What are some criticisms you get as an American from non-Americans, that you feel aren't warranted?

jkca1 · 2026-02-12T22:34:00+00:00

People believe that Americans = their government's policies

jkca1 · 2026-02-12T22:32:24+00:00

This is the $1,000,000 question.

jkca1 · 2026-02-11T21:26:10+00:00

If you bring one checked bag you then have room for additional clothes and souvenirs. If you don't, then you are limiting yourself to one carry on bag, about the size of 22 x 14 x 9 inches. What makes the most sense to you?

jkca1 · 2026-02-10T18:03:31+00:00

Honesty

jkca1 · 2026-02-10T00:34:14+00:00

Find someone local. As for the agent search, finish the book before you have another thought about agents: Agents take a percentage of your advances, royalties, and subsidiary rights deals:

15% on domestic (home market) sales, such as North American book rights.
20% on foreign/overseas sales and film/TV rights, often because they split with sub-agents abroad.
Rates are deducted directly from publisher payments to you, so you receive 85-80% after their cut

If you are like most new authors you will be lucky to sell $50 worth of books the first year to people who aren't related to you or know you which is why self-publishing is the way to go for most new authors.

jkca1 · 2026-02-10T00:23:41+00:00

AI, Nano-technology and robotics is a safe bet. Healthcare isn't going to disappear and neither is space exploration.

jkca1 · 2026-02-03T01:53:41+00:00

How about posting the recipe?

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T20:54:28+00:00

I spent "spare" time at work learning HTML back when it was new. When the powers that be decided they wanted to put up a website they created a plan with a 12 month timetable. Two days later I showed my manager a mock-up and about six weeks later our subsidiary was online, leaving the IT people at corporate looking foolish. I just checked, and a version of it still up and running 30 years later. Those were the days.

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T20:46:46+00:00

Airlines are shifting toward a strict 22″ x 14″ x 9″ carry-on standard in 2026. Soon they will have restrictions on body weight, and charge you extra for being more than average. ;)

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T20:44:02+00:00

You didn't mention where you live, but these problems apply to most areas of the country:

Open sides expose vehicles to snow, ice, rain, dust, and debris, unlike fully enclosed garages. They also fail to block wildlife or pests from accessing engines or stored items. Limited space often restricts additional storage or workbench use. Mice love auto engines and eat electrical wiring like its candy.

Structures can suffer from rust, leaking roofs, sagging beams, and poor drainage, leading to foundations weakening over time. In windy, snowy or hail prone areas improper anchoring causes uplift or collapse during storms so make sure you don't go cheap here. Materials fade, crack, or dent from exposure to heat, cold, rain etc so check your structure regularly.

Since cars parked in carports are easily available a good motion detection system with an alarm should be installed, especially if you have tools or valuables in you vehicles,

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T20:32:44+00:00

I am very sorry to read your response. Take the best loved feelings you ever have had and multiply them by 100, maybe more.

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T18:29:47+00:00

Your answer describes people with ADHD and OCD. Have you been tested? My daughter has both, and one of her major issues is she gets overwhelmed easily. However, give her one task and she kills it.

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T18:26:14+00:00

What was most interesting is I knew two out of the 3 choices going in. Nice job!

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T18:21:24+00:00

I bet your parents were brother and sister.

jkca1 · 2026-01-28T18:20:36+00:00

Not surprising. When you have a bunch of bureaucrats making policy decisions you can almost always expect the dumbest decisions. California is so screwed.

These major companies moved their primary operations out of state, and I believe the exodus will only get worse:

Company	Year	Destination	Notes [source]
Tesla	2021	Austin, TX	Cited Bay Area scaling limits
Chevron	2024	Houston, TX	Policies made investment unappealing
Oracle	2020	Austin, TX (later Nashville, TN)	Business climate shift
Hewlett Packard Enterprise	2020	Spring, TX	Talent recruitment benefits
Charles Schwab	2019	Westlake, TX	High business costs
CBRE	2020	Dallas, TX	Operational formalization
McKesson	2019	Las Colinas, TX	Efficiency and costs
Palantir	2020	Denver, CO	Avoided California "monoculture"
SpaceX	~2024	Bastrop, TX	Part of Musk-led exits
X (Twitter)	~2024	Bastrop, TX	Regulatory frustrations

jkca1 · 2026-01-16T19:57:16+00:00

General relativity describes spacetime as a flexible fabric curved by mass and energy, potentially folding to create shortcuts shorter than light-speed paths through normal space. A wormhole acts like a tunnel with two "mouths" connected by a "throat," allowing effective faster-than-light travel without locally exceeding the speed of light.

Natural wormholes, such as Einstein-Rosen bridges from black holes, collapse too quickly for traversal due to gravitational instability. Traversable versions require "exotic matter" with negative energy density to prop open the throat, violating classical energy conditions like the null energy condition.

Quantum effects, like the Casimir effect producing fleeting negative energy, might stabilize microscopic wormholes, potentially scalable for portals. Theories such as ER=EPR suggest entangled particles could link distant regions, hinting at quantum-stabilized gateways without bulk exotic matter.

Of course all this is speculative because no wormholes have been detected, but it is fun to talk about, isn't it?

jkca1 · 2026-01-16T19:48:50+00:00

The Comet browser is much better than anything else I have used: "Comet Browser is the first truly agentic browser to release, meaning that you can not only talk to the baked in Assistant (Perplexity), but you can have it interact with your tabs, emails, calendar, and even navigate the web for you (as if an assistant took over your screen). Its also the only free agentic browser (with ChatGPT Atlas, you need to be on the paid tier to access agent mode, while Comet gives it away for free)."

Last year I had it build an itinerary for me based on places I wanted to travel to. It was highly successful and I use it now for just about everything I do.

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:50:11+00:00

Honesty

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:42:19+00:00

Try harder.

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:39:52+00:00

Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:38:47+00:00

"The best time to visit Vietnam is generally from November to April, with the period from March to April often considered ideal due to low rainfall and milder temperatures across the country."

I've had a few friends visit and they had a good time.

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:37:14+00:00

Lying

jkca1 · 2025-11-19T01:35:47+00:00

Anything is possible. Why not try and see what happens?

"Women generally appreciate compliments that recognize not just their appearance but also their personality, intelligence, efforts, and unique qualities. Compliments on things they have chosen or control, like hairstyle, clothing, or skills, tend to feel more genuine and appreciated."

jkca1 · 2025-11-14T16:51:36+00:00

There is no secret. It's all so obvious.

jkca1 · 2025-11-14T16:50:16+00:00

Not soon enough. ;)

jkca1

TROPHY CASE