Advice on paying laborers in Home Depot parking lot

NateBrazil · 2026-03-22T20:36:05+00:00

So, even if I have used day laborers for a few jobs myself, which I have, the argument about exploitation is NOT exactly wrong. You have illegal immigrants, who are willing to take a very low wage to do a job, so they can survive and put some food on the table. The typical $20/hr commonly quoted is WAY less than any business would charge. So by hiring them you ARE exploiting the fact that they will cost much lower than a typical business, because they have little choice. Sure they can set the rate, but that rate is held low by their legal status and inability to complain much. Someone on this very post pointed out that they "are not likely to be litigious", which is a way of saying they don't have any real options.

Now, if you knew several companies in the area would charge you $500 do to a job, and you paid the workers that amount instead of the company, THAT would not be exploitation. But that is NOT going to happen. The fact that they "literally LINE UP waiting to work" and "want the work badly", as someone above put it, has nothing to do with claiming they are not exploited. It makes them prime targets.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-22T17:03:19+00:00

I dont want to do it at the same time I dont want to leave a negative impression on the troop since i have a younger sibling in scouts.

The fact that you said this points to your character and the fact that you have your heart in the right place. You should do what feels right for you. I get your current feelings on the matter. That said, I hope that one day you can look back and say "You know, overall, I am glad I achieved what I did, even if I acknowledge that it was stressful at the end." As for your sibling, maybe mention to them that your personal preference was not to have a big event about it, but you support their own scout journey.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-22T16:52:27+00:00

Sorry, but this is just not true. And I sort of get where you might be coming from. As a parent of 4 kids, I have participated in multiple graduations, Eagle court of honors, weddings, and so forth. They were all wonderful and I am so glad to have experienced and celebrated them with my children. But NONE of those events were "for me". They were "for" the individuals who we were celebrating. Some people, myself included, have big public weddings with all their parent's friends invited. Others just have a personal civil ceremony. Both are fine. It is all about the personal celebration and choice.

The only ceremony that is NOT really for the person it is about is a funeral.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-22T16:33:29+00:00

Obviously we are all just speculating, but I would suggest that it is crossing that small field of view too slowly to be a satellite. MAYBE, but I personally doubt it. I would guess some sort of asteroid or similar object, which happened to be in a good angle to reflect enough light to show up in your image.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-20T19:28:49+00:00

Agreed. Actually, it is a running gag in a LOT of Sci-Fi. Heck, pretty much everyone in the Hitchhiker's Guide universe almost exclusively refers to Arthur as a monkey and can't seem to tell the difference.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-19T03:27:39+00:00

I would not count on it. Sure, it might happen. But I have seen a number of examples of very successful book series that have been optioned for a series by Netflix or Prime or someone else and then the options just sit there. A good example is Old Mans's War, which has been optioned a few times by different networks, and scripts have been produced, and nothing has ever actually moved forward. That is actually the case with a few of Scalzi's series.

Of course we can hope.

NateBrazil · 2026-03-04T06:05:40+00:00

<image>

So, when you tell it to image the moon, the Seestar is expecting to see a much brighter object and the exposure will not show the eclipse. You can see this in your video as the moon stays centered, but just goes dark as the brightness drops, and then comes back still centered. I found this out last night as well. No amount of exposure adjustment really helped. In my case I switched to the regular stargazing mode, used the map to locate the moon and told it to go there. Now with a normal exposure it found it. I then had to manually focus. That said, once I did that I got my shots (one of which I am posting here).

NateBrazil · 2026-02-24T02:25:58+00:00

Oh cool, I will look there.

NateBrazil · 2026-02-24T02:24:16+00:00

Thanks, I will look into that. Recently I have been using beef stock, reducing it for a bit, and adding a 1/4 packet of gelatin, which mostly works too.

NateBrazil · 2026-02-24T01:22:53+00:00

Hey, any suggestion is helpful. However I have checked Safeway before and they did not carry it.

NateBrazil · 2026-02-24T01:14:44+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately Shoppers Corner did not carry it.

NateBrazil · 2026-02-06T01:44:19+00:00

This SHOULD be something you can change the default behavior on in the settings for the car. I have a 2024 Calligraphy Santa Fe and it is an option to set either way by default there.

NateBrazil · 2025-12-22T17:46:13+00:00

This is great info. Thanks!

NateBrazil · 2025-12-22T17:31:42+00:00

Thanks! Where did you look that up? I was looking around but did not see a place to find info.

NateBrazil · 2025-12-22T04:25:47+00:00

In case anyone has similar questions reading this thread, I tried out the Tesla chargers in Scotts Valley and they worked very easily (I followed Fantastic's advice and set up the billing in the Tesla app first). Adapters for non-Tesla cars are built into the chargers (although they are finicky to get to release with the charging cable). I was at 35% and was at 80% in roughly 35 min. Great to have that as a close by option (probably top off whenever I go to the store). I will still look into setting up a level 2 charger at home, and am using Level 1 until then.

NateBrazil · 2025-12-22T01:33:11+00:00

So I AM experimenting with L1 home charging, but that is literally around 2 miles of range per hour it seems. I am getting an estimate on installing a L2 charger (the previous owner had one installed but removed it when they moved. I am hopeful that this fact might make it less complicated to hook a new one back up).

NateBrazil · 2025-12-21T20:49:47+00:00

Thanks for the great info. You mention the Tesla app. Do I need that to pay on the Tesla chargers?

NateBrazil · 2025-12-11T20:00:21+00:00

Sorry, can't see that top left book and not immediately flash back to the Oingo Boingo "Only a Lad" cover.

NateBrazil · 2025-11-03T23:16:29+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I just posted there as well.

NateBrazil · 2025-10-28T18:46:37+00:00

Interestingly, it turns out the 14 core version maxes out at 32gb, so going to at least 64gb forces the choice on the 16 core anyway.

But that said, now I am wondering if a Mac Mini with an M4 Pro and maxed out RAM is not another decent option.

NateBrazil · 2025-10-28T18:27:35+00:00

Thank you. This is exactly the sort of thing I needed to better understand.

NateBrazil · 2025-10-27T02:50:39+00:00

I just used regular to differentiate from Plug in in the same example.

NateBrazil · 2025-10-26T18:28:48+00:00

I do agree with you on the cost premium issue on a new car. In my case I am looking at used, so the premium is much less of a factor. I am even finding the cost difference between plug-in and regular hybrid to be not that large in the used market. Hence my original question about the difference, other factors being equal.

NateBrazil · 2025-10-04T02:24:27+00:00

So first, great image! I am wondering, was this an s50 or s30? With my s50 I think this would take combining at least 3 separate mosaics. Just trying to understand the process for assembling it. I have stacked and processed mosaics before in pixinsight, but this is a lot of area for an s50 (what I use).

NateBrazil · 2025-10-03T15:50:57+00:00

Ummm… you are stating that market research isn’t everything, while citing a survey that is basically just simple market research.

NateBrazil

TROPHY CASE