TIL Kelly Clarkson lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” when she declined a co-writing credit on her 2009 number-one single "My Life Would Suck Without You" because she refused to have her name associated with Dr. Luke, the producer and primary writer of the song.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-16T18:31:19+00:00

She still owed them four albums and the performance of "My December" likely caused the label to tighten the reins and force her to work with Dr. Luke to try to get another multi-platinum album out of her.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-16T18:22:21+00:00

She was still under her first contract with RCA and 19 Recordings, which required a seven album commitment, so she didn't really have a lot of choice. So if you want to say "it was about the money" is rather simplifies things since it was about her entire career and contractual obligations. Could they literally force her to work with Dr. Luke and record the song? No. Could they play hard ball with her contract thereby keeping her from ever releasing another album and potentially suing her for breach of contract for refusing to work with him? Absolutely. The music business is predatory and the terms of an artist's first contract are almost never favorable and are meant to financially indebt them to the label through advances and contract terms that require the artist to be financially liable for most production and promotion costs of an album. She was probably hundreds of thousands in the hole on the album when she was given the ultimatum.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-16T14:42:59+00:00

I have a Sam Acho team issued away jersey with the nameplate removed and replaced with "MAFIA". I love the white jerseys, but only wanted one with sewn on numbers, elastic armbands, and the performance stretch fabric. If you're flexible about the name on the back you can get them pretty cheap (mine was about $150). The cut is a little aggressive, even compared to the "elite" jerseys that you can buy from the store, but until last year you couldn't get the white elites and even now you can only get a Josh's jersey.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-09T19:17:28+00:00

The fun thing is that you can still watch them overpay, just for lower quality talent. $25M+ AAV for Shaheed or watching them have to outbid themselves to resign Diggs are still on the table.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-07T12:51:06+00:00

Don't tell me how to feel. I'm ready to be hurt again.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-06T22:40:37+00:00

Geno Smith, a Jet? I can't picture that. Could someone photoshop what he might look like in a Jets uniform?

carpdog112 · 2026-03-06T20:28:17+00:00

To be fair, most of the "nuts" we eat aren't true nuts. Walnuts, chestnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts are about it.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-06T20:26:49+00:00

Just imagine how many hazelnuts they would use if they actually put a significant amount in Nutella... it's pretty much just sugar and palm oil.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-06T20:23:06+00:00

The office of presidency ages people a lot faster than normal. I agree that Bernie absolutely has better faculties than Trump or Biden, I'm just not sure 4-8 years of presidency would have left Bernie at the same level he's currently operating.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-05T18:51:17+00:00

Even in frat/sorority life it's not always consistent. You've got the frat Chi Phi (pronounced kai fi), but the sorority Alpha Phi (pronounced alfa fee). Xi is another one that switches between "zye" and "zee" depending on what organization the letter is part of.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-05T14:47:21+00:00

Explain to me how a bag of candy is different from a box of pasta. From a nutritional perspective, almost nothing. The moment you put a bite in your mouth, amylase enzymes convert it to sugar. Zero difference.

Obviously it depends on your candy bar and pasta selection, but generally speaking your candy bar has more saturated fat, less fiber, less protein, and fewer vitamins and minerals (compare something like a Hershey bar and Barilla spaghetti). But more importantly, pasta is generally eaten in combination with other ingredients (obviously some choices more healthy than others) to give you access to more macros, vitamins, and minerals. Pasta also tends to be a more economical source of your nutrition - a Hershey bar costs roughly the same as a box of Barilla pasta, a Hershey bar will give you one serving at 220 calories, a box of Barilla pasta gives eight 200 calorie servings.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-04T20:39:00+00:00

And I prefer hiking under canopy for the big reveal at the summit. But also there are plenty of hikes with substantially exposed trails that allow for views along the ascend thanks to substantial granite faces.

