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Exposition

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Posts posted by Exposition

  1. I only speak English. Have been 'on the verge' of trying to learn another for years now. This includes Mandarin when I lived in Singapore and Japanese when I lived in Japan. But it was too easy getting away with English and I never pursued either seriously.

    I want to learn a language that I have some sort of passionate connection with. Spanish? Thai? Arabic? I'm dying to put in the effort and immerse myself into Duolingo or whatever to learn but I'm too finicky to commit.

    Yet at the end of the day I keep coming back to Cantonese because Hong Kong is far and way my 1,000% favorite city in the world. I have nothing else to contribute to this thread except the shoutout to Cantonese. I felt that. 

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  2. 12 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

    I can't bear to read this thread, because the thought of this jackass potentially assuming the Presidency again makes me ill to my stomach. But, with all of the indictments of the last several months, but him still leading in the polls (which is unfathomable to me), is he really going to win the nomination, and potentially the Presidency?

    I'm with you and here's where I'm at: he'll likely win the GOP nomination but lose the general. The "blue wall" is strong enough in swing states where he'll not only lose the vote, but then won't be able to subvert the certification process like he came very close to doing in 2020. Recent Supreme Court ruling and indictments have given me hope that the 2020 fuckery won't get as far in 2024 (because they will definitely still try).

    This all assumes the economy/inflation/gas prices stay reasonable, and Biden is able to run. If either one of those change I'll start getting really worried. But ultimately the mere fact that Trump will be the nominee gets us way too close to the reality of him taking office again, which is fucked up in itself. So this is how I'm able to take a deep breath and not worry myself into insanity. 

  3. 13 hours ago, Fastbreak said:

     

    Ummm. Weed is now legal in Thailand. They could be making a killing if they advertised it right. Only Asian country I think.

     

    Heading back after a crazy 5 days.

    Do you still live in SG? I read something about SG customs threatening to drug test BKK return flights to prevent locals from partaking in the weed. They'd probably skip you as an ang moh though. 

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  4. Flew AA from Denver to DFW on Wednesday and the crew made it clear from the opening announcement that you must wear earbuds or earphones for any type of media player. Of course this one dipshit in front of me ignored that and started watching a movie on his phone with full volume. FA quickly came over and made him turn it off. I think it's an awesome policy and AA earned a few points in my book. 

    But yesterday I flew Nashville to DFW and there was no such announcement/enforcement. So maybe it's up to the crew to decide if they want to deal with it. 

  5. On 5/19/2023 at 7:48 PM, Covri said:

    Gordo on his toes and wearing leather shoes/boots when everyone else it in sneakers and sandals is peak Gordo I'm better than y'all lol

    Can anyone put names to the faces for me going L to R? I recognize Corby, guessing Norm is wearing the ballcap with black shirt/tan pants, Gordo is behind him. 

    Thanks. I'm just a P1 who doesn't follow them on social media and doesn't know what they look like.  

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  6. 3 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

    What the biggest issue I see right now is if you can work from home to do your job, then why am I even employing you and instead just outsourcing your position elsewhere globally? If the IT infrastructure costs have to be there to continue to facilitate massive remote employment, there is no difference between Durham NC and Delhi. As we see a continued need to reduce overhead costs why not outsource these remote jobs that are noncritical to the company? As US labor, raw goods, and manufacturing costs continue to rise, why not outsource the jobs that can rely on a purely virtual or digital transmission environment as we now have to account for increased costs as we try to reduce the scope of the supply chain to a more local or regional footprint?

    The problem with the "world is flat" phenomenon now is that if that is the case, we are now dealing with how much productivity can I get globally at what costs, and many can hire a vast number of lesser efficient employees elsewhere in bulk and still come up significantly ahead. If we are going to make the work virtual, then now I am no longer limited to a talent base and salary structure in the US or my region but instead globally. In that space, the everyday US worker will not be able to compete in a $$ per output scenario vs many other locales.

