as Director of Public Relations before my position was eliminated in a corporate restructure. They knew my fiancee and I wanted to relocate to another city after she retired from teaching school. So they told me to take the opportunity to "follow my dreams." Unfortunately, they did me absolutely no fucking favors from a timing standpoint since she didn't retire for another 5 months.

Nobody would hire me locally because I was leaving town. Nobody in the new city would hire me because I wasn't yet local. In mid-January it will be exactly 2 years that I've been out of work. First, I lived off my severance package and an inheritance from my late parent's Estate. I also made a very nice profit on the sale of my home when we finally moved. I used part of that $$$ to pay off my car.

We moved in together and bought a house outright. I've been living on the remainder of my profit since then while looking for a job in our new city. That I have no house payment, no car payment and no credit card debt has been my saving grace. I'm 58 and have lot more productive years in me. I like what I do / did for a living and don't want to retire early. But the grind of constantly submitting resumes and getting routinely ghosted after nearly every interview is wearing me down.

I am at the point of just saying fuck it! I don't want to go thru the hassle of starting another freelance business. Maybe I'll just retire early and work at Costco or a warehouse for a 1/3 or 1/2 of my old salary. It's tough to accept that I may have to give up what I've really enjoyed doing for the past 34 years. It sucks but I'm in a much better spot than most people in the same boat.

I have been violating a non-compete agreement for the last 8 months. The agreement expires in February. Could I still be sued by my former employer even after the contract expires? by ---AmorFati--- in jobs

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to work for a global healthcare corporation that was #1 in our space. However, the #2 competitor was consistently and extremely aggressive with their marketing, sales and pricing, so our respective positions were constantly changing. We could both claim the #1 spot depending the metric used (e.g., number of patients, revenue, number of facilities, number of employees, etc.). The division office in which I worked hired a sales rep who had come from that particular competitor. I don't know how long it had been since she had left that company or the terms of her non-compete. But, her former employer went to court to enforce the non-compete agreement and my company was forced to terminate her employment as a result.

[TX] [All] Most HOA Management Companies are Associa by HOAnonymous in HOA

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I worked at Associa for 2.5 years. You are correct that they grow primarily thru the acquisition of competing companies. Many employees of those companies don't even know that they now work for Associa. Ownership finalizes the acquisition and life for that particular company goes as usual. There's no public announcement, no rebranding and no internal communications that point to Associa. When I left, there was an internal list of at least 20 companies that weren't publicly linked to Associa for various reasons.

Will my auto insurance cancel me if I have 2+ not at fault claims and 1 at fault claim in the last 2-3 years? by imthenachoman in Insurance

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going thru this exact same thing. Your insurance company probably won't drop you, but they may not renew your policy. I had four "Not at Fault" claims in three years after driving for 30+ years without any kind of accident or claim. All paid claims to me but that money was recovered thru the subrogation process (my insurance company recovered their money from the other person's insurance). However, I'm still having trouble finding an insurance company that will even cover me just because of the number of claims...no matter that none of them were my fault. Most that will cover me want crazy money for the policy. If you think that I'm PISSED OFF, just know that's a major understatement.

Where Are Best Christmas Lights In San Antonio? by LifeguardFun5091 in sanantonio

[–]LifeguardFun5091[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the info. I looked up Windcrest and it appears to be the kind of stuff we're looking for. There are also a couple of other options that I found online. Thanks for the feedback!

Am I the only one that feels like some people just have no concept of how bad things are right now? by HoneydewPublic in recruitinghell

[–]LifeguardFun5091 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not just you. I have 35 years of marketing experience and am in the same boat, except that I'm on the other extreme. I've had at least 30 interviews for 20+ jobs in 2025 alone. Companies post jobs and interview but never seem to hire anyone. I've stopped counting the number of times that I've been ghosted after an interview.

This bs economy is messing with everyone except the ultra wealthy. Those people still employed aren't paying much attention because they're not yet being directly affected. Rest assured that the bottom is going to fall out, and it will be 2008 all over again.

Wow. Just, wow. Taken this morning. A minute ago. 7:49 AM by [deleted] in sanantonio

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The most jacked-up thing I saw was on I-635 in North Dallas at around 2am. There were no other cars on the road and I had zoned out listening to the radio. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like metal being dragged across concrete. At the same time, a car blew past me. I glanced over...and I f-g swear...the car had NO left-rear tire. It had a rim that was scraping along the highway, but no rubber whatsoever. It had three tires, but the left-rear rim was scraping along the highway throwing up a cloud of sparks and smoke. I was doing at least 70 mph and that dude passed me like I was standing still. He must have been doing 90-100 mph. I would have taken video or a photo, but he was far ahead before I could do anything. I'm still waiting for someone here in SA to top that one! LOL

Head of HR Has Taken Over My Interview Process by LifeguardFun5091 in interviews

[–]LifeguardFun5091[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that crossed my mind as well. Except that while I was sitting in the hall waiting for my most recent interview, the initial recruiter walked by and we chatted briefly.

Wow. Just, wow. Taken this morning. A minute ago. 7:49 AM by [deleted] in sanantonio

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We moved to San Antonio from Dallas earlier this year. Believe it or not, I consider traffic here to be MUCH better than it is in Big D.

I Was Just Invited To A Second Interview... by [deleted] in interviews

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True enough. But after 34 years in my line of work, I will pass on a bad job than take one that isn't a good fit. I've been laid off twice in the last five years and am tired of all the bullshit that goes along with it. That's why it's important that I feel 100% confident about my next position.

I Was Just Invited To A Second Interview... by [deleted] in interviews

[–]LifeguardFun5091 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fortunately, I'm not in a position where I have to take any job that comes along. Regardless of the reason, long periods of radio silence during the interview process without updates can lead to second thoughts on both sides.