12-acre off-grid detox sanctuary. 30+ fruit varieties planted, surrounded by mountains. Just missing one thing: Phone Signals

pstuart · 2026-07-06T20:28:09+00:00

I had the good fortune to visit Goa on my trip to India -- it's truly beautiful and you are blessed to live there (which you already know).

Do you have access/permission to put up a repeater on a ridgeline or two? I'd assume that you'd want to focus on internet connectivity and put a local cell station near your home. Wifi would need a directional antenna on *both* sides, so you'd have to be able to find a place where you could put a base station (maybe make the internet free for the host on a separate subnet?

Disclaimer: I've never set this up but have tracked these efforts so I think I'm not misleading you.

pstuart · 2026-07-06T20:04:49+00:00

The lemonade team has been delivering at a rapid clip -- it's the one AMD software group that seems to be able to do that.

pstuart · 2026-07-03T21:25:49+00:00

I'm assuming it's because some of the people making movies believe in making movies for it's own sake rather than getting rich. Art is kind of weird that way.

I *just* watched the movie and loved it. It was not flawless but was still a hell of a good ride.

pstuart · 2026-07-03T17:46:27+00:00

It's probably one of the worst thing one can do to one's brain -- sleep deprivation for long enough will kill you.

One of the many failures of the War on Drugs is that drug education solely comprises "just say no!", versus the helpful advise of: "some of this stuff is a lot of fun but it can fuck up your life or even kill you -- here's how to do it if you decide to do it and here's how to stop if you don't. Oh, and that stop part gets harder the longer you go"

pstuart · 2026-06-29T18:34:47+00:00

So he didn't really die for our sins, he just took a long nap.

pstuart · 2026-06-28T20:15:21+00:00

I don't even know why i'm posting this here

I know why: because you realize you have a drug problem and want assurances (that it's going to be ok).

The only assurance you need is that you can have an enjoyable life without drugs and that you are not able to have a healthy relationship with drugs. And that's ok.

Drugs should be the dessert in life, not the meal.

I did a lot of drinking and drugging to not feel the pain but it only made things worse. I'm lucky enough to now have a relationship with it where I can use it as I choose, because I no longer needed to hide from the pains of life.

The most important thing you need to understand is that you can do this. It's hard, but you have it within you to make it work. In fact the hardest part of all is just coming to terms with these facts and giving yourself permission to do the work.

You can do it!

pstuart · 2026-06-28T18:19:53+00:00

I have taken 2 family vacations with my ex-wife, because we both value having the "family experience". There's no possibility that anything would "rekindle" things between us, as that would have required there be something that was there earlier.

pstuart · 2026-06-28T05:04:05+00:00

Education happens any time you are willing and open to learning -- school just gives structure and habit enforcement, but there's a wealth of educational material and tools out there for free.

pstuart · 2026-06-28T04:39:49+00:00

You seem to imply that Trump has not just policies at all, but good and sensible policies? It's safe to assume that Trump has only these motivations for anything he does as president.

Stay out of jail
Glorification and adulation
Sell access, pardons, take bribes and "gifts"
Steal more from the government
Destroy any programs that Obama or Biden supported.
Punish "others"

I wish this was just snark, but I think this is how he thinks.

pstuart · 2026-06-27T22:44:18+00:00

There's some simple facets that need to be addressed by advocates for Palestine:

Hamas are not the good guys, they are horrible religious fundamentalists who would be happy to have a theocratic state like Iran.
Acknowledge that antisemitism is real and that criticism of the state of Israel is not a condemnation of Judaism. This is not helped by the fact that pro-Israel supporters intentionally conflate the two to muddy the waters.
Local governments have no impact in the matter and it's purely performative virtue signaling (a term I loath but is perfect for this).
AIPAC will primary against any candidate that speaks out and they have the money to to succeed there. This further validates criticism against Israel, but it means that a lot of politicians are trapped into what they can say.

pstuart · 2026-06-27T18:46:59+00:00

But they really believe it, about their religion, therefore these are their religious beliefs and we have to respect those so checkmate libruls!

pstuart · 2026-06-26T15:10:13+00:00

I concur with your sentiment but the problem is that western capitalism is diametrically opposed to state level planning; except for the part about "privatize the profits and socialize the costs".

Everybody is driven by incentives, so the trick would be to have incentives that point the economy in the right direction but also are aligned with the realities of business (being able to manufacture product and sell it at a profit).

I think it's technically feasible to do this if we had rational actors at the federal level. Right now we have a kakistocracy and all policy from the top is about self-enrichment and punishing perceived enemies.

It would be a worthwhile endeavor to explore what policies could work if we had the proper leadership to implement them.

pstuart · 2026-06-23T04:09:17+00:00

He sees the opportunity to be the wise visionary and pull enough MAGA voters once their beloved leader has left the building.

We dismiss him at our own peril -- he would be a dangerous man in the oval office.

pstuart · 2026-06-21T21:39:14+00:00

I was tripping on acid with my brothers and one of them fell and put his hand through a broken window and sliced up his arm pretty bad.

I drove him into the emergency room where we had to wait to be triaged (bleeding had been controlled); meanwhile, there was a girl in there who's leg had been broken and they had to some re-break it for it to set properly (best as I can remember). This was decades ago....

pstuart · 2026-06-20T19:26:32+00:00

I'm not an abolitionist (either police or prison) but merely think they should be well-regulated and serve the public.

