I used to live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And I loved it. What a nice and lush forest full of flowers. But like all things, I only was able to work there for a few years until I was laid off. Those lay offs really sucked, I’ll tell you what.

Anyways, I had a really nice house in a low area on the edge of a swamp. It was great. Glorious. With high temperatures, and humidity, it was super lush. My house was brown with nice green shutters and doors, and a nice slab parking garage.

Then I got laid off.

What a nightmare. I do not want to relive that. I’ll tell you what.

But, anyways, we had a bug-control man come over every month to spray for the cockroaches. Oh, they grew them BIG in Hattiesburg. And there were so many of them, at night the ground looked like it was moving. Like you were trippin’ or something like that.

So to save up money, we decided to cancel our monthly bug spraying.

Well, one week goes buy, and my cats were busy catching cockroaches. We would find dead cockroaches on the half-shell everywhere. But they got tired of it. You can only catch so many.

On the second week, I saw one my socks waking across the room.

By the third week we were hearing sounds in the walls, and periodic electrical shorts in our outlets. And then, but the end of the fourth week, when the television was covered with cockroaches, we made an emergency call to the exterminator to put on his flashers and race to us; we told him to come over immediately!

And he actually did.

Flashing red lights, and alarm! No kidding!

Jezze!

Lesson learned. If you live in a warm climate… please bug spray. Let me tell you, Joe’s Apartment (a fun movie) didn’t do that nightmare justice.

We were Swimming in cockroaches!

Today…

What is something that needs to be said that nobody wants to hear?

1. The cemeteries are full of people who thought themselves indispensable.
2. Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.
3. Everyone is a whore. We just sell different parts of ourselves.
4. Worry is today’s mouse eating tomorrow’s cheese.
5. Some people will only “love you” as much as they can use you.
6. Love is a crock pot, not a deep fryer.
7. Looking for others to validate your sense of worth will always end in ruin.
8. If it’s free, you’re probably the product.
9. Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.
10. The days will be long, but the years will be short.

The unimportant things

How would you deal with a supervisor who passes off your work as their own?

Had this happen in my first job. Learned my lesson.

Next time there was a review coming up ( about two months later ) I wrote up a synopsis of my work ( and my colleagues work) and delivered it to my manager’s manager two days before.

We then had the review where my manager misrepresented the work that was done, whose idea it was, and the results.

Not much happened. So two weeks later I went back to my manager’s manager with my request for a transfer. I was doing about 60% of the work in my team of 3; building all the scripts, generating the data for reports, including working at night and weekends because I was single.

When the department head indicated he was reluctant to approve the transfer I told him that was OK and that I’d have my desk cleared out by the end of the week. I knew that there was the possibility that this wouldn’t work out so I had been interviewing. I also knew that the firm had gone to a lot of trouble to recruit and train me & that having me leave would look bad.

I got my transfer.

Eggs with Peppers and Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 pound Italian sweet peppers or banana peppers, seeded and cut into strips
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 pound fully cooked smoked sausage links, cut into thin slices
• 6 fried eggs

Instructions

1. Cook onion and peppers in oil in skillet, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, paprika and sugar. Cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes.
3. Stir in sausage; cook uncovered until sausage is hot, about 5 minutes.
4. Top with fried egg.

6 servings

What is the best piece of advice you could give someone about life?

1. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket.
2. Never ask how stupid someone is, cause they’ll turn around and show you.
3. Don’t approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from any direction.
4. Stop looking for someone to love you & start looking for someone that deserves your love – tap here to meet your ideal match.

You don’t ask, you don’t get.There are plenty of ways to enter a pool. The stairs is not one of them.If a street performer makes you stop walking, you own him a buck.When entrusted with a secret, keep it.Date with standards, not expectations. Just sit back and see if they can meet your standards or not.Just because you can doesn’t mean you shouldYou only get one chance to notice a new haircut.Don’t dumb yourself down.You are what you do, not what you sayDon’t lose sight of the hobbies you enjoyed as a child. They will help you live as you grow older.Don’t let your yearnings get ahead of your earning.Don’t dig for water under the outhouse.Dating advice you should know: if they like you, you’ll know. If they don’t, you’ll be confused.

