The same to you and everyone you love. I am always grateful for the loving good wishes of others sent my way (and in my own handcrafted prayers you were already included because of my clever phrasing...).
I can't help growing old, but I don't have to grow up. Truth be told, unless I look in the mirror, I don't feel any older than when I was 50. I still love riding my 1974 Holdsworth Record racing bike and my e-bike. Big difference now is I have time to read and study and subscribe to a number of substacks, which in those days I would not have had the time for.
Totally agree. There are perks to aging. My favorite adult sentence is "Yea, I'm not going to do that." With a close second being "Yea, that sounds like a lot of work."
I retired after spending half of my engineering career working on technical proposals for very big contracts. That was 60-80 hours a week for the 3-9 months of the average proposal schedule - EVMS, cost, schedule IMS, architecture, technical solution... It is very tempting but I'm a bit too old to sustain that pace.
I see some cross currents. Seems like we need super smart autistic types but RFK is going to fix the food and vaccines so there won’t be as many autistic folks going forward.
There were “autistic” folks prior to the vaccines and modern diet, people like Temple Grandin and other high functioning “autists”. So potentially there’s a natural distribution of high achievers we won’t miss out on but we will stop creating so many low functioning tragedies.
There is something to that. My father was likely on the spectrum. Born in 1932 and considered 'mentally slow' (LOL, he was anything but that...) he didn't get his first vaccines until he enlisted in the army in '50 or so. He went on to get a Master's Degree and had a pretty normal adult life. He worked with the handicapped. I think the had a huge amount of empathy for those who were different and had been labeled as 'less than'.
True. My older brother (born in 1945) got very few vaccines as a child....he and I both got the usual diseases such as measles, mumps chicken pox. As a child in the 1950s, I was always fearful (**made fearful by the government) of polio...lots of iron lung photos everywhere to scare us. So we all got the polio vaccine on a sugar cube. However, back to my brother...he is definitely on the autism spectrum. My parents never knew what was wrong with him. They sought help, but doctors wanted to do electric shock treatments on him, which they refused. He's highly intelligent and high functioning, but has always had problems socially. In recent years I realized it is some form of autism. He was clearly born with it.
She was born in 1947, mass vaccine campaigns didn’t start until the fifties, she was diagnosed as “brain damaged” at 2. She may have received vaccines later in life but hadn’t received any prior to her showing autism symptoms.
By midterms, we will evaluate whether the DODE, the Department of DOGE Efficiency, will be necessary to be formed, instituted, and staffed with bureaucrats to oversee the bureaucrats responsible for sacking the bureaucrats.
T and J that would be great. I suggest the Executive Order include a sunset clause of one year for it to shut down and staff terminated. The President must make a new EO appoint a new head and make a new name, identify a specific set of departments to focus, and new staff hired. Any “procedures and policies” from the prior incarnation to be burned. We don’t need it to be optimised and perfected, it needs to do a job and be done.
Don't forget, before even going out for bids, numerous environmental assessments need to be done, along with impact studies on climate change...........
My sister is a true genius, works 80+ hrs a week and would do more if the job would allow her to. She thrives in high intensity envro's. Speaks, reads, writes Mandarin. Works for Hewlett-Packard in Logistics.
I give IQ tests for a living. Maybe Pearson (the giant monopolistic blob that dominates testing now) should add a subtest to the WAIS. Call it "self awareness."
Sample question: If Jenny takes multiple IQ tests to see how high she can score, what does that say about Jenny?
1 point responses: Jenny has higher than average intelligence; Jenny is interested in self improvement
2 point responses: Jenny overestimates the utility and misunderstands the purpose of IQ testing; Jenny has some narcissistic tendencies.
David Wechsler himself (The "W" in WISC and WAIS thought of his tests as useful mostly for qualitative data, almost as interviews to explore the individual's beliefs and attitudes as much as a precise, exacting measure of cognitive engine size.
They have use in understanding learning capacity and style but once you get much beyond one SD, the differences in scores really don't mean much.
I implore anyone reading to invest not any sense of self-worth in how high you can get your number. Astrology or tea leaves or divining chicken entrails might be more interesting to talk about.