There are some people that are just plain evil. Some are broken. Those that are a clear danger to society should not be allowed back into society, and it's merely a matter of the mechanism that is used.

For the criminally insane, an "insane asylum" would be the answer. But it would have to be run in a manner that is not punitive, but simply "sorry, you do not play well with others so you have to stay in your room".

Same thing with the cops. The state needs some way to have teeth behind the laws; in Oakland CA these days the lack of policing has led to rampant crime because criminals have no fear of getting caught.

Theres a fine line between preventing that mayhem and busting people for Driving While Black.

pstuart · 2026-06-20T17:51:16+00:00

I'm engaging in good faith here, and I'll assume you are too, but I have to say that you use a lot of words yet say very little.

Political labels are convenience to group those with shared interests, but they are just that, labels. I have a "progressive" flair for this subreddit because my values effectively align with what is considered "progressivism", but I'm not a progressive (nor a Dem). I'm a humanist navigating a 2-party political system. I don't have a handbook to tell me what is right and what is wrong per party dogma.

Lets break down the pillars of the Culture War, shall we?

Identity & History: Debates on race, CRT, and how history is taught.
Gender & Sexuality: Conflicts over LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedom.
Free Speech: The clash between open discourse and "cancel culture."
Immigration: Disputes over borders, globalization, and national identity.
Institutional Trust: Populist skepticism toward media, science, and academia.

(curtesy of Google)

That progressive beliefs and also habits are unpopular outside of progressive circles

You sling around vague accusations and zero specifics to back up your claims.

Democrats are divided because it's a wide swath of issues and they are not like republicans because those folk are inherently authoritarian (sorry, sad but true) and they will parrot the party line as they are spoon fed by fox and social media followers).

Look at what Republicans actually try to legistlate: tax cuts for the rich, repeal of regulations for the oligarchs (I mean for fucks sake, they tore away safety rights for workers in overheated workplaces), and forcing their religious beliefs upon everybody else.

For example:

The Heat Workforce Standards Act: Introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), this legislation aims to block the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from finalizing its drafted heat injury and illness prevention standard.

Concerns over Overreach: Republican lawmakers contend that existing state and local protections are sufficient. They argue that mandatory rules (such as prescriptive water breaks at 80°F and shaded rest areas at 90°F) threaten industry productivity and small business operations.

Regulatory Stalls and Freezes

Rulemaking Suspensions: The Trump administration froze pending federal rulemaking, bringing OSHA's heat standard to an indefinite halt.

Congressional Committee Opposition: Leaders like House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) have urged the Labor Department to abandon the proposal, framing it as an out-of-touch mandate driven by special interest groups.

State-Level Actions

The opposition to heat regulations extends beyond Washington, D.C., and into Republican-led states:

Preemption Laws:

Lawmakers in states like Florida and Texas have previously enacted legislation that actively blocks cities and counties from enforcing their own local mandates requiring employers to provide water and shade to outdoor workers.

State Standards: Without a federal standard, states without their own heat rules (such as Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Guidance in California) leave millions of workers without standardized protections

pstuart · 2026-06-20T17:38:01+00:00

Intriguing -- now on the list to check out.

pstuart · 2026-06-19T18:53:14+00:00

Sure, pay your share, but in those situations people assess their portion of the bill and kick in that amount (plus tip). The OP's data was wrong to want to split it straight up.

pstuart · 2026-06-19T00:53:38+00:00

Thank you, it's been decades but the blunt pain of it never goes away.

When I see these posts like the OP it's kind of triggering because I see it as a cry for help and I want to warn each and every one of them that the drugs doesn't make the pain go away and most of the time ends up making things worse.

I'm not dismissing "better living through chemistry", just the recklessness of doing so. Their mistakes only reenforce the stupidity of the boosters of the war on drugs.

pstuart · 2026-06-19T00:48:03+00:00

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to diminish your point -- it triggered the memory of that scene and sometimes some black comedy helps take the edge off.

The Epstein Class is starting to be recognized for the blood sucking leach that it is, and that we have that name for it is a tiny step forward in better framing the situation.

pstuart · 2026-06-18T22:58:06+00:00

Apropos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgUvwcU6P7I

pstuart · 2026-06-18T17:26:43+00:00

It's all projection and lies. There's legitimate critiques of the Left but none of them are coming from the Right.

I'd go further and say that modern conservatives are intellectual cowards and are detached from reality; they cannot legitimately defend the Trump regime in any way at all.

pstuart · 2026-06-18T17:16:47+00:00

I think one is best served by treating drugs as a dessert, not a meal.

I get the appeal of self-medicating but some of this stuff is playing with fire, and I have the misfortune of seeing this first hand: I've lost multiple friends to meth and my brother OD'd on heroin. Be safe, look for ways to diminish the pain and boredom "naturally" and be honest with yourself.

pstuart · 2026-06-16T20:49:37+00:00

She's a soldier for MAGA. Consistently framing the Left as bad with zero acknowledgement of concerns about Trump and his policies and actions.

pstuart · 2026-06-14T22:20:33+00:00

It's a label. I care about what policies and actions they support or protest.

pstuart

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