Mythology and bullcrap

What’s it like to be rich as in 1% rich?

My parents started middle class and worked their way to the 1%.

It isn’t this huge party. But there are some basic things you don’t worry about as much.

It is weird because I didn’t grow up wealthy at all. And had a strict-as-hell dad.

At some point after I left home, things really ramped up. My dad left the military and became a high ranking exec with SAP.

My mom started a vineyard at their farm. And sold off a lot of great real estate investments she’d made over the years.

But you would never know it if you bumped into them at the store or something. They have very humble personalities. If you went to their home however..

When I wake up in the morning in their guest room I get to enjoy a view like this:

When I visit they spend most of their time working around the house and on the farm. We don’t really sit still much. And even when we are it is because we are working on something. We are worker-bees.

Also, I think everyone has a misconception as to how wealthy the top 1% is. 10 years ago, even I had the impression that 1%ers don’t work hard and take 9 vacations a year. I think it is just different if you started small and got there in your middle age and have kids.

At that point, you are more concerned with managing everything and making sure your kids are doing OK.

(Maybe that it is .01 percenters that do all that laying around by the pool…)

Either way I love visiting my parents, but every time I get home here in Florida my house feels really really small! 🙂

I like them big, big

What is the most savage thing you’ve ever done?

I roasted a girl using nothing but a Venn Diagram

This happened in English class back in 2018, and the second it happened, I literally searched for a question that this answer would correlate to. The rest was history.

---

Okay, so class had just started. The teacher was marking the roll on her laptop, and some girl named Sophie was at her desk to ask her something.

“Ethan James?”

“Yeah, here!”

Then, suddenly, Sophie was like

“Ethan James; absence explained? What does that mean, Ethan? Why is your absence explained?”

I had zoned out, but I perked up upon hearing my name. As one does. I realized what was happening, and I started monologuing.

“Hey, can I get the whiteboard for a sec?”

I said, addressing my teacher. She obliged.

I drew one circle on the board.

“Sophie, you see this circle? This circle represents the status of my attendance.”

I then drew another circle next to it but not connected.

“You see this other circle, Sophie? That second circle represents your business.”

“Yeah. Okay” Sophie was confused.

“Now, Sophie, do you see any correlation between the two?”

“No.”

“My point exactly.”

What is it that nobody tells you about having children?

We have three kids. The oldest is 18, and the youngest is 4. So, for 18 years now, our lives have revolved around raising our children. My life in particular has been more child-raising intense, because I’m home with them more often and I took on the role of primary domestic engineer in our marriage.

I was prepared for how expensive kids would be, and the good times and bad times and whatnot.

But lately, I’ve been experiencing something no one warned me about: not knowing what to do with myself as my children gain independence.

Just in the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that my youngest can get her own snacks, turn on the TV and find her shows by herself, entertain herself with her own toys, and even tuck herself in at night. When my other children did this, I was either still busy in grad school, or had another baby who needed my attention.

But now, I’m finding myself, more and more, looking for things to do as my children do their own thing.

Before sitting down to write this, I asked both of my youngest children if they’d like to play something with me. They both said no. I wasn’t prepared for that. Normally, they’d jump on the chance to play with me. They’d insist on it. But right now, they’re each playing by themselves.

I’ve heard that business owners sometimes have a similar problem: they dedicate so many years to getting their businesses off the ground, that once those businesses are successful, and they have employees who do most of the work, the owners aren’t sure what to do with their new free time.

On the upside, my house has never been cleaner. I filled the unexpected free time this week by cleaning. Now, there’s not even much of that to do.

I predict I’m going to be one of those people who retire, and six months later find another job out of boredom.

Statement of reality

What do you do when someone has road rage and tries to follow you home to fight you?

I was going home on a two-lane highway on my motorcycle when a speeding 18-wheel truck came up behind me and started crowding me. I’m talking about an 80,000 lb tractor-trailer so close that I couldn’t see his windshield above the grille in my mirrors.

