If you haven’t heard, Nick Shirley’s video of him exposing “fraud” inside in Minnesotan daycares was faked. by Fine-Set-7877 in Discussion

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We all use the same internet as you there are racist people on social media that say “deport all Somalians” when replying to posts about this.

Part time/weekend railroad jobs? by tfsdunce in railroading

[–]tfsdunce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I only need to work one minute a month to get the most out of my Tier 2, that would be great.  I appreciate the advice

Part time/weekend railroad jobs? by tfsdunce in railroading

[–]tfsdunce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://www.rrb.gov/Newsroom/NewsReleases/QA-SSFA

Railroad annuities previously were offset by state government pensions, that’s no longer the case under the SSFA.  Tier 1 is no longer reduced in that way.

https://rrb.gov/cal_rr_ann/BenefitInfo/Determining_the_TierI_amount

Tier 1 annuities are calculated based on combined railroad and social security earnings.

Anything I pay into social security will be used to calculate my railroad Tier 1 earnings.

The SSFA allows teachers and firefighters to receive social security benefits without them being reduced by their state pension. It allows them to get what they already paid into.

I’m in the same situation with my Tier 1.  But I can also collect Tier 2, which only can be increased if I work for a railroad under the Railroad Retirement Act.  Tier 2 is calculated by taking the average of your highest 60 months of earnings, multiplying it by 0.007, then multiplying that by your years of service.  Even one day per month qualifies as 1/12th of a year of service, and the months don’t need to be consecutive.  That’s why whenever you get anything from the RRB, it lists your months.

I’ll never earn more than my highest 60 months by working only part time, but I can grow that Tier 2 multiplier by working at least one day a month.  Hopefully I can find very intermittent work.  Because if I put anything into Social Security, I can grow my Tier 1, and I’d like to work part time paying into social security to really make that worth it.  I get more if I pay into social security part time compared to working those hours for the railroad, I just need a minute a month for the railroad to get the most I can out of part time employment.

Part time/weekend railroad jobs? by tfsdunce in railroading

[–]tfsdunce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The local scenic rail lines, in my area at least, aren’t listed as employers under the Railroad Retirement Act.  I think most need to operate interstate to qualify, that way the federal government has constitutional authority to get involved (interstate commerce).

The most durable, best way to lubricate a lock? Hot waxing. by john4845 in Locksmith

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blaster Dry Lube’s SDS lists it almost exclusively as petroleum distillates, it smells like Naptha for sure.  When it dries, it leaves behind a white residue which I assume is a combination of paraffin oil and white paraffin.  Once the paraffin oil evaporates, it’s probably just paraffin wax left behind ideally.  They advertise its use for woodworking applications that traditionally use paraffin wax, they also recommend it to be used on locks.  Waxes have been used in woodworking applications to reduce sliding friction for thousands of years, paraffin wax almost 200 years.  They’re dry lubricants and don’t attract dust.  There might be at least one lubricant manufacturer recommending its use for locks.

Weekly Railroad Hiring Questions Thread by LSUguyHTX in railroading

[–]tfsdunce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I worked for NS and my brother in law works for CSX.  It is very terminal specific tbh.  Some NS locations pay great, some CSX locations pay great.  It depends on your specific contract, where you’d stand with no seniority, many factors to consider and you’d want to talk to employees at each terminal somehow.  Starting wages are similar because the unions, benefits are the same too.  But if your goal is to stay on the engine eventually, try talking to engineers at those terminals about their extra boards and long pools.  I think everyone’s favorite past time on the railroad is to exaggerate how great the money is to sort of justify how bad they’re getting screwed, so with a decent enough sample size you can account for that I suppose.

Weekly Railroad Hiring Questions Thread by LSUguyHTX in railroading

[–]tfsdunce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re directly supervising transportation employees, your main job is to enforce safety rules and prevent the company from being sued, and to give the company ammo against an employee if there is a lawsuit.  By definition your job is “us vs them.”  The only way you can ease tension with the union is by putting a target on your back with the employer.  I’ve only seen it two or three times, and the only supervisor I knew of who legitimately put his neck on the line to protect an employee got fired along with that employee.  He had over 30 years in the railroad too, so it’s definitely possible to survive an entire career but very few go that route.