    While I agree that quality of life is important for everyone, that cant come at the cost of productivity because all it does is incentivize the business to just outsource the position that is currently WFH globally.

    Because it's not easy to switch from US employees to offshore employees. You'll be spending a significant amount of time and money re-arranging your business process to accommodate the new setup, which will include lengthy periods of time for your retained US staff to learn the new flow of things. I have worked with some absolutely brilliant offshore teams, but just like the US and everywhere else, those teams are not the norm and you'll get what you pay for. The good teams are expensive. 

    But this won't stop the FP&A teams from modeling a nice margin bump from offshoring which gives leadership a way to threaten the WFH crowd with it. 

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  7. Anyone else doing a double-take hearing the ATP students using their new callsign "Career Track"? Is it common for big box flight schools to create a callsign? Thrust does it here at Addison but I hadn't heard any other schools in the area doing it. Always wondered if they have it placarded or how else they remember their flight #. 

  8. 38 minutes ago, Homercles said:

    Was WN taking longer than tower expected when they said they were ready for departure?  Wondering if they had to do a static takeoff to run up the motors in icing conditions, and tower was cutting it too close with FedEx on short final.  
     

    I’d imagine one of the scariest things as a pilot has to be starting a go around with a similar-performance bird underneath you, and being unaware if they’re aborting or on the roll. 

    That's my theory. Tower thought WN was ready and had enough time to get out before the FedEx on a 3 mile final. Even though WN confirmed they knew how close the FedEx was, they didn't move quick enough. The recording cuts 30 seconds, then 20 seconds of silence during WN's takeoff, which is a crucial 50 seconds of limbo in that tight of a window. On top of that there was dense fog and low visibility so nobody could see eachother. 

  9. 2 minutes ago, HiggyBaby said:

    As a pilot I’ve come to loathe AUS from an operational perspective. Mostly because of the ramp, which is uncontrolled and akin to the wild Wild West. But they do love to keep the departures tight. What tower was thinking clearing a takeoff in hard IFR with a heavy on short final… I guess we will find out soon enough. Wonder how much awareness the Southwest guys initially had of what was going on.

    Meaning once you're ready to go you tell the ground crew when to push back? And then you contact ground? Whereas other airports with that volume of traffic have a specific ramp control you contact before ground? 

    I get why airports like Lubbock and Abilene would operate that way, which makes sense that Austin can turn into a shitshow if that's how it works there.  

  10. Had the Moderna bivalent shot on Tuesday during lunch. Didn't really feel any effects that night, went to sleep at my usual time. Woke up with a mild headache and fever but both were gone by the afternoon. Sore arm for a few days but by today that's gone too. Wasn't nearly as bad as last year's 2nd dose and booster which both knocked me out for a day.

  11. 15 hours ago, Shaddie said:

    It’s just a matter of numbers. You never hear about ok trips. It’s just bad ones that get airplay. As a AA guy averaging 75 flights a year for 20 years I have had less than one a year with major issues. 

    Last weekend I flew Southwest from Kansas City to Love Field. I haven't been on an airliner in a year and I was expecting the absolute worst of society since that's essentially what Twitter and YouTube is telling me about flying these days. MCI is a shitty airport but the check-in and TSA experience was smooth. And then....the dreaded text message is received saying there's a 2 hour delay. "Uh oh, here comes the unruly crowd..."

    Except none of that happened. People were annoyed but civil, nobody was yelling at the gate agents, everyone just sat around playing on their phones for an extra few hours. I was really impressed! So yeah, it's the law of large numbers that you'll eventually find yourself in a YouTube video but for my one-off experience it was just fine.

    /CSB.

  12. 6 hours ago, Rv8riveter said:

    I fly out of uncontrolled Airports 99% of the time.  The twin driver is 100% at fault. Pattern traffic has the right of way, so his responsibility is to sequence in safely. Calling a 10 mile straight in is fine if the pattern is empty, but sounds like 3 aircraft in the pattern already, so he should have flown an upwind or deviated his route to use another safe entry like midfield cross.