Since this is a forum where I am writing under a pseudonym, it was an easy enough question for me, but I don't ever tell others what my IQ is. I see it as gauche. It should be apparent who's smart, clever, intelligent, etc. or not.
I took the test but crashed and burned on my nemesis: algebra word problems. I'm okay at algebra but have yet to vanquish word problems. Funny thing is, I was really good at trig word problems.
Several members were there at the time. More nerds than in marching band in high school. I was happy to be a band geek! "What happens on the band bus stays on the band bus." Our parents would have had heart attacks if they had known what all went on band trips!
for the record, I threw el gato malo and oilfield rando into the mix. Rando has been finding ridiculous expenditure after ridiculous expenditure - our tax $$ being wasted. They are serious AND they are both funny
I'm sure they don't need another 2 cents worth, but I suggest shutting down the BATF. Alcohol and tobacco can be regulated as needed by the FDA. The FDA can surely be slashed 90% as they have been taken over by large corporations.
And yet they tell me guns and booze don't mix. I think it's a natural fit, as young men with guns always seem to be drawn to the stores that sell alcohol and tobacco.
LOL. If I was a decade younger (maybe two decades) I’d send mine in. But at 69 I’m just happy to see you all in the younger generations roll up your sleeves and kick some ass.
Hey, Bad Cat. Put your resume in and we will put in a good word for you.
I think he’s already in, helping interview.
A good purr.
I do not have the skill set they need, but I would happily buy them all coffee. Good coffee, not the Starbucks swill.
We should get Tej Gill from Warpath Coffee to be involved to supply the Mariners Blend dark roast.
Better yet, bring a portable propane roaster and roast it on sight. "You don't need to go out and get fresh roasted coffee. We come to you."
See? We're saving money already!
Not when you see what I will charge for coffee roasted and made fresh on sight.
Capitalism!
SiteRoast (tm) Coffee
(no charge for marketing consulation + spelling interjection)
Overpriced swill at that !
https://www.jimsorganiccoffee.com/
The best...
The army of autists gathers under the black flag.
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
- H.L. Mencken, Prejudices First Series
Or at the very least attempt to chew some ankles.
This nation was built on alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and high-functioning autism.
God blessed America!
[I've liked you more now.]
I will keep you and your daughter in my prayers, SCA. God's blessings to you both.
[I've got a son.]
The same to you and everyone you love. I am always grateful for the loving good wishes of others sent my way (and in my own handcrafted prayers you were already included because of my clever phrasing...).
[I've got a son.] Oops!
Thank you.
Look at us, ending up as cozy friends. I'll be the African wild cat and you can be the ram.
Deal!
twenty years ago, when I was a mere sprout of sixty, I would have shoved my way to the front of the line, but now...
Eighty hour weeks!
Thanks for making my 61 years feel "young."
LOL
#soon60
Same here, but what the heck else do I have to do with my time? Sure as hell NOT golf!
I was used to that too, but I'll be 74 in February.
You sound so much younger, Swabbie.
I thought the same thing
See answer to Julinthecrown.
I can't help growing old, but I don't have to grow up. Truth be told, unless I look in the mirror, I don't feel any older than when I was 50. I still love riding my 1974 Holdsworth Record racing bike and my e-bike. Big difference now is I have time to read and study and subscribe to a number of substacks, which in those days I would not have had the time for.
Totally agree. There are perks to aging. My favorite adult sentence is "Yea, I'm not going to do that." With a close second being "Yea, that sounds like a lot of work."
I retired after spending half of my engineering career working on technical proposals for very big contracts. That was 60-80 hours a week for the 3-9 months of the average proposal schedule - EVMS, cost, schedule IMS, architecture, technical solution... It is very tempting but I'm a bit too old to sustain that pace.
That's what I thought. I work too much already.
I was thinking the same
I see some cross currents. Seems like we need super smart autistic types but RFK is going to fix the food and vaccines so there won’t be as many autistic folks going forward.
There were “autistic” folks prior to the vaccines and modern diet, people like Temple Grandin and other high functioning “autists”. So potentially there’s a natural distribution of high achievers we won’t miss out on but we will stop creating so many low functioning tragedies.