I was nearly to my left-turn to my road and I was afraid he couldn’t see my brake light or turn signal so I speeded up a little with my signals on, but he speeded up also. So I punched the throttle and jumped out about 100 feet in front of him, grabbed the clutch and stomped on my back brake to lock the 4.10 back tire to make smoke for about two seconds and then left off the brake and clutch and punched the throttle again. Mister Tailgater was doing the shimmy-shake trying to keep his trailer behind his cab in my mirrors and using both lanes to do it while I rocketed past my turn and outran him to the small town a mile away. I parked next to a friend’s business and upon being greeted and hearing the 18-wheeler grinding to a stop out front I ask the store owner, “Hey Spider, if you’ve got that sawed-off shotgun under the counter, I might need to borrow it in a minute.”

Fortunately, the trucker stared at the business for a minute and then drove away.

Ministry reveals UK’s MI6 using foreign national for espionage targeting China

China’s national security authority recently uncovered a case involving the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, using foreign nationals to engage in espionage activities against China, the Ministry of State Security announced on Monday morning.

In a statement, the ministry said that in 2015, MI6 established an “intelligence cooperation relationship” with a foreign national surnamed Huang, who served as the head of a consulting firm overseas.

The statement did not identify Huang’s nationality.

Subsequently, MI6 instructed Huang to enter China multiple times. Under its guidance, Huang gathered intelligence related to China and identified prospective individuals for MI6’s counterespionage efforts, according to the ministry.

MI6 also provided professional intelligence training to Huang in various locations, including the UK, and equipped him with specialized spy equipment for intelligence exchange and communication, it said.

Through meticulous investigation, the national security authority promptly discovered evidence of Huang engaging in espionage activities and took criminal compulsory measures against him.

Upon examination, it was determined that Huang provided MI6 with 14 pieces of classified information and three intelligence reports, the statement said.

Throughout the investigation, the national security authority has kept the consulate of Huang’s country informed on his case and has arranged consular visits for him, ensuring the protection of his legal rights in accordance with the law, it added.

Sawed Bones!

What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?

I think we could all write a book about this but the rudest I heard was from a pharmacist while I was waiting in line for a prescription, not the other customers. My two year old daughter was potty training and doing a good job. That day she wanted to wear her big girl panties. She had been doing so for months.

The wait was long at the Drug Store. She needed to use the restroom. I asked if there was a restroom. The pharmacist barked “ no” at me. I explained the situation and asked if she could just use the employee rest room since we had waited a half hour already.

The pharmacist said “She will just have to wet her pants”. Really? I turned to my child and said. “Honey, just pee on the floor here. This place is just one big potty. “. My two year old politely squatted and peed all over the floor. The pharmacist was screaming. I said “ honey, this nice man will clean it up right after he gives me my paper back so we can go somewhere else. “

There were a lot of mothers also waiting and everyone found it quite funny but the pharmacist. I went back to that drug store a few years later and they had installed a public restroom.

PS. Whether you think I was right or wrong is of no matter to me. But the fact that some people think I did this over the use if the bathroom shows I did not make myself clear. I was a lawyer. Had the pharmacist said their insurance did not allow public use or said I might try xxx store that has a public restroom, no problem I get that. I could have taken her to the car and used a McDonald’s cup. It was that this man told a little girl to just wet her pants. Had she wet her pants the result would have been the same on the floor. I just decided to avoid the wet pants part and show this man that he was not providing customer service-of any form. I’m sure the issue of needing a restroom had come up before. The store should have had an appropriate response. There are Federal laws in place now concerning employee only restrooms.

New kitten

Have you ever accidentally found out that you were about to be fired?

Yes, and it all worked out beautifully: another employee in a different section whom I did not know well and was not particularly friendly with went out of his way to tell me that my bosses wanted to hire a woman to replace me (I am a man) and not just any woman, but one hot enough for them to ogle and flirt with. That is the kind of pervs that they were. After hearing that, I wiped my company-issued Macbook Air clean, mentally checked out, and waited for my last day.