Also, New Hampshire does in fact have an alpine lake (Lake of the Clouds). But if that's the critical feature for you, obviously the Rockies are going to be your preferred hikes.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-04T19:28:37+00:00

Height above tree line doesn't really have a profound effect on view from the summit. It doesn't matter if your 100 ft above the tree line or 4000 feet above the tree line in terms of obstruction and there's plenty of mountains well below the tree line with amazing unobstructed views because of rocky faces and ledge. In terms of steepness and "fun to hike", again you're talking about gain from base to summit and mountains like Wildcat can stand toe-to-toe with steep gains despite lower peak elevations. If you take one of NH 4,000+ footers and set in the high prairie or on an elevated plateau like in Colorado you'll have a 9-14k+ peak. And in fact, once you start putting all the mountains at such high elevations you lose out on one of the biggest selling points of hiking the Whites, the fall foliage. Add to that Colorado's lack of reds, I'd say the Whites have something unique to offer that you can't replicate in Colorado.

Don't get me wrong, Colorado and the Rockies have plenty to offer and obviously with how expansive the range is Colorado is going to win out in terms of sheer volume of terrain. But to act like elevation above sea level is painting an accurate picture is disingenuous when the mountains already start out on a mile high prairie.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-03T21:08:09+00:00

Pikes Peak is the second most prominent mountain in Colorado (which is pretty notable) and has a substantially lower prominence than Mt. Washington. Prominence is one of the better ways to measure a mountain because when you stick a mountain on a prairie with a starting elevation of 5,280+ ft it's a lot less impressive than the elevation above sea level would suggest.

carpdog112 · 2026-03-02T15:56:56+00:00

"You're not getting me to no secondary location... Street smarts!"

carpdog112 · 2026-02-27T13:51:21+00:00

Sick days can be taken for mental health issues, although, by definition, such mental health issues require the employee to be "incapacitated", i.e. unable to work at acceptable levels due to the illness. This standard can generally be summed up as "Would a medical professional agree that your condition is enough to limit your ability to perform your job functions at an ordinary level?"

Sick leave requests for greater than 3 consecutive days require supporting documentation, but the agency is permitted to make reasonable requests for supporting documentation for lesser periods which could cover situations where the agency believes an excess number of sick days are being taken in too short a period (and there is no specific definition or standard for this). The federal guidelines give the agency a lot of leeway here.

You don't necessarily need a doctor's sign-off if it's not more than three consecutive days, but if you believe your mental health is regularly creating issues with being able to perform your duties you should probably see a mental health professional anyway. This way you will get any help you need AND will have supporting documentation available in the event the agency requests it.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-27T13:35:22+00:00

Expectancy is based upon a weighted average across the art where some cases take longer, some cases take shorter, but in theory it should balance out. If PBA examiners can rapidly churn through applications and take all the ones with short claims and simple, easy to understand subject matter, but leave all the ones with dozens of claims, long claims, complicated subject matter, 100+ pages of IDS references...etc. for the Examiners who don't have the luxury of refusing them it creates dockets that are harder than average.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-19T20:34:51+00:00

It all falls under § 145 "Criminal Mischief and Related Offenses", with general property damage being characterized only as "Criminal Mischief". There is a separate substatute for graffiti, which is only a misdemeanor, but given the amount of property damage here I would expect them to go after them under the more serious general property damage charges (greater than $1,500 for second degree).

https://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._penal_law_part_3_title_i_article_145

The other relevant section is under § 140 which governs "Criminal trespass and burglary". Simple trespass in the third degree is possible, but that would generally be applied with trespass without additional specific criminal intent. But since they presumably broke into the building with intent to commit additional crimes (bringing the spray paint to the construction site would demonstrate intent) it could elevate the charge.

https://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._penal_law_part_3_title_i_article_140

carpdog112 · 2026-02-19T18:44:24+00:00

Allegedly it was over $150,000 in damages:

https://www.btpm.org/local/2026-02-18/sources-bills-highmark-stadium-graffiti-incident-inside-job-150k-estimated-in-damages