There is something to that. My father was likely on the spectrum. Born in 1932 and considered 'mentally slow' (LOL, he was anything but that...) he didn't get his first vaccines until he enlisted in the army in '50 or so. He went on to get a Master's Degree and had a pretty normal adult life. He worked with the handicapped. I think the had a huge amount of empathy for those who were different and had been labeled as 'less than'.
Three in one thousand in those days.
One in 36 today. Hummm.
I think it's something like 1 in 24 in CA. But not to worry, we just have "better diagnostics" to explain the rise! Nothing to see here, move along...
True. My older brother (born in 1945) got very few vaccines as a child....he and I both got the usual diseases such as measles, mumps chicken pox. As a child in the 1950s, I was always fearful (**made fearful by the government) of polio...lots of iron lung photos everywhere to scare us. So we all got the polio vaccine on a sugar cube. However, back to my brother...he is definitely on the autism spectrum. My parents never knew what was wrong with him. They sought help, but doctors wanted to do electric shock treatments on him, which they refused. He's highly intelligent and high functioning, but has always had problems socially. In recent years I realized it is some form of autism. He was clearly born with it.
Is Temple old enough to have no vaccines?
She was born in 1947, mass vaccine campaigns didn’t start until the fifties, she was diagnosed as “brain damaged” at 2. She may have received vaccines later in life but hadn’t received any prior to her showing autism symptoms.
BigFedGov already subsidizes tobacco farmers while also urging us not to smoke.
LOL
Yes, it somehow seems counterproductive.
How many bureaucrats does DOGE need to hire to institutionalize in 5 years for the mission to cut bureaucrats? Staff of 60,000 enough?
- The Swamp
La Chev. - Your's is a very valid comment.
And I hope the new Doge will frame and mount your comment on their walls , lest they become the same as those they hope to replace .
Good luck ladies and gents .
By midterms, we will evaluate whether the DODE, the Department of DOGE Efficiency, will be necessary to be formed, instituted, and staffed with bureaucrats to oversee the bureaucrats responsible for sacking the bureaucrats.
- The Swamp
DOGE will be disbanded on 7/4/26. They've given themselves that time line.
very cool
🤣🤣🤣
T and J that would be great. I suggest the Executive Order include a sunset clause of one year for it to shut down and staff terminated. The President must make a new EO appoint a new head and make a new name, identify a specific set of departments to focus, and new staff hired. Any “procedures and policies” from the prior incarnation to be burned. We don’t need it to be optimised and perfected, it needs to do a job and be done.
Perhaps two years.
How many bureaucrats does it take to screw in a light bulb?
None - they have to put it out for bids
Don't forget, before even going out for bids, numerous environmental assessments need to be done, along with impact studies on climate change...........
a plan must be made for proper reimagination and repurposing of the removed lightbulb
A blue ribbon panel must be convened before any further discussion on the topic can be entertained.
we need a committee to appoint members of the blue ribbon panel
It's going to take some time to spin up associates and bachelors degree curricula that cover "Government Efficiency Studies" majors.
🤣
I would be all in, except for the high IQ part. But Bad Kitty should DEFINITELY be a part of that.
Not that Geniuses grow on trees but I think the bigger impediment is finding the ones who will give 120% in 77-hour weeks.
Yeah, that’s what these guys are all about. I’ll never understand it but it’s a real thing.
My sister is a true genius, works 80+ hrs a week and would do more if the job would allow her to. She thrives in high intensity envro's. Speaks, reads, writes Mandarin. Works for Hewlett-Packard in Logistics.
She put her CV in.
I used to do that when I was younger, but I learned that lesson.
I wonder how high an IQ they're asking for? I got 135 (at last testing). Is that high?
You qualify for MENSA
Huh. I last tested at 153. Didn’t really think about Mensa, and I’m not autistic but I DO have an eidetic memory and music memory with synesthesia…..🤔
Idle thought, not trying to pick on you.
I give IQ tests for a living. Maybe Pearson (the giant monopolistic blob that dominates testing now) should add a subtest to the WAIS. Call it "self awareness."
Sample question: If Jenny takes multiple IQ tests to see how high she can score, what does that say about Jenny?
1 point responses: Jenny has higher than average intelligence; Jenny is interested in self improvement
2 point responses: Jenny overestimates the utility and misunderstands the purpose of IQ testing; Jenny has some narcissistic tendencies.