After I had left the company, I heard that they did ogle and flirt with her, and I was told that they had hired her specifically for her charms – she flirted right back.

A few months later I got the delicious news that they had taken her on a business trip to meet the company’s most important client. In short, a good time was had by all, and she ended up fucking an employee at the client’s headquarters.

It gets better, a sympathetic former co-worker told me that he had dug around and found that my replacement had a police record (shoplifting I think) and her mugshot was online.

When I heard this news I sent an anonymous email to just the right person at the client’s headquarters describing the sex and a link to the mugshot and the fallout was magnificent: the client demanded that my replacement be fired, and she was, and my company’s reputation with their most important customer was ruined (they didn’t lose all the business, however).

Suddenly my old bosses were checking out my LinkedIn profile and I had the pleasure of blocking all three.

Millions of American’s Begin Moving into Vans | VanLife EXPLODES on Google Trends

What was your “I am surrounded by idiots” moment?

Me: Hello, I’d like to book a room please mate?

Concierge: I’m sorry sir, we’re fully booked out. I can recommend a place down the road.

Me: How is it possible you are booked out? I’m looking at “Booking dot com” right here on my phone and it says you have a room going here.

Concierge: I’m sorry sir, we’re fully booked out. (and then smiles at me like I’m some sort of idiot)

Me: Okay, I suppose I’ll work something out.

Concierge: Yes sir. Sorry sir. (looks down at whatever it is Concierges do when they are not serving someone)

I step away from the concierge desk and think to myself… What happens if I simply press “Book Now” so… I didn’t think, I just pressed “Book Now”. The message comes back with my booking confirmation code. Bear in mind, not a single person is in the foyer, and not a single person has been and spoken to the concierge in the last 20 seconds since I stepped away from the concierge desk.

Me: “Mate, I’d like to check in please.”

Concierge: Certainly sir do you have a booking?

Me: (stunned he doesn’t recognise me from 20 seconds ago) Um, yes, here it is on my phone.

Concierge: Excellent sir, do you have any bags the porter can take up to your room for you Sir?

Me: Narr, it’s okay I only have this one bag. I’ll be okay.

I was thinking all the way up to my room in an elevator with the porter guy that had a single carry bag on a huge dome shaped brass pipe top with a red carpet floor baggage cart…

… “WTF just happened”

Picture this with one case on it. That case is the size of a case that you pull along for a two day stop over…

Like this… on that huge trolley.

Its that easy

Should a boss be allowed to fire an employee for something they do outside of work?

Tricky.

I once was fired from a job after a night out drinking with friends. Of course, most of the friends were work friends.

One of them mentioned they were worried about upcoming changes to the department and thought it was odd they were told to not do their job when they came in each day.

I told him … they’re going to fire you. (I had no idea…I wasn’t told anything, I was guessing) BUT i told him to never stop doing his job … that it was a test to see if they needed him at all. Turned out I was right. But someone told my boss that I had made this prediction.

I was terminated for professionalism. Off the clock, after hours, not on site … with no first hand knowledge shared.

When they brought me into my bosses office to fire me, I started to say “You can’t do this…” followed by “of course you can, otherwise we wouldn’t be here at this point.” I accepted it and turned in all my stuff, gave them notes on where I was in various projects and thanked them for the time and experience. To which my director literally said ” Thanks for your professionalism” I grinned and said “well it’s professionalism that got me fired according to you.”

And ai walked out of there and got a job paying 40% more in as month.

They can fire you for any reason and for no reason. They can even fire you for illegal reasons if they just cover it with a legal looking one. Ultimately, you can’t let it affect you. Sure money is going to be different and plans will change but you’ll get through it and you wouldn’t want to work somewhere that wants to fire you but can’t in the end.

What psychological facts really leave an impression on you?

