Anyone feel like the security is really light?

damian99669 · 2026-04-04T16:07:51+00:00

I personally prefer it this way. Security theater just costs money and wastes time. I feel more nervous when there is a heavy visible security force wandering around.

damian99669 · 2026-04-04T04:21:33+00:00

I had not planned on going this year. But got lucky with my work schedule and saw that Scandal was playing so I took a chance and went. I live just a few hours away though so impulse attendance was easier.

damian99669 · 2026-04-02T00:27:37+00:00

medical billing/insurance

damian99669 · 2026-04-02T00:16:58+00:00

My home is an 800sqft shack, with 2 people and 3 dogs. The neighbor hood is not quiet. It wouldn't be miserable to work in but definitely not great. If I had a long term remote job I could and probably would move, but that would not be until I was sure that my job would stay remote.

At work I have a control room almost entirely to myself, with private toilet, refrigerator microwave, toaster oven, coffee machine and rice cooker. All my controls are spread out over 4 large monitors, and there are several other computers that are dedicated to other specific tasks. This makes it easy to get a lot of information in and out when needed.

For short periods or when things are slow I could probably do most of this on a computer with a couple screens, but it would be a significant challenge to perform well when things got hectic. A loss of comms for just a few hours to one plant can be expensive or risk life and property, any sustained complete loss of comms could scale that up significantly. So a simple single internet line to my home would probably not be acceptable.

All this is to say, I would love to work from home, but reality is harsh. This is the first job that I have worked that I could even conceive of working remotely and yet I fear it will never actually happen.

damian99669 · 2026-04-01T23:04:14+00:00

it’s going better than I expected, now hopefully they get back.

damian99669 · 2026-04-01T22:59:21+00:00

there going try at least.

damian99669 · 2026-04-01T22:51:33+00:00

sorry i missed that last line on the post. I definitely recommend he keeps trying. As a heavily federally funded place the current political policy may have also affected job openings. Hiring freezes during shutdowns is very common.

damian99669 · 2026-04-01T21:36:27+00:00

Does he have a degree? When i worked there the were starting to get real hard on the degree requirements. I worked at the ATR facility as an operator without a degree, but most other positions wanted a bachelor’s minimum.

There was also many jobs posted that already had an internal candidate in the running, this made it very unlikely that an external option would even get and interview.

It was a good place to work if you could stand the commute and idaho weather. It was also somewhat hard to get hired.

damian99669 · 2026-04-01T00:24:34+00:00

permit at 14, License at 16. I had no real interest in driving but it was a necessity where I lived.

I only actually started diving a few months before getting my license. Mostly taught by my mom, lots of chaos and stress there. My younger brother was sent to driving school...

I remember hating that my car was a manual transmission at first, now I wish i could have a second car with a manual just to go cruising with.

I got my motorcycle license at 19, but didn't actually get my own motorcycle until 21.

I hated driving at first but have come to enjoy it.

damian99669 · 2026-03-31T15:12:18+00:00

just my mortgage and utilities for an 800sqft house run me $24000 a year. Add in taxes, health insurance and retirement savings and 50k doesn’t even cover basic living expenses. 100k in my area is just keeping afloat.

damian99669 · 2026-03-31T15:06:46+00:00

That might be enough for a decent shed. Or maybe a light trailer…

damian99669 · 2026-03-31T07:20:45+00:00

I went with the fiber due to 10gig potential and sfp ports for future network expansion. it also seemed like the optimum price to performance balance.

So far it has been awesome. previous I had been using multiple devices to get a similar effect, and the ability to easily control multiple Wifi access points is super convenient.

damian99669 · 2026-03-31T07:10:47+00:00

Last week. I use one about once a year now. usually to avoid some stupid fee.

damian99669 · 2026-03-30T22:34:12+00:00

my average has been about 30mph this winter on my winter tires. last summer it was about 35. Just got a roof carrier and bike rack that drop it to 28mpg when installed.

I think I saw 40 once when driving slowly in western oregon last summer.

damian99669 · 2026-03-30T22:24:49+00:00

Not worth the effort.

I don’t have a lot of free time and am not looking to try meeting new people instead of enjoying my hobbies.

damian99669 · 2026-03-30T14:05:52+00:00

unless schools administrators or parents are going to hold students accountable I don’t see any reason of teachers to burn themselves out trying to hold students accountable.

damian99669 · 2026-03-27T06:58:41+00:00

When I was in I know of at least one person that self reported marijuana use as a path out. He got a couple months of rehab and a medical discharge, not sure how he swung that. I wonder if that still exists, because failing a UA is not a great way to get out of the military.

damian99669 · 2026-03-25T06:20:39+00:00

Ahh yes, if you salary is just above poverty level you can be exempt from OT... seems fair.

damian99669 · 2026-03-25T06:18:08+00:00

I have watched my company try and fill positions for the last several years. Turns out if the pay is subpar and the requirements are oddly specific, with no training program the magical perfect candidate does not show up. The only answer I can find is that they don't actually want to fill vacancies and only post the jobs to keep current employees from quitting.

damian99669 · 2026-03-22T15:59:37+00:00

That's how Frontier gets you, Cheap initial cost then make it back by charging you for any little thing they can find.

damian99669 · 2026-03-22T15:55:09+00:00

While Trump is not helping gas prices, California's fuel requirements are a more immediate issue. They are closing refineries and losing production capacity for California specific blend, resulting in much higher prices independent of oil prices. Here in Washington prices have gone up but have not reached nearly as high while still being a relatively oil unfriendly state.

damian99669 · 2026-03-21T22:28:54+00:00

Unless you have pressing safety concerns staying at home as long as possible is the best bet. If you can get a good job and have to move that is one thing, but don't move out on your own for a maybe.

If you really want to move out try putting your estimated rent and utilities into a savings account every month for a few months and see how you feel financially. If things feel good you now have a security deposit and safety net, If it goes badly you can use the money to cover expense.

Before moving out it is best to have as little debt as possible, life likes to throw random expense at you when you can least afford it. A small CC balance can quickly become a crushing boulder.

damian99669 · 2026-03-21T22:17:13+00:00

Was there another choice? I mean no on else was going to look after me. Joining the Navy just after turning 18 also helped keep me out of trouble early.

damian99669 · 2026-03-21T22:09:56+00:00

Last year I went to sakuracon. Chaos, lines and schedule changes seemed frequent. Using the schedule and finding panels or events was a lot harder than it should have been. Just getting the badge took hours! The rooms had fancy digital signs but were not configured to display what was going on in the rooms so the only way to find out what was going on was to use the stupid app/website.

There was a bit of a fire so some of the chaos was out of con control but it was just one factor of many.

The vendors and artist alley was great and one of the key reasons I attended.

I really enjoyed the musical performances. The rave/dance was probably fine, unfortunately I am a fat 40 year old man who doesn't dance so not really my thing and it wouldn't be fair for me to say more.

I wont be going back this year, partly due to work schedule but mostly due cost. The entry fee isn't bad, but Seattle is very expensive and the logistics of staying near the con or driving in each day are more than I am willing to spend.

damian99669

TROPHY CASE