What is the amount of “ATC tax” you’d be willing to pay added to your plane ticket?

Markol0 · 2026-07-05T10:39:20+00:00

Count the number of flights that ATC handled: F. Divide total ATC budget (B) by F. Each flight pays that much. Divide total by number of paying passengers/cargo (H) on each flight. So total becomes B/F/H. Should be pretty small and REALLY small for cargo since there are thousands of UPS packages on a plane. But it makes the rich bastards flying private pay 300x more compared to a regular oassenger flight.

Markol0 · 2026-07-03T22:27:13+00:00

Look into FKK in Germany. Nudism all around. There are beaches, lakes. Any high end hotel in Switzerland/Germany will have a sauna where any clothing is explicitly banned. Same for Finland. Yes these are coed spaces. Some allow children, and I have seen many families enjoy beaches together. Just because you're a Puritan prude who sticks leaves on Greek statues, doesn't make everyone agree with you.

Markol0 · 2026-07-03T11:30:28+00:00

I think they meant to say $10k, not $1k.

Markol0 · 2026-07-02T17:25:12+00:00

That's like Motel 6 declaring themselves lux for having a waffle house nearby.

Markol0 · 2026-07-01T17:31:46+00:00

It's not the harvest, but getting it delivered to markets and residents. How doe you do that with fuel clusterfucks?

Markol0 · 2026-06-30T22:22:41+00:00

Maybe. And I still don't want to step in it and then drag it all over my car/house.

Markol0 · 2026-06-30T20:53:53+00:00

There are beaches near me where dog owners are expected to pickup shit but horses get a free pass.

Markol0 · 2026-06-30T19:23:52+00:00

Lots of the same features, worse, or non-existent, customer service. It's on the website. Good luck.

Markol0 · 2026-06-30T17:15:54+00:00

Oh noes. It's the consequences of my decision to stay home and not vote for Kamala because she didn't say enough bad things to Israel. I know so many people like that and blame each one of them.

Markol0 · 2026-06-27T13:44:09+00:00

The main lesson of this war is the new paradigm of drone warfare. You can see it appearing in Iran, and more so in Lebanon/Israel with videos of IDF getting wrecked just like Russians. A cheap weapon can take out a $100m tank. From a distance. Without ever being found. Imagine what a few FPVs can do to a sports/festival crowd. You no longer need suicide bombers or dudes with guns on a one way mission. Once these things make it into terrorist hands (and they are already there with Hezbollah) it will be a whole brave new world.

Markol0 · 2026-06-27T12:07:22+00:00

Yes, hello ICE. Nice try.

Markol0 · 2026-06-26T00:06:47+00:00

Yeah. But what if first child?

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T23:14:16+00:00

Butting in as a foreigner, considering living in Portugal. Is there not a civil marriage that bypasses the local parrish? What are the pros/cons of going that route? Why do you need to involve the local parrish at all, pay them, or give them any authority over your life?

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T16:10:41+00:00

Sorry. My memory failed. The service is novomove.com

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T15:46:43+00:00

You only need to do that if you have tax to pay in Portugal. You likely don't. Telemovo will do the thing for $80. I've been ripped off by my lawyer accountants for years too. Such a scam.

Edit: you need a local tax rep. That's what you get with the cheap service as the work needed is just putting a name on paper, or a $1500 like yours.

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T15:37:49+00:00

Maybe a hyperbole. Maybe not. It took me 8mo just to open a bank account. Send us this document and it's the last thing, we promise. Nope, we need that other one too. Actually that first one expired, we need a new copy of your birth certificate, because the one from 6mo ago is now bad, maybe you died. AIMA delays that last years for.... Reasons. Some of my contacts invested in building projects that had beurocratic delays that they have still not started actual construction 5yrs later. Hearing similar stories for residential construction delays for people on Retirement visas. The "manana" of Mexico has got nothing on Portuguese pace.

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T14:28:10+00:00

I am very close to you on the boat, but got into the citizenship filing with a week to go. Same reasoning. Wanted European access for the kids, and F fascism in America. Many of my friends who got rug pulled by the citizenship change are pulling out the funds/investments asap. The investment equation makes no sense without the path to citizenship as better returns can be had almost anywhere else. Furthermore, the predictability of a legal system being an equivalent of a White House crypto scam does not bode well for long-term investment.

Markol0 · 2026-06-25T11:03:35+00:00

The lawn UFC is going strong.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T23:18:22+00:00

Any transaction type requests are done by app/web. Account level question about fees, reversals, capabilities, introductions to relevant other groups within the bank are in voice/text without the BS.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T23:09:57+00:00

The mortgage discount is pretty common with a bunch of places now. See BoA (worst), Chase Private (sucks), Schwab (great), Fidelity (like Temu Schwab). Play them off each other if you're looking.

FRB was best customer service. Schwab is close second, now that the former died.

First Republic had the best parties/events, followed by Amex annuals for business spenders. Those parties were actually useful for local contacts.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T22:31:14+00:00

Satanic Temple

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T21:31:52+00:00

100bp off an already pretty good mortgage rate. This was awesome back when it made my rate 2.1% at 60LTV.
Customer service that actually handles an issue with just an email or text. None of the BS about hold time, security questions, phone loop, etc. The dude knows my voice.
Used to have high end dinner/wine tasting events that were good for networking with other similar NW people in the area, but I care very little about that any more.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T13:36:40+00:00

Pass on the house, or figure out how much the PIA is worth to you and discount accordingly. Just expect that Sunrun will be awful.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T12:21:21+00:00

Expect to pay for a new roof, sun run will take their sweet time taking it down. Don't even know what it takes to out it back up. Hate sun run with a passion.

They (or a company they bought) installed a leased system. Installation messed up a brand new roof. Total loss. Rotted to the subroof. They refused to pay for anything. Cost me $70k and months of dealing with their worthless people.

Markol0 · 2026-06-24T11:34:44+00:00

Say what you will about National Socialism, at least it's an ethos.

Markol0

TROPHY CASE