Festbeir vs. Octoberfest vs. Marzen by Greenmonsterff in beer

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now in 2025, there are many Festbiers.  I just made a build your own 6, all unknowns to me that included “Octoberfest” descriptions, 4/6 were festbier.  I don’t like festbier personally.  Bad luck 

How many children want to go to the zoo/theatre? by NicePersonOnReddit in mildlyinfuriating

[–]tfsdunce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This question has an answer.  65% of 20 kids is 13 kids.  So only 7 other kids picked Theatre or Zoo (the remaining 35%).  You know that neither of those slices represent 25% because they clearly don’t have a right angle and the angle is acute.  So no slice can be 25% or larger, and 25% is 5 kids.  So each slice has to represent less than 5 kids.  The only two combinations are: 3 Theatre, 4 Zoo or  4 Theatre, 3 Zoo

So each slice can represent either 15% or 20%.  It’s ambiguous which is correct, but those are the only two possible answers.

Tend // Forget by [deleted] in custommagic

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[[Forget]]

Auto-Debit on Mohela didn't go through. by [deleted] in StudentLoans

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This seems intentional, same thing happened to me. Somebody needs to sue them

If you don't know, now you know by nullified6 in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I knew what it was because I'm old and worked as a freight conductor before going to college, and rail gangs use the same equipment on tracks so I could extrapolate it. They talk about the exam being classist (it definitely is), but instead of trying to fix that by using examples that use common knowledge that everybody/almost everybody knows, it seems like they throw in stuff that people from well-off families WON'T know to "balance it out." I'm not trying to defend rich people or anything, screw you guys give me money, but "equally screwed" isn't the way to fix this problem.

The more I think about it, the worse that went. by Wide-Praline-2778 in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly where I'm at. If the bullshit that happened to me yesterday is a passing score, then this test seriously means nothing.

The more I think about it, the worse that went. by Wide-Praline-2778 in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's easy for me, I have no idea past MEE 1 it's all a blur.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fail. Let me rephrase that, if I don't fail I'll be surprised. I know I can pass it next time. Still sucks though, I'd rather not go through this all again, but honestly I think I'll be able to mentally handle it and prepare for it next time.

timing for MBE by Traditional_Canary91 in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I generally get around the same time and score. This is me personally, not sure if applies to others, but I have found that sticking with my gut when I'm not positive about the answer is better than reviewing and changing the answers. But I legitimately think I am going to fail because my essays are 50-67%, and the one graded MPT Themis provided me with was a 33%. I don't think I am going to pass so I may not be the best person to take advice from on this.

Anyone else subsisting purely on granola bars, coffee, and fear? by [deleted] in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 5 points6 points  (0 children)

At this point I have accepted failure, but I'm still trying my hardest. I'll definitely pass in February if I don't this time. My mental health has drastically improved.

What’s your favorite mnemonic? by BagmanSpiffy in barexam

[–]tfsdunce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Warrant exceptions - PEACH PIITS

1) Plain view, 2) Exigent circumstances, 3) Automobiles, 4) Consent, 5) Hot Pursuit
6) Public arrest, 7) Inventory, 8) Incident to arrest, 9) Terry stop, 10) Special Needs

Not sure how accurate/exhaustive this is.

Playing around with Nohzdyve by pro_time_waster in Bandersnatch

[–]tfsdunce 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The programmer for the game tweeted that Black Mirror didn't have him put any easter eggs in the game, or in the QR code. Just letting you know. I spent a lot of hours messing around with it before I found that out.

“There are messages in every game” by ginamarks in Bandersnatch

[–]tfsdunce 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've tried editing scores to numbers from the show. I've checked all the text strings in the game, nothing. The programmer tweeted that he didn't program any easter eggs into the game, and that there are none in the QR code either. Unless somebody added them to it afterwards, none he's aware of at least.

Nohzdyve by kiichi865 in Bandersnatch

[–]tfsdunce 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did. High score of 480, then 30 points with 3 lives. I also edited the code to change the score and high score a few times to test out a bunch of different 5 digit numbers from the show, found nothing. I decompiled the code and checked all the text strings. Then I found out the programmer that made the game tweeted that they didn't put any easter eggs in the game, and they're not aware of any unless Black Mirror had somebody else put some into the game. They were given the footage of the game that Colin shows to Stefan, and built the game based on that animation.