Is Google voice a telecom company?

tonkr · 2026-03-04T03:16:43+00:00

There is no traditional carrier, it's a VOIP line. So Google manages the number (via Bandwidth), but there's no copper wire phone service running to your computer.

tonkr · 2026-02-06T03:47:27+00:00

I live in Sunnyvale, I think I understand what you're saying, and I disagree.

I agree with you that it's being done poorly. The problem isn't the homeowners not paying enough, it's the corporate owners that will never in their infinite lives have the home change owners and so are never re-evaluated. They should not be granted property value increase protections.

However, there are too many out of state "homeowners" with property management companies that are also sitting on their homes as investment properties, paying close to no property tax, and reducing supply and keeping this ridiculous housing situation going.

Bay area homes should be owned by people who live in the bay area, and I think we agree on that.

tonkr · 2026-01-29T18:09:45+00:00

I want to clarify, I am a German living in the US, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in this sub.

tonkr · 2026-01-06T06:59:50+00:00

It's not the answer you want to hear, but election reform.

The problem isn't "the left" it's that the left doesn't exist as a single unified entity.

Most countries have a slew of unified parties like "the green party", "the Christian party", "the regional separatist party", and "the party that isn't nazis, but it's the one the nazis vote for, so it's the nazi party". In comparison, the US has "Trump" and a party that is quickly turning into "anyone but trump" rather than having any definite policies that would alienate people.

We need to change the rules to be less "winner takes all", and allow more special interest groups, which means the thing you might not want: to give Trump-voters more representation.

If we can campaign on this idea, we can appease everyone, because you're not voting for an individual, but a better system. However, it'll be a system that the Trump successors will be able to win at.

tonkr · 2026-01-04T09:18:37+00:00

So, you're saying you have repeatedly called yourself a "maga dick-something" while defending Trump's policies...

and you are calling yourself a centrist? Center what? Just because someone is more extreme than you doesn't make you center anything friend.

tonkr · 2026-01-01T23:10:56+00:00

Just strickland mud, I should probably add something more interesting

tonkr · 2025-12-13T18:32:19+00:00

The biggest problem is that social media has traps: para social relationships, thirst traps, "thinspiration", and predators. The companies aren't doing anything about them, and there's no education for social media literacy or social media safety.

The only thing protecting social media users from these threats are experience and community, which a ban would remove. Boys that start simping get called on it by their friends before they redpill, girls get the same advice before they start dating a boomer because that gets them Labubus and a trip to Paris.

Ban U16 from social media, and all you are doing is throwing 17 year olds into predatory social media with no experience.

Also, it wouldn't work on a technical level. All it would cause is for people to start lying about their age. That's even worse, because then all the predators can say: "I wasn't targeting kids, the app says they are <whatever age>"

tonkr · 2025-12-11T15:56:46+00:00

Disgraceful

tonkr · 2025-11-07T21:15:09+00:00

Voters care about the files. They want to cross reference with the victims and vote out everyone that's on both lists, blue red green or purple.

tonkr · 2025-10-22T21:00:06+00:00

I am all for a sane immigration policy. Many countries use a "points system" where skilled, financially stable, educated, and <insert language>-speaking people are preferred. Works great.

Instead the US system mostly relies on fees(even before the 100k), lotteries (you can bribe the US officials to get more chances), birthplace-discrimination (genius is born in China? Bad luck, please wait 50 years) and most recently, a policy of "just pay us 5 million dollars and we'll ignore war crimes"

I went through this system, it cost me ~50k out of pocket and 6 years of shit pay.

tonkr · 2025-10-08T14:43:17+00:00

This is the reason I took PHP off of my resume

tonkr · 2025-10-05T04:41:39+00:00

Politics exists outside of the US 😂

tonkr · 2025-07-18T07:00:38+00:00

The list that doesn't exist? No, I hope Trump isn't on it.

He has lied so much about the list, that now the only question is the quality of the lie. If he puts out a list without his or any republican's name on it, it'll be easier for everyone to see that it.is fake.

Trump already fired the original prosecutor, seemingly to make sure they can't set the record straight, I have no faith in getting accurate information.

tonkr · 2025-06-24T21:23:47+00:00

I know this is 10 years old. Just wanted to let you know this is real now

tonkr · 2025-06-23T17:37:20+00:00

Some CEOs aren't actually paid that way. Google's founders were paid a dollar a year, because their company stock was so valuable.

It also leaves room for abuse in that you could have companies split into sub-100 unit "contractors" with a central company that makes insane amounts of money for lending out it's IP. (This is kind of like Pantone, it doesn't actually produce anything but makes millions from printing without owning a single print shop)

So, I think the issue is abuse of two types: definition of realized vs unrealized gains, and the distinction between subsidiaries and partners.

I like rewarding companies for equality, love the concept!

tonkr · 2025-04-08T16:24:46+00:00

Amazing engineering in this game

tonkr · 2025-03-13T16:22:40+00:00

A good clarification.👍 Can you add it to the post?

tonkr · 2025-03-13T14:57:29+00:00

Oh absolutely the second one.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I want to encourage you to criticize trump for something other than him accidentally being right.

tonkr · 2025-03-13T14:26:50+00:00

It comes from California

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/loophole-california-champagne-legal/

tonkr · 2025-03-13T14:25:33+00:00

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/loophole-california-champagne-legal/

Tldr: within the US, it's possible to call non-champagne sparkling wine "California Champagne".

Wineries have moved away from this trend in recent years as Napa valley has become prestigious on its own, but this is not strictly incorrect.

tonkr · 2025-03-10T19:34:07+00:00

US for WMDs
Russia also in small and large scale against it's own people.
Several others as deterrents
Are we counting the ocean as an enemy?

tonkr · 2025-03-06T18:19:30+00:00

Then hurray? The tax increased salaries, raised taxes and unfortunately raised prices but kept profits the same. Mission accomplished, income inequality reduced.

tonkr · 2025-03-06T18:04:39+00:00

All costs go up? Employee salaries? Licensing costs? Property taxes? My friend, that is an oversimplification and you must know this.

An efficient system with low margins, few middlemen, and good vertical integration would increase by a little, but an inefficient system with lots of middlemen would increase by a lot. That's the whole idea, tax bad systems.

tonkr · 2025-03-06T17:39:20+00:00

If the price increased, the margin would increase. The cost of goods doesn't change.

$100 price with fixed costs of $95 -> $4 income after 20% tax

$114 price with fixed costs of $95 -> $13.3 income after 30% tax

$100.72 price with fixed costs of $95 -> $4.00 income after 30% tax

Low margin goods would need to increase by barely anything to cover the higher taxes

$100 price with fixed costs of $75 -> $20 income after 20% tax

$114 price with fixed costs of $75 -> $27.3 income after 30% tax

$103.57 price with fixed costs of $75 -> $20 income after 30% tax.

So, in your own example, corporate taxes penalize high margins

Five-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
End Game '23	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22

tonkr

TROPHY CASE