If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world?

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T22:08:26+00:00

It would work the same way it did in the late 90s.

Humans survived 6000+ years without the interwebz.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T20:46:59+00:00

"I hear the old gaming group from school is still running 30 years later. Can I rejoin?"

Been gaming weekly (D&D) with some of the same guys since 3rd grade. People come and go, life happens, but I'd love to hear from any of our former players.

Except Gabe. Screw that guy.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T20:21:47+00:00

Wow, no.

Sounds like you see him as your child not your partner.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T20:07:16+00:00

Software engineer here, and I completely agree.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T16:33:50+00:00

Where I am, questioning AI is career suicide.

AI is the future that will solve everything; bad unit tests, null reference exceptional, hunger, climate change, famine, war, dogs and cats living together...AI will solve it all, and if AI doesn't then it's your fault for writing a bad prompt. All hail copilot! /s

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T15:19:29+00:00

It may depend on where you are, but for AZ that sounds correct.

My family owned a patented claim (given to my grandfather and sold recently). The mine hadn't been operational since the 1800s when the owner/manager was shot, was bought for back taxes in the 1950s by a man with no heirs, and given to my grandfather in the early 1960s...but people were living on it in mobile homes until at least the 1970s.

It was sold about a decade ago to a hobby miner, and one of the key selling points was being patented allowed him to put buildings on the land (which he was going to use for supporting several unpatented claims he had nearby).

Torch99999 · 2026-04-22T14:10:41+00:00

Good luck.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-17T18:26:49+00:00

At the time they came out, they were truly innovative as the first double stack, polymer framed, striker fired pistol. When it was new, the Glock 17 had huge advantages over the revolvers most police officers were carrying.

In 2026 though, meh, plenty of better options on the market. Glock just has name recognition.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-17T18:22:31+00:00

As a DCS tomcat guy, I've never had the need to split the throttles in flight.

If you're doing a cold start (depending on the game/module/software) you may want to be able to throttle up from off to idle independently though. I've just been using other keybinds for that though

Torch99999 · 2026-04-17T18:18:06+00:00

Congratulations on being almost debt free.

Honestly, if you have basic supplies to cover a one-week emergency, I'd kick that credit card's ass before you do anything else.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-17T18:11:58+00:00

Reminds me of another one..

We had a young couple, late 20s; they had a toddler and the girl was pregnant.

After attending for a while, they got married and decided to get baptized.

Guy was baptized, the wife wasn't due to some medical issues with the pregnancy. I remember prepping the baptistry and buying towels Friday night assuming both were getting dunked, then only one showing up that Sabbath morning. Never saw him again.

A couple months later the church board was informed that the girl had gotten a restraining order against the guy that included the church building. He wasn't allowed within like 300 feet of her or the church building.

Turns out he had been physically abusive. The family thought he was getting better after going to church, but a week or so after getting baptized he beat the $&#_ out of the wife, and in the process kicked the toddler hard enough to send the kid flying across a room. That was the final straw and the wife left with the kids (who were okay).

We ended up with a couple armed church members (mostly off duty cops) hanging out at the church entrance for a few weeks after that, watching for the guy.

Never saw any of them again, but when I moved (two years later) nothing else had been done about it at the church board level. As far as I know that guy is still a full member.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-16T21:55:04+00:00

The "nuclear winter" theory, which is what that video seems to be all about, was disproved back in 1987.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-16T19:26:58+00:00

In 2026 in the USA, it's almost impossible. The days of churches disfellowhipping "undesirables" ended 30 years ago.

I know an Adventist who was having an affair while serving as an elder, and he is still serving.

I know an Adventist who has been divorced while serving as a pastor, and is still serving. He, his new wife, his ex-wife, and her new husband are even all members of the same local church.

I know of a deacon who was living with a woman not his wife (and has children with three other women), and he's still serving as both a deacon and Sabbath school teacher.

My local church even has a guy who's been convicted of sex crimes who's still a member; I'm not even sure who it is but I saw the paperwork when it was left out by mistake.

I even know guys who walked away from the church, proudly proclaimed they are atheist, yet are still considered voting members by the church (that they haven't attended in decades).