1. When someone dies by suicide, it’s because they want to end their suffering, not necessarily their life.
2. Other people tend to see you as around 20% more attractive than you see yourself.
3. People who had a difficult or unhappy childhood are more likely to have a fear of being happy.
4. Having a pet is connected to better brain health as we get older.
5. Kids are less likely to trust people they perceive as not good-looking.
6. If someone is already feeling depressed, being addicted to social media can make their depression worse.
7. Almost one-third of American adults are online pretty much all the time.
8. Reading fictional stories when you’re young can help you develop a more complex way of looking at the world.
9. The first person you look at when you enter a room is usually the one you feel most threatened by.

This is REAL world War 3

Why does the ASML CEO seem worried about the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, despite previously stating “Even if we provided them with the drawings, they wouldn’t be able to make it.” regarding China’s technological capabilities?

When an Industrial leader gets arrogant and snobbish, there will be a D-day to it.

Lets look in perspective. As an experience sputtering process engineer, when i look at the EUV machine, I find that they are too elaborating. It consume hell of electricity and Hydrogen. The from my common sense if that if we can plough electron by electron onto an anode of cathode, I am sure we can make Nodes like a 3D printer. So I was right , now Cannon has done exactly that and they can produce cheaper chips then DUV and EUV… with the baggage of high energy cost and high H2 consumption. I believe Liang Mong Song already taught about long after he left Samsung. Cheers to China for giving the WEST as good bashing. When the old guards of China, Wen Jia Pow has stated we should share roles and work, but the American will never understand and Taiwan will face the music when they fondle American ideology to the hilt. As a staff in American MNC for more then a decade, I see the blind corners which will kill the American innovation. American Capitalism is all about me and not us.

Is China peacefully bullying the Philippines in the Spratleys?

No the U.S. is aggressively bribing poor fishermen away from fishing for their families to stir up shit on Chinese boats for thousands of dollars of cold hard cash paid in the high seas by CIA and NED operatives. That is precisely what happened.

All is well ap to now. The Pinoy fishermen are happy getting easy money, Bumbong Marcos U.S. happy the U.S. released his family wealth stuck in the U.S. and Philippine governments get more free money or bribes to allow US more bases. The money is used to improve infrastructures where China win the contract. You can say the U.S. pays for Philippine infrastructure!

So China prosper, US can shout it has more bases, fishermen are happy. But the only victims are Americans who will pay and pay and pay! If I were China I would bribed the fishermen to rob the CIA and NED cash by the boat loads to bribed them. That will bring peace faster.

Cat sleeping advice

What have you learned from Quora that you didn’t know before?

• Survival: If you get lost in the wilderness, find a river, that will lead you to a town. Most towns (or people) live near water of some sort.
• Happiness: Muting politics on social media platforms makes them 1000% better.
• Indian Career Paths: Roughly 70% of Indians study Engineering (this blows my mind).
• Trolls: There are very unhappy people in the world. They will leave mean, racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, virtually any ugly comment they can think of – to make others share their misery.
• Driving: If someone cuts you off in traffic – it is more effective to give them a thumbs down than flip them off. This will cause them to rethink their actions.
• Losing: Smile at the person who defeats you. It will steal their joy in defeating you.
• Oops: If you find chewing gum on clothes or the carpet, put an ice cube on it for 2 minutes, it will become hard and come off easily.
• Restaurant: If you find a fly in your soup, before sending it back, put a ton of salt into the soup. That’s the only way you’ll know they re-cooked new soup rather than send the same soup back out.

Do you know of any human interest stories that are both moving and at the same time outrageous?

“I realized my life was too valuable to let go of,” she said. “And that gave me the courage to survive.”

This is the story of Alison Botha, on December 18, 1994, she was abducted in her car near home by two strangers who took her to an area outside the city in South Africa and by the end of the night, she had been raped brutally and stabbed 30 times in the abdomen, to mutilate her reproductive organs and 16 times to her throat.

Alison Botha, with knife mark on her throat.

She said, “all I could see was an arm moving above my face making a sound. A wet sound, it was the sound of my flesh being slashed open. He was cutting my throat with the knife. Again and again and again.”

