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Horn of Gabriel

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Posts posted by Horn of Gabriel

  1. On 5/18/2023 at 10:15 AM, SydneyCarton said:

    I realize this is stupid as I say it, but Taiwan is a wildly valuable technical resource. We've got 4 years. We should just get a chunk of land and just let everyone in Taiwan move off that fucking island, bring as many as want to come, bring as much tech and resources and knowledge as they can, and then raze what's left to the fucking ground so China gets nothing. Give them the worthless acreage they want, and allow the people and intellectual bounty to resettle elsewhere. It's the size of Maryland or New Jersey. Lets lease them a chunk of Alaska for 500 years in exchange for friendly sharing of technology, with the chance to become a state later if they want. 

    So aside from the absurdity of relocating 23M+ people to "somewhere else," there may be a nugget of goodness in here.  We could offer a completely streamlined green card/residency program for Taiwanese nationals and their families who have a certain education level or are in certain industries that we want to absorb (chip manufacturing?).  Of course that would: 1) really piss off the government of Taiwan for brain draining their population, 2) signal that we see their country as a lost cause and those who can had better get on the lifeboat and if you can't, "sorry," and 3) doesn't do anything to replicate the extensive infrastructure in manufacturing that TSMC and others have built up there which will take a decade or more to rebuild elsewhere.

    • Hook 'Em 3
  2. For @Mullet Free or for others' future reference:

    TEA Complaints & Investigations Overview

    TEA Complaints Management

    File complaints against a school district or charter school with TEA for:

    • Violations of programs required by federal law or programs for which the public education agency receives federal funds
    • Misuse of federal or state funds by a public education agency
    • Conditions at a school district or charter school that present a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the students
    • Violations of duties defined by statute or rule of school district boards of trustees, governing bodies of public charter schools, or superintendents or chief operating officers of school districts and public charter schools
    • Violations of state assessment instrument security procedures
    • Falsifications, fraudulent misrepresentations, or manipulations of information, including manipulations of records, reports, data, forms, statements of assurances, or certifications submitted to TEA through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
    • Educator misconduct (BOLD ADDED)

    TEA Complaints Management Contact Info - complaintsmanagement@tea.texas.gov or (512) 463-3544

    TEA Online Complaint Form <-- OP should go here if interested as a starting point

    Local Grievance Process (PDF)

    My wife (no pics) works at TEA, although thank god not in complaints and investigations.  I realize to some people that makes her the devil because like any government agency we all love to shit on TEA, it's a popular whipping boy and has its fair share of screwups.  OTOH there are also a lot of highly motivated, smart, and competent people there who know their shit wrt education as well.  

    Because of our independent school district setup in Texas, the legislature has defined some very strong boundaries for what TEA is allowed to do, and what it isn't - and that extends to investigations.  Many people think that TEA is some overlord of Texas schools, but my experience has been different: TEA sets guidance, provides training, and monitors for compliance.  It can establish escalating penalties for noncompliance in specific instances but aside from very rare cases like the takeover of HISD (which, again, had to be specifically authorized by the TX legislature), that's rare.  Our political leanings in TX favor local control so the enforcement part of TEA is relatively weak, and that's all by design.  The vast majority of issues are handled at the district level by their administration - and those districts really don't like TEA poking around in what they consider to be "their business."

    And BTW if your issue is with a private school in Texas, TEA's jurisdiction is limited, contact:

    Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC)
    3801 N Capital of TX Hwy
    Suite E-240 PMB 173
    Austin, TX 78746
    (512) 499-8377
    https://www.tepsac.org/#/contact

    • Hook 'Em 3
  3. 4 minutes ago, BurntOrange&amp;White said:

    We don't need a 115-120k capacity stadium. There is nothing wrong with this portion of the section:

     

    image.png.724f337a94c93b03fd7bebc57771fdea.png

     

    The problem is that the way they tied it into the existing stadium and using the longhorn cutout. If they blended the red sections into the East and West similar to the NEZ in those it looks a shit ton better. Even if you want to use premier style seating in that section.

    image.png.856a11e2fb35261ddf9149cf3060bd31.png

     

     

    Enjoy my MS Paint shitty photoshop of how it could have looked:

    image.png.5654d00ea1f5d426b9a492e0c4db9a57.png

     

     

    First, your MS paint skill are shit.  So congrats you can stay on Surlyhorns.

