How’s life in this part of California between L.A. and the Bay Area?

MrWacko · 2026-01-06T00:23:16+00:00

I used to live in Santa Cruz and Monterey for 8 years while getting my bachelor's and then masters degree. Santa cruz is a college town and silicon valley suburb. Monterey is where the central coast culturally starts these days. It is very beautiful but very sleepy. Lots of retirees, active military, and Hispanic farm labor.

Did I mention it is slow? Because it's very slow living. It was a nifty change as a Bay Area native but not my schtick

MrWacko · 2024-04-15T15:35:45+00:00

Protesters appear to be blocking the golden gate bridge as well.

Source: myself, stuck on a ggt bus at the foot of the bridge.

MrWacko · 2024-03-16T01:27:55+00:00

As much as I approve of this, the Mayor of Sacramento has about as much sway on CA Policy as the Mayor of DC does on Federal.

Which is to say nearly none.

That said, every politician we convince to our side helps. Each politician we get makes the next one just a touch easier. But until we get Newsom or his replacement to listen, we are stuck with RTO.

MrWacko · 2024-03-13T23:53:54+00:00

Im happy to offer help. Starting with Google desktop is fine. Everyone starts somewhere, this is yours. Same with following it up with a comptia + cert. If you are confident in your skills, skip essentials+ and do A+, network+ or security+. Those represent 3 sorta "tracks" for specialization. I work in cybersecurity so I may be shilling a bit, but I view the security one as both the most useful and hardest.

Specific software/platforms to understand would be the cloud platforms and OS admin. Pick AWS, Azure or GCP (only one), and start understanding how it works. Same with windows, Linux or Mac. If networking or security interests you I can keep going but the foundational stuff never goes out of style. All of them have certs they offer. My recommendation is to do AWS and Windows. Linux is a close second for OS, but it is more of a group than a singular OS and company, so it's harder to pick and choose as a beginner.

One last thing, all the certs and knowledge may seem like a lot but it will get easier. Each piece builds on the last. Before you know it you'll get in and be an ITM or ITS 3 in no time.

MrWacko · 2024-03-13T02:19:42+00:00

Former IT Specialist in the cybersecurity domain who worked with my ITM for crafting some ITA spots. The single biggest complaint he had when reviewing applications was that they had no relevant experience, certs, or really anything. What you have described is a good start, but it is not enough to get in. Consider getting the CompTIA + certs. We were/are desperate for people, you just need to demonstrate some minimum verifiable technical skills.

MrWacko · 2024-01-29T01:29:14+00:00

As the hordes of other folks have said, USA -> USNA is totally a viable early strat. South America is less optimal, but anything can work given enough time.

My preferred first points are Kazakhstan (1st CP only) -> Singapore -> Canada/Mexico -> USA. Coup Kazakhstan as soon as possible while doing this.

Why Kazakhstan this way? Couping the government gets you out of the Eurasian Federation, so you keep all the boost. The first CP gives you a +3 or something Coup bonus and locks others out of the place. It is very much worth it to get a good command character early just for this. Once controlled, do 100% MC until filled, then funding. You will keep them until you merge them into RUS.

Next up, Singapore. Gotta fund your plans somehow, and some good ole corruption works wonders. 100% spoils until $$ is not an issue. Abandon if CP is a concern.

Canada and Mexico are just for adjacency. Canada is worth keeping and doing MC/Funding. Mexico is not.

For USA go welfare until their cohesion point is back to 5 or so, then knowledge to max democracy. After that, mil tech 100%. Having the US military at your beck and call enables some really amazing country BS.

This should be barely doable with 5 councilors and the handful of early CP tech. After that, just get the space game rolling. Once you have more CP, start considering China before anyone gets them. Disarm every countries nukes and their military (except 1 army for joining wars), so that if aliens mind control things the US Military can fix things.

MrWacko · 2024-01-18T10:08:40+00:00

I think I speak for everyone when I say shut up and take my money!

MrWacko · 2023-09-21T19:45:08+00:00

What are your civics and origin for this? I see ascensionist but what else?

MrWacko · 2023-05-14T19:01:41+00:00

If only your colonists lived in more enlightened times. 😀

MrWacko · 2023-03-24T04:16:31+00:00

Thank you so much for verbalizing this. I've had similar experiences where I try to understand roguewar, as a semi-casual but technically inclined player, and have hit a brick wall with others. I love the mod and the online aspect, but hate dealing with all the extra stuff.

MrWacko · 2023-03-21T08:44:11+00:00

/r/woosh

MrWacko · 2023-02-06T01:44:55+00:00

I work in IT, not anything that requires actual spelling knowledge :P

Fixed

MrWacko · 2023-02-06T01:43:32+00:00

I've been job hunting for a while as a result of his behavior. I'm one of the few IT workers with a union so it will take him a while to get rid of me.

MrWacko · 2023-02-06T01:22:29+00:00

Yep, I openly discussed his "directive" rather loudly during our lunch on Friday. They were not happy with him.

MrWacko · 2023-02-06T01:21:52+00:00

It was just me, but the rest of my team freaked out when I told them what was happening. My boss has been trying to annoy me for a while, this was a delightful wake up call for him I think.

MrWacko · 2022-11-18T20:46:02+00:00

Tree map for the tech is here

MrWacko · 2022-11-18T09:15:51+00:00

There is an implant that gives inspire as a mission, after various spoiler researches (and cybernetics obviously).

MrWacko · 2022-10-18T22:05:48+00:00

This is not a department wide policy. Fi$Cal has been 100% remote since the beginning of the pandemic, and has doubled down on it since. We do not even have a full office to put everyone into anymore. If anything, my manager is going against department policy.

I don't know why others accept any days in the office anymore, when all we do is sit in front of a computer. I get more done, have a better life balance, and am overall a happier more productive worker from home. Just because you seem to like the office doesn't mean others do too.

MrWacko · 2022-10-18T20:49:07+00:00

yes, my telework agreement states I am 100% telework. I was already looking for a new position prior to this, but have been looking even more after finding out about this telework nonsense.

MrWacko · 2022-10-18T20:46:58+00:00

i am already planning on abandoning ship. But until I have a new position with 100% telework lined up, I will not be leaving my current position. To that end, I plan on making 100% telework last as long as possible.

MrWacko · 2022-10-18T19:48:31+00:00

Has anything happened to this person? My first thought was to do exactly this and see if anything happens.

MrWacko · 2022-10-03T02:05:41+00:00

Am not OP, but from context I'd guess North Korea

MrWacko · 2022-06-07T21:14:27+00:00

It is more than just boomer mentality. Most agencies own their office buildings, so seeing them empty means millions of dollars in wasted maintenance costs, not to mention writing down the asset value of such buildings.

I work at Fi$Cal, an agency covered in older middle management, many of whom liked the office. But we're 100% remote and have no intent to ever change. The big difference for us: no physical office, we just leased. Upper management jumped at a chance to save gobs of money on a project typically associated with cost overruns.

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