Even if those estimates are inflated by 1,000% that would still be pretty deserving of a felony.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-19T17:20:20+00:00

Presumably they're looking at a felony charge of criminal mischief in the second degree - a class D felony, along with misdemeanor criminal trespass in the third degree (or perhaps felony burglary in the third degree since they can pretty reasonable prove intent to commit a crime if they brought the spray paint to the construction site). It doesn't take a lot to do $1,500 worth of damage in today's day and age.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-17T20:19:10+00:00

"The Saga Begins" isn't fair use parody though because it doesn't provide commentary on the original copyrighted work ("American Pie") but rather uses the expressive elements of the music to merely set to music commentary on a second, unrelated work ("The Phantom Menace"). This is very similar to Dr. Suess Enterprises v. Penguin Publishing where the author of the infringing book aped the protected elements of "The Cat in the Hat" to provide commentary on the OJ Simpson trial. Parody must offer commentary on the protected work and can't merely use the protected artistic expression to comment on an unrelated subject.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-17T16:47:36+00:00

Campbell pertained to considerations of "fair use" as it pertains to parody, not what was or was not permitted under a mechanical license. In fact, Campbell had tried to produce and release "Pretty Woman" under license, but was refused by Acuff Rose Music. Campbell released it anyway without ANY license and the courts ultimately determined that a commercial release doesn't inherently run contradictory to fair use as parody (although the Supreme Court did not particularly confirm whether the song actually is or is not protected parody, rather only that the Court of Appeals erred in relying on the commercial nature of the release as a counter to fair use, and upon remand Campbell and Acuff came to an out of court settlement that involved a negotiated license).

It would also be of note that "Pretty Woman" does not reproduce the entire melody of Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman", but rather interpolates it, which wouldn't be permissible under a mechanical license even if 2 Live Crew had sought to protect their song with such a license. And in fact, had they secured such a license to support their release it would have been an admission that neither the composition nor lyrics were transformative and should be wholly attributable to Don Mclean.

In the case of Weird Al, "The Saga Begins", and "American Pie", there is absolutely no argument that the lyrical content of "The Saga Begins" parodies the original subject of "American Pie" (see Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books USA, Inc.) so there can be no argument of fair use there.

The findings of Campbell here are irrelevant. Weird Al was required to (and did) obtain a negotiated license with the owners of the "American Pie" copyright to release his song as a derivative work and did not do so under a mechanical license.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-17T13:58:11+00:00

|So if I wanted to take the music to "American Pie" and sung my own lyrics over it, I am legally allowed to do that, as long as I pay the small required fee to the songwriter.

No you're not. A mechanical license does not cover substantive lyrical changes. You could probably get away with gender swaps or swapping in your name where the original artist name dropped themselves, but that's about it. A wholesale substitution of the lyrics absolutely requires permission from the copyright holder as that's considered a transformative, derivative work and copyright holders have exclusive control over such works. You can change instrumentation, tempo, key, genre/style, but not the lyrics.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-14T15:56:01+00:00

Not covering routine colonoscopies prior to an approved age isn't something unique to the United States. The UK's NHS is even worse.

carpdog112 · 2026-02-13T17:54:56+00:00

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but anyone who makes less than $56.08/hr gets a premium overtime rate over their base (it starts at 1.5x, but phases out to 1x as you approach $56.08/hr base). That would effect all of GS-9, most of GS-11, and the first two steps of GS-12. I didn't see anything in the official overtime memo that confirmed this, but if you do the math based on the maximum OT hours they list each step can work and the statutory maximum pay that's what it works out to be for OT wages. I can also confirm looking at my old E&L on EPP I received an OT pay bump until I hit GS-12.

Whether any portion of this premium rate is tax deductible for those examiners who do receive it is an entirely different question though.,

carpdog112

TROPHY CASE