    Dumb and 100% avoidable.

     

    As I'm reading and learning more about this, I'm baffled by the twin pilot's absolute obtuse behavior and lack of situational awareness. Apparently the ADSB data is showing he was at ~180 kts within his 3 mile final. Makes zero sense why he would be that fast, aside from the fact of him being 'that guy' who busts into the pattern and acts like an ass. Assuming no new data comes out this is such a maddening and avoidable tragedy. 

     

     

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  13. 3 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

    This is really sad and shocking news.  Abe really was a giant in Japanese politics; I'm not sure there is any analogous figure in modern American politics.  So this is going to be really traumatic for the Japanese people (who already have a lot to deal with, as referenced above).

    Agree completely. I lived in Japan from 2018 - 2021 and he was always talked about more in a 'funny uncle' type of way but with a respectful and appreciative tone. And that sentiment was universal whether you belonged to his party or not. When COVID first hit he led an effort to send every household in Japan a package of masks (because they were sold out everywhere). My colleagues joked about it but once the masks arrived in the mail each of us cheered over Zoom. For them it was "Welp, Abe san got it done!". For me I was just grateful to have some masks.

     

    Tragic day for Japan.  

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  14. On 6/30/2022 at 11:27 AM, Your Mom said:

    Does anyone here fly GA around Austin?  I'm looking to get checked out in something to take the kids up in.  I recognize a few schools' names but I haven't flown around here since 2003 so I don't know who still has a good reputation and who to avoid.  AUS would be preferred, but GTU and HYI would be ok too.  Looking for someplace professional with a solid reputation for keeping up on maintenance, etc..  The kind of place you'd send your kids to.  

    Have a look at Coast Flight at KHYI. They seem to be a solid shop based on what I've heard here in the Dallas area (they have a location at KRBD). And I know an outstanding CFI who joined their KHYI roster recently, so they know how to hire. 

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  15. I lived abroad from 2014 - 2021 out in APAC. Now that I'm back it's doubtful I'll leave again, I'm single with no kids so there's nothing really forcing me to stay, except every country has its own problems and the grass is always greener.... The US absolutely has a lot of problems, many of which are amplified by the global reach of our media. But once the honeymoon phase wears off abroad you'll realize it's not just Americans who have to deal with idiots in power. And without citizenship in your new home you'll realize it's not quite as rose-colored as you first experienced. 

    For me I'll stick around the US, but I'm leaving Texas as soon as practical. 

     

  16. They had a number of safety issues 5-10 years ago, maybe they've cleaned up their act by now. I also remember a story about the CEO flying one of their planes and declaring "bingo fuel" which is one of those cringeworthy buzzwords only a CEO would say while talking to ATC. 

    I would avoid them unless I was desperate. 

  17. 24 minutes ago, TexasEd said:

     

     

    So the way I understand it is that the combination of the Civil case for falsifying information on his loan applications (high valuations and unaudited financials) and the criminal for falsifying the information the other way (lower valuations to avoid taxes, maybe other stuff) has created a catch-22.

    He can plead the 5th on the criminal case but if he does not answer then the civil case can say that not-answering means the jury/court can assume he did what he is accused of.  So he has to testify for civil purposes but that could get him in trouble with the criminal case.

    So they are trying to pull the Alex Jones and just not say anything because saying something is worse than the consequences of not saying anything but the DA might already have the evidence they need to convict anyway.

    Is this close? 

    I'm not a lawyer, here's a Twitter thread (assuming it's factually correct) that aligns closely with what you're saying. Also I'm an idiot and I don't know how to post Twitter the right way on this site 🙃 

     

    https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/1494555686105239556?s=20&t=AjneCTg8dXiUaCHi34soqQ

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