David Wechsler himself (The "W" in WISC and WAIS thought of his tests as useful mostly for qualitative data, almost as interviews to explore the individual's beliefs and attitudes as much as a precise, exacting measure of cognitive engine size.
They have use in understanding learning capacity and style but once you get much beyond one SD, the differences in scores really don't mean much.
I implore anyone reading to invest not any sense of self-worth in how high you can get your number. Astrology or tea leaves or divining chicken entrails might be more interesting to talk about.
Since this is a forum where I am writing under a pseudonym, it was an easy enough question for me, but I don't ever tell others what my IQ is. I see it as gauche. It should be apparent who's smart, clever, intelligent, etc. or not.
I envy that last part.
I took the test but crashed and burned on my nemesis: algebra word problems. I'm okay at algebra but have yet to vanquish word problems. Funny thing is, I was really good at trig word problems.
As I recall, same here.
I hear they are assholes
Now, mostly dorks with low social skills. Anyone with a high IQ that feels the need to join MENSA has a very high probability of being a dork.
I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member.
*waggles big cigar near big mustache*
Need to start a Not Mary Rose Club. As founder, you’ll have honorary status.
Several members were there at the time. More nerds than in marching band in high school. I was happy to be a band geek! "What happens on the band bus stays on the band bus." Our parents would have had heart attacks if they had known what all went on band trips!
I wasn't in band, now I wish I had been, but I had lots of band friends. They were the best, smartest, and most interesting people.
It's 100 more than POTUS and Vice POTUS combined!
Me too. I could make the strong coffee, though.
for the record, I threw el gato malo and oilfield rando into the mix. Rando has been finding ridiculous expenditure after ridiculous expenditure - our tax $$ being wasted. They are serious AND they are both funny
Is oilfield a Substack fella ?
Twitter and well worth a follow.
@oilfield_rando
I believe he was tapped.
I hope that’s true. He has done incredible work
Maybe not tapped, but followed by Elon on X. Hopefully, they’re enlisting him 🤩
I'm sure they don't need another 2 cents worth, but I suggest shutting down the BATF. Alcohol and tobacco can be regulated as needed by the FDA. The FDA can surely be slashed 90% as they have been taken over by large corporations.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1286113397/atf-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-should-be-a
And yet they tell me guns and booze don't mix. I think it's a natural fit, as young men with guns always seem to be drawn to the stores that sell alcohol and tobacco.
Like it, Pi.
BATF exists only to take money from citizens. IMO
And murder them.
Remember Waco and Rudy Ridge.
thank you, libertate. Yes.
Yes please.
Just ordered a couple suppressors and would rather not wait for them.
Happy to save $400 too.
In my part of the country ATF is a convenience store 😎
What about the F in the acronym?
Get the BullDOGErs out and flatten The Augeas' stables!
First two questions:
"What is your purpose here?"
"What are you doing right now?"
*The Two Bobs have entered the chat*
https://youtu.be/RkmuI5W694o?si=DTmlHOjesy2Et35A
Don't you understand?!! I'M A PEOPLE PERSON!!!
I'm not sure what Rage Against the Machine was angry about, but my bet's on a Printer:
https://youtu.be/N9wsjroVlu8?si=n9zMRKge1nOIfMD0
Love it! 😄
LOL. If I was a decade younger (maybe two decades) I’d send mine in. But at 69 I’m just happy to see you all in the younger generations roll up your sleeves and kick some ass.
It’s a target rich environment.
Amaaaazzzzing. Make America Great AGAIN - lean and mean and spit spot clean!!
The Dept. of Slice & Dice?
¡Afuera!
https://apnews.com/article/milei-argentina-chainsaw-fed35a37c6137b951e4adada3d866436
You have to love a bobblehead with a chainsaw! That's when you know you have arrived.
Lovely. Simply lovely.
I'm retired, but if they can hire a retired DOD employee, I would come back to work for that.
You are indeed the baddest cat ever.
The pen IS mightier than the sword.
Never bring a Sword to a Pen Fight.
Or something.
Not when you’re in a sword fight. That is not unless your last name is Wick.