“Do you think she’s dead?” one attacker asked. “No one can survive that,” the other replied. They were apparently satisfied that they had killed her ’cause she was almost decapitated, so they left her for dead, but Botha was still breathing and could see car headlights coming through the bushes.

She started trying to get onto the road and as soon as she pulled herself up, she felt something slimy coming out from her abdomen, her intestines. She had to use one hand to keep her gut from spilling out and the other hand to hold on to her own head, ’cause it started to fall backward.

A young veterinary student named Tiaan Eilerd, who was driving down to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg, saw Botha lying in the middle of the road and stopped. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were stunned by her horrific wounds. She was soon able to identify attackers from police pictures while she was still in the hospital. This led to the arrest of the “Ripper Rapists,” as they were named in press release.

Both attackers were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in August 1995. But after serving 28 years, both were granted parole in July 2023.

Alison Botha soon became a motivational speaker and began traveling around the world, telling her story in different countries. She is one of the first women from South Africa to speak publicly about rape, she helped inspire other survivors to come forward and tell their stories to the world.

Note: If you are a victim of rape and planning to commit suicide, and if you change your mind after reading this story, then this would be a big favour on me. The only purpose of writing this is to let you know that you are precious, I just want to motivate you to live ’cause the world needs you. Please do me a favour

What is the oddest conversation you’ve had with a telephone scammer?

Maybe not the oddest but it gave me a chuckle.

Unknown number comes up on my work phone, not unusual, so I answer and am greeted by someone with an Asian accent, enquiring about the accident I had been involved in, having had far too many of these over the years I responded with, It only happened this morning how did you know, well sir we work very closely with your insurance company, this was the point I put the phone on hand’s free, and the rest of the office tuned in, Well I am very glad you called I was driving along the A1 near Catterick and someone drove straight into my vehicle, the caller was most concerned for my health and wellbeing, which I informed them that I was very shocked and shaken, I am now passed to a supervisor who needs Details so road A1, location Catterick, vehicle Scorpion, speed 65, damage scuffed the paintwork,

There was a pause as they went through the information, um sir I am struggling to find your car, you can’t find it it’s a very common vehicle around here, can you please give me a bit more detail please certainly it’s a Scorpion CVRT, no sir I am still struggling to find your vehicle, really I am not sure if you will be able to help me if you can’t even find my vehicle, It’s a Scorpion Combat Vehicle Recce Tracked, it’s a Tank mate definitely scuffed the paintwork terribly, silence from the other end of the phone, followed by a single expletive, and call ended.

Funny enough it’s the only phonecall I have ever got a round of applause for as well as much laughter.

What is the most tasteless thing you have seen people on a cruise do?

My mom and I go on a cruise every year for her birthday. I am disabled and have a walker for my immense back pain, I cannot stand for long periods of time, so it has a seat. My mom and I wait ONE HOUR in a line WE started to get into a show just so we could get our choice of seats (first come, first serve). A queue starts behind us about 20 minutes before the show and we are happy that we waited as we wanted to record from a very specific seat (middle isle). This woman shows up with her son in a wheelchair from the cruise liner, and proceeds to stand right in front of the entry doors of the venue. My mother and I give her the benefit of the doubt and my mother proceeds to let her know there is a line behind us (it wraps around a hallway). She looks at my mother and completely ignores her, sees a tall man walking past and says to him, loudly, ‘can you believe this woman wants me to get in line when my son is in a wheelchair?!’ The son is literally silent the WHOLE TIME with a small cast over his left foot. The man looks around the corner and sees me sitting in my walker. He says to the lady, ‘she has a disabled person in line too.’ The lady responds, ‘so?’ The man just walks off. My mom tells the whole line what happened. The line just ignores everything and shrinks back, trying to avoid the conflict. I am in shock about the whole thing and only getting angrier, by the fact the cruise liner crew isn’t telling her to move for blocking the door, OR asking her to get in line. I’m so angry by everyone’s actions I can’t even react. The doors open and she proceeds to sit EXACTLY WHERE WE WANTED TO SIT. The crew even offer to take the boy’s wheelchair since they aren’t allowed to leave them in the small isles! Even remembering this trip now upsets me. I couldn’t be more angry at myself for not saying anything and trying to stay calm. I should have just acted like I had NO MANNERS like her! Apparently the ‘squeaky wheel gets the grease’.