    Second, I agree.  The tie between the SEZ and the rest of the stadium is horribad.  Allthough they'd probably upsize the upper part because in your shitty MS paint it looks dinky now.  Hell they coulda added 2 more columns of luxury box stacks on either side.  Probably would oversaturate that market however.  Aside from the tie in, the materials just look "off."  They're using exposed metal all over the new SEZ and you don't see that anywhere else - the rest of DKR is stone and rock.

  4. 1 minute ago, BurntOrange&amp;White said:

    Tbh all they needed to do was make the section below the scoreboard join into the stadium better and not have the longhorn shape built into the seating.  

    The SEZ looks completely different than the rest of the stadium in its design.  I don't accept the footprint issue - as the new football training facility shows, is if there's a will there's a way to overcome that, it's just money and the AD has loads of it.  Money is the reason we got the SEZ we did and not the master plan in the model: the current SEZ adds a bunch of luxury boxes vertically on the edges that wouldn't be possible under the master plan version above.  Those lux boxes generate millions of dollars of additive yearly revenues to the AD that closing the stadium into a bowl would not.

  5. I loved it, great twists and psychological thriller.  Loved that KS's role was super paranoid and how that informed the story.  Charles Dance was great as usual.

  6. This is a PITA problem I've been dealing with in our house.  Your options:

    1. Do nothing - find another spot.  Least expensive and most likely to create wife issues
    2. Install TV above mantle - Expensive!  Not only do you have to run power down behind the rock wall and poke it through (special wire too because it's next to the chimney flu), you probably also want to run an Ethernet cable for streaming (because wifi sucks).  Then you have to mount the TV into the rock, which means permanently destroying that nice rock wall.  Even when all that is done, as many have mentioned, you have a TV that you have to crane your neck to watch.  One place this is OK: if your kitchen it behind the couch and you're going to be standing up in the kitchen doing stuff then the TV will be eye level.
    3. Do a drop down screen + projector - probably less expensive than you think assuming you don't already have the TV to install.  Plus it tucks away nicely when you're not using it and you can retain the nice mantle + fireplace for times you're not using the TV.  Downsides: if the room gets a lot of natural light, or if you have a strong breeze in there with a big ceiling fan it might not be as good.  Also some people just don't like projectors.  This is kinda a best-of-both worlds solution.  You'll still need to run power and internet but sometimes that's easier through the ceiling if it's a single story...

    There's no good solution, you're in a "choose the least-worst" situation here...gl

    • Hook 'Em 1
  7. 4 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

    I was wondering if/when Uncle Phil was gonna assert himself. "Just how much do you like your Nike/Jumpman apparel contracts? I'd sure hate to pull any advertising on B1G broadcasts."  He's old enough not to worry about much besides his legacy, especially at UO.

    Nike's B1G footprint TV advertising spend isn't going to move the needle.  And if he threatened to pull apparel deals with B1G schools, I'm 1000% sure that Adidas, UA, etc would be waiting in the wings to snap up those brands.

  8. 1 hour ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

    If you grew up a 98 pound weakling getting sand kicked in your face, you might think otherwise. 

    Ladies and gentlemen, your Big12 ref and local PD recruiting pitch, right here! #NoCR

  9. Isn't that the ref who talked in an interview about how important it was to him to be jacked as a ref so he'd "look the part" and coaches wouldn't intimidate him?  Much better to be swole than good at your job!

  10. Y'all freaking out over this aren't seeing the long game that CDC is playing here.  Every AD is concerned that money that used to exclusively come their way is now splitting between them and NIL.  Did you see the announcement about United Texas Circle yesterday?  In case you missed it:

    Quote

     

    In order to be part of the United Texas Circle, donors must pledge a minimum of $20,000 a year (above and beyond seat-related gifts) for five years.

    ...

     

    A financial commitment to the United Texas Circle provides the highest level of impact for the 500+ Texas student-athletes competing for the Burnt Orange & White. The top priority of the United Texas Circle is to secure the financial resources for current Texas Athletics needs. Your $100,000+ commitment can be designated to any of the following areas:

    • Texas Athletics Capital Support: Help us transform and reimagine the spaces that serve as training grounds and second homes for our student-athletes. World-class facilities provide Texas student-athletes and coaches with the resources they need to compete at a championship level.