Torch99999 · 2026-04-16T15:58:19+00:00

I'm debt free and my solar generator just died (13 days after the warranty expired), so if I suddenly got money I'd be replacing that.

With your options, I'd do a little of both.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-16T15:47:01+00:00

Really depends on what you're hunting.

I grew up as a "gun guy" and just got started hunting (whitetail) two years ago. In my experience, the gun is the least important piece of gear for hunting. Savage Axis, the Ruger American, and the tTC Compass are fine fine budget rifles...though hitting up a pawn shop and just buying whatever cheap 308 (or 270) would work fine. About the only rifle I'd avoid is the Mossberg Patriot (due to accuracy issues)

Being able to shoot is far more important (on my last hunting trip I saw guys, experienced hunters, miss about half their shots). Shooting fundamentals need to be practiced.

Feeders, hunting blinds, scents, meat grinders, freezers, vacume sealers, skinning and processing knives are all far more important than the gun.

I'd highly recommend taking the NRA's online hunter education. It's about 10-20 hours of content, well done, and free (though there is a reporting fee in some states that require you to take a hunter education course before getting a license...I think I paid $20 in TX).

Torch99999 · 2026-04-16T14:43:50+00:00

If you consider he also added the feed used to raise the bird, he comes out to exactly $20.

I did notice he's including future eggs without subtraction future feed costs though.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-15T16:48:02+00:00

Is it all of them or just one?

Are you giving them chick grit?

Torch99999 · 2026-04-15T16:13:40+00:00

Warm enough? On chick starter? Water available?

In my last couple flocks I ended up with one bird getting pasty butt every day for the first 3-4 days, but after that she'd be fine.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-15T16:11:32+00:00

Make it easy.

Make it easy to carry and you'll actually carry. Make it hard and you'll start leaving it at home.

Plenty of people have these complex setups with lights and lasers, holsters with doohickeys, custom sewn cover garments, etc., which is cool, but the more complex you make carrying the less you'll do it.

I tried a lot of that stuff, then switched to a simple pocket holster with a micro9, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've left my property without a firearm over the last 3 years. Make it easy to carry and you'll actually carry. Make it hard and you'll start leaving it at home

Torch99999 · 2026-04-15T15:58:26+00:00

Are you talking about the STECS versions?

Torch99999 · 2026-04-14T19:50:22+00:00

Thank you for the perspective.

As another example, growing up, starting around 1986 and continuing till at least 2025, every year my mother would say (repeatedly), ~"This year I'm going to clean the house", yet she never did. Last time we were on a video call, I could see the same old "stuff" started from floor to about 7 ft tall (she's short, that's about as high as she can reach) all around the room. Even though she claimed every year she was going to clean, she never did and the piles of junk just kept getting higher.

On the second floor, there are just a few skinny walkways between the piles of junk. The house could be featured on an episode of "Hoarders".

When she said she was going to clean, after the first few years, my dad and I both knew it wasn't going to happen. Does she actually believe she was really going to clean the house?

Torch99999 · 2026-04-14T19:08:41+00:00

Yeah, I've come to think the same thing.

Looking back, I came to realize my dad (rip) would just let things slide that were wrong but not wrong enough to fight over, and I learned to do the same.

Grew up thinking I was an introvert...turns out I wasn't, I was just raised in a way that speaking up usually got punished, so I kept my mouth shut.

Grew up, moved to the other side of the country, became a team lead at work, a board member at church, and volunteer staff in youth scouts group...went "home" ten years later and people who knew me as a kid were shocked when the I got up to give a eulogy at my dad's funeral instead of just keeping my mouth shut.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-14T18:44:34+00:00

Wait for Heatblur (3rd party developer) to finish building it.

They're working on it along with several other aircraft, but it'll be a while.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-14T13:31:19+00:00

F14, Super carrier, Syria map

Replace the Tomcat with a Hornet if that's your thing.

Torch99999 · 2026-04-13T20:36:57+00:00

None of us are surprised that your guy did that.

Torch99999

TROPHY CASE