That was last year, the horrible time we had because of this lady just makes me cringe every time I think about it. I hope the woman reads this and remembers how she ruined what was before that moment, a beautiful and fun vacation. I hope she learned some manners or stays home, no amount of money can make her worth anyone’s time.

*EDIT* Thanks to everyone with the kind and understanding comments. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so heard. I think this event effected me so much BECAUSE I try to be thoughtful of others constantly and don’t get out much. Writing this out and getting validated with positive responses have really helped me, thank you. Please be aware you have made a difference in my life.

LOL Pickup

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/44HWGYM66fM?feature=share

When you worked on cruise ships, what’s the shadiest thing you’ve seen a passenger do?

There are many cheaters and “professional complainers” among the guests making nice business from giveaways and compensations. I personally recall one amiable couple who, while being alone in the corridor, hid the “caution, wet floor” sign. Then, they went straight to the reception desk, man literally shouting at the poor receptionist that his wife had just accidentally slipped there and injured her back. They caused a small scandal: hotel manager was called in to calm them down, medical staff treated the “injured” woman, and safety officer scolded the poor cleaning lady responsible for the corridor. Nobody was able to find “caution wet floor” sign that ought to be there, so the guests seemed to be right and were offered a financial compensation + next cruise for free. However, what cheating guests didn’t know was that there are many security cameras on the ship, some of them smartly hidden… So when the couple was invited to the hotel manager’s office next day, they expected to settle the details of their compensation. Hotel manager kindly greeted them, asked them to make themselves comfortable and said something like: “Before we proceed with the compensation, let me show you one short movie.” The couple watched with awe the TV screen, showing them hiding the sign from the floor to the locker and then running to the reception. With this proof in hand, hotel manager offered them choosing between two ways of “compensations”: 1) Trial at court. 2) Putting them on passenger blacklist shared with ALL cruise ship companies, that denies them of taking any cruise till the rest of their lives. They chose no. 2) .

Have you or a coworker been fired which then caused the company fail?

Yup, it was a famous named restaurant, I was the man who brought the inspection rating up from a 50 to a 98 percent,I also kept the lights on and the orders paid up to date, as well as didn’t have a huge turn over of employees. But some punk ass wanna be with out the education I had of running a business as well as the decades of experience had help in getting me bumped out of my job, little snot nosed shit sitting in my office telling me he’s my boss. 2 weeks into his employment he fires me. Okay fine I really don’t care, then this is the best part, he had no clue of how to do what I did, called me at home asking me for instructions. I gleefully told him there is no way that I’m going to teach you in a few minutes that took a life time to aquire in education and actually experience. You got what you wanted at my expense which was my job that you figured was up for grabs, I’m not going to help you, you’re on your own. 3 months later the business was shut down, and that was your Burger King at the Sunset Esplanade in Hillsboro Oregon that now the same building was remodeled into the chase bank. Thats karma at its best, screw me out of my life long career choice and not only did you lose me, but 45 other people lost out in the process.

What is the worst/weirdest thing you saw someone doing when you walked in?

I went away for the weekend, and my roommate was planning on having a big party, since he wouldn’t disturb me.

We had a huge backyard and they decided to have a competition for the coolest explosion, without gun powder. You know the mentos and diet coke, and the baking soda and vinegar, over filled balloons kind of thing. Stupid things like filling a balloon with diet coke and dropping in a pack of mentos in a paper tube.

The kitchen door led to the deck and back yard.

It all sounds harmless until you add copious amounts of alcohol.