     

    There's a reason why this all came out simultaneously.  I agree that the rendering is...underwhelming.  More likely they want to catch the eye of some BMDs so that the AD can go cry poor and get more money where they believe it rightly belongs...in the AD.

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  11. Just now, atomheartbevo said:

    China has never conducted an amphibious assault of any decent size and doesn’t even have the ships for it, and it’s over a hundred miles of open seas that would be contested, and they haven’t even conducted actual warfare of any decent size in quite a while,  so yeah, they would be starting all freshman who haven’t even scrimmaged. 

    Probably safer to assume that they both can't and won't try either.  Let's call it the Maginot Line strategy.

  12. Interesting article from Capt. Joshua Taylor on countering China's illegal activities in the SCS through a persistent low-end presence vs. the high end FONOPs we run today.  Smart, less costly, and less escalatory.

    https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/august/campaign-plan-south-china-sea

    Quote

    Currently, the U.S. Navy operates like a SWAT team in the South China Sea. From time to time, it rolls through the rough parts of the neighborhood, during which time the local troublemakers keep a low profile. As soon as it sails away, the hoodlums return to coercing neighborhood residents. The people who live there do not like this but lack confidence in the police’s ability to protect them and their livelihood should they choose to defy the will of the criminals. Needed is the “beat cop” who senses what is going on in the neighborhood day-to-day, earns the trust of the people through persistent presence and engagement, and can credibly call in backup.

     

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  13. 50 minutes ago, USC Traveler said:

    No doubt- I was factoring that in.  Because that is the question.

    My pitch as an SEC coach- "Do you want to eat southern food and play in warm weather vs UGA, LSU, UT and OU, or do you want to eat bratwurst and play in the snow in Michigan and Minnesota ?"

    Maybe marginally.  4-5* recruits care about 1 thing above all else: "what is going to put me in the best position for the NFL?"  The SEC and B1G are both doing great in that regard and will continue to pull away from the pack.  If FSU shows up looking for an OL and can give quick playing time and a demonstrated NFL-path whereas the SEC offers that recruit is getting don't, the sunshine vs. snow argument won't be a major factor.  Still a bit but not as much.

    I think the "ease of recruiting FL factor" in realignment is being overblown.  Good SEC teams are going to get talent no matter what.  Money will be the main and most important driver for realignment, unless you're the braindead PAC in which case "academic snobbery" is also a factor apparently.

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  14. 13 minutes ago, USC Traveler said:

     

    This is a big part of what makes realignment so fascinating- different motivations and goals for different parties that are involved.

    No doubt the SEC office and ESPN will want FSU and Miami in the SEC- for all the reasons you and I have listed.  

    But I keep coming back to the fact that Sankey ultimately works for the schools, and the schools will look at this from a "What's best for us ?" pov.  If you're an SEC school, it will be a lot easier to recruit against FSU if they're in the BIG than if they're in the SEC. 

    They don't need FSU to get access to FL- they already have it. If FSU is in the SEC, they become much more formidable to recruit against. Same goes for Miami.

    There is strategic value for the conference in keeping the BIG out of FL, but I think coaches and ADs are going to be more concerned about turning FSU into a legit competitor vs how many 4-5 stars they'll lose to the BIG.

    I have no idea how it will turn out, but I think it's going to be a battle within the SEC.

    //

     

    Agreed on Miami- their admin, student base, donors, etc are more aligned culturally to the BIG than the SEC.

     

    //

     

    I do think SEC fans will be excited about Clemson joining because they've been a legit competitor to the SEC, whereas most SEC fans I know don't think much of FSU.  Look at them as a little brother.  

    The conference office will want both- but Clemson and FSU in the SEC makes them both tougher competitors and guarantees more losses within the SEC for the existing teams.  Not a slamdunk for the SEC schools to add them the way adding UT and OU was.

    Sure, FSU is easier to recruit against when it's "not SEC" but you can't treat that question in a vacuum.  Because the question going forward is not "will they be SEC or not?"  it's "Will they be SEC or B1G?" I don't know how much easier FSU will be to recruit against if they were B1G...

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