The majority of my coworkers have casually stated the last week, “I don’t agree with the way this is all happening.”, but still overall support the agenda and hold their line. It’s a combination of ignorance and stupidity. They’re just fascists without even knowing. I live in a deep red area and from what I can gather when I hear talk out in the street, most people are either completely unaware or excited “they’re taking America back.” There is no convincing these people. I have tried for years and years, and when they seem to hear you and begin to digest what you’ve said, they come back the next day more sure than before that Facebook and Fox keep them informed. Many of them can’t tell you what the three branches of government are or how many Senators there are or provide correct answers on the simplest of civics questions.

Makes sense, you know. All of these wannabe militia types and oath keepers and three percenter people finally have a state sanctioned avenue to realize their violent fantasies against minorities and women. No serious vetting, no serious training… Let the vicious dogs loose. These men who’ve larped in the woods, prepping for and fetishizing a time of lawlessness and civil war. Terrified of the threats to their hierarchy once a black man became president, creating record numbers in their ranks, now they can take all of that anger they had pent up inside pretending the USA was going in the wrong direction and become the cause for its demise themselves.

Yes, you’re absolutely right. We mustn’t go around hurting the poor little ICE man’s feelings! Don’t these people realize they should just shut the fuck up when state violence has escalated to defense of murdering innocent mothers? I know, I know, shame we don’t have laws or rights or case law on the books that demonstrates a person’s right to free speech. That’d be crazy if people weren’t afraid to insult the Gestapo.

I’m a machinist, so I use a huge variety of tools (setting fixturing, looking at prints and diagrams, fine measurements and gauges, CAD and CAM software, manual machine tools, etc.) The most important? Eye protection. I have excellent vision and would never jeopordize it to whatever extent possible and reasonable. I use safety glasses so often now for scenarios even outside of work, I forget to take them off when eating until halfway through a meal. Maybe I should be worried about the broccoli, though. You can never be too careful.

No, I did not. I started college right out of high school, with a focus on architectural engineering, but dropped out after a single semester for a number of reasons. My parents needed me to work full time to help pay for the house (even though I was moved out and trying to pay for most things on my own already). I couldn’t juggle all the responsibility that entailed between helping family, more than full time employment, and school. I had to cut one of those things out, but figured I would go back to school after things became balanced. While working a number of jobs from food service, manufacturing, security, and construction, I gained promotions and made some decent pay, so I just never picked the torch back up in 15 years. I gained some unique and diversified skills through my experiences, and now I work in a machine shop running manual and CNC lathes. It’s the kind of applied science I imagined when I was initially interested in engineering, and it is low stress and I’m not struggling financially (mostly, ha). I’d still like to go to school, but not just to get ahead in my career or make more money. I really enjoy learning and I spend as much of my free time reading and trying to understand new concepts as my brain can handle, everything from geology to calculus to music theory to critical theory. I’m all over the place. Definitely not as good as a dedicated education, though.

First thing I thought about.

Also, wow. You are quite the power user. I checked out your profile looking for more moto content, and between everything else, I got seriously lost in your posts in the best way! I love your weird knife Wednesdays series. I really admire your diverse interests and the depth of your knowledge. Thank you for taking time to give me an informative reply the way you did.

Wow, I appreciate your informed response! I knew that going rackless would have its drawbacks, in particular, the confusion in mounting and nonspecific fitment. However, for the time being, it’s kind of all my budget will allow for (at least with what limited searching I’ve done). Excursion - Sub $300 40+L (with the top dry bag) setup. I know buying dedicated mounting hardware alone can cost close to this amount. Eventually I’ll get there with good quality hard cases, but my situation necessitates I use this as my primary vehicle at the moment, so I have to get something sooner.

A buddy of mine had a ton of gear he wasn’t using after he sold his Tenere 700, so he just gave me a couple dry bags because he knows I ride everyday. I don’t see any branding on the bag, but it seems higher quality than others I’ve used. I’ll probably eventually get Tusk rackless luggage at some point. Believe it or not, for the four years I used my SR, I mainly just used a backpack, but I was known to strap everything, from 300+ piece toolkits, to rolls of plastic sheeting, milk crates for groceries, regular duffle bags, and even a gun or two width wise across the back seat and be on my way. Inspired by the global south, I realized creativity is the limiting factor (okay, maybe some safety stuff, too) on carrying things on bikes.

Edit: I took it off the bike when I got to work this morning. It’s a Sedici? Never heard of them, but I’m satisfied with it.

You really should! I encourage everyone who can afford the time to go take the MSF beginners course (or equivalent wherever you are in the world), even if they don’t plan on riding. I think it makes you more aware as a driver, and it is good fun anyway!

Wonder what the proportion of WVnians to others is. Maybe it’s frequency bias, but I’ve been surprised that I’ve encountered people not just from the state, but even the same county as me…

Wow, I was there just this past weekend. Didn’t expect to see this scrolling on Lemmy. Nice!

I like the niddy noddy, but I prefer the naughty knitty

3/4 cars I’ve owned (all bought after 2010) have been 1999, the other being a '94. I’m still driving one of them. If I’m going to own a car, it’s my preferred year. The best of computer tech and mechanical simplicity.

1994 Honda Accord 1999 Chevy Malibu 1999 Toyota 4Runner 1999 Jeep Cherokee XJ

Not that anything I’ve owned has been super special, just what a good fuckin’ year, man.

Depends on where you’re at in life, what your home responsibilities are. I recently had a big life change and if I knew it was legitimate, I would consider it, just for the adventure, with a couple caveats. But a year ago? It just wouldn’t have worked. I would really have to weigh my situation against the supposed financial benefit. Also, I have a big priority in comfort at this point in my life. I’ve done things like this in the past, and it wore me to the bone. I was smiling at my bank account, but I missed out on a lot going on back at home. If I couldn’t guarantee a decent space for myself while I was away and a way to regularly connect to home, it would be a no. The pay and hours may be at the expense of these comforts. If that doesn’t bother you and you don’t have a ton going on other than your current work, I’d say go for it. Also, ensure you have something to come back to. I would think my current job would welcome me back after two months away, but that isn’t common in my experience.