I came home Sunday evening and found my roommate and a couple of friends scraping one end of the kitchen ceiling with an ice scraper. The culprits and ceiling were all different colors from the food coloring and other dyes that they had added to their experiments to make them more impressive. It appeared like tapioca or gummies stuck to the ceiling. They had matching paint already on half the ceiling. They had hoped to have it done, before I came home. But they had slept until 2:00 pm, before starting clean up.

No amount of begging would get them to tell me what happened. But I’m guessing that they prepared everything in the kitchen before taking it outside, and when alcohol is involved, I m guessing they weren’t careful.

So I came home to a bunch of hungover red and green people , with a 4 foot scraper, scraping one end of the red and green pebbled ceiling, while someone else was using a roller on a stick, roll paint along behind them.

That was pretty weird.

What is the most savage thing you’ve ever done?

My friend was admitted to hospital yesterday.

I had to go running to the medical store for purchasing the medicines prescribed by the doc.

In the afternoon, the doc prescribed some medicines and I went to the store to buy them.

There was a lady who received the prescription. She immediately ran her eyes through it and started searching for the meds in the shelves.

The total bill was 569 inr.

I paid 600 inr. She returned 30 inr and a dabur honitus (worth 1 inr obviously).

I was a bit reluctant at first, still I asked:

Me:Um.. excuse me. Can I get 1 rupee instead of the toffee?(I asked it not only because I disliked that toffee, but also because I loved collecting coins.)

She:No. We don’t keep coins for change. Anyway, what difference does it make.. the toffee too costs 1 rupee.

Me:Are you sure you don’t keep coins?

She:(obviously being annoyed by me) Yes. We dont.

Me: Okay. Thanks.

I went back to the ward.

By the evening some more new meds were prescribed.

I went to the store again.

The lady was still there. She gave me a forceful smile. I smiled back.

This time the bill was 131 inr.

I handed 130 rupees and that one dabur honitus.

She glanced at me unappealingly.

Me: Sorry mam. I don’t have coins for change. Anyway what difference does it make.. the toffee too costs 1 rupee.

I thanked her and gave a brief smile as I headed back.Happy and satisfied.

What are the implications of the Dutch government revoking the export license for ASML’s chip-making machines to China?

The person asking the question seemed to want an answer like this:

In response to the request of the United States, the Netherlands suddenly revoked ASML’s sales license to China, and some lithography machines planned to be shipped to China were intercepted. The free world successfully prevented China from acquiring advanced semiconductor production technology, and the United States won again.

But sorry, that’s not the case.

On January 3, the Dutch government suddenly revoked the export licenses for two models of DUV lithography machines (NXT: 2050i and NXT: 2100i) approved in 2023. However, ASML announced that the DUV lithography machines purchased in advance by customers from mainland China had all been delivered before the license was revoked.

In other words, when the license was revoked, the planned lithography machine had already been shipped to China.

Let’s sort out the process of this incident, and you will find how interesting the game between the Dutch and Americans is.

Since the beginning of the trade war, the United States has asked ASML to ban the export of lithography machines to China, which can be used to produce advanced semiconductors. After a year of haggling, the Dutch government compromised. ASML is prohibited from exporting EUV lithography machines (used to manufacture semiconductors below 7nm, which are more advanced) to China, but they can still continue to sell DUV lithography machines (used to manufacture semiconductors above 7nm, which is slightly behind).

The Chinese felt threatened, so they added a large number of orders for DUV lithography machines. In the past three years, most of ASML’s DUV lithography machines have been sold to the Chinese.

China’s semiconductor industry has been accelerating its development, making Americans quite nervous.

In 2022, the United States requires the Netherlands to increase restrictions again, prohibiting ASML from selling DUV lithography machines, and completely cutting off the source of equipment for the Chinese.

In June 2023, the Netherlands issued a new ban but announced that existing licenses remained valid and ASML could continue to deliver.

In December 2023, the Netherlands announced that existing licenses will be invalidated immediately

In January 2024, ASML announced that all Chinese orders had been delivered.

Found the problem?

US government: Netherlands must obey

Dutch Government: OK

—-

June, Dutch government: ASML, what to do?

ASML: You announce it first and then give me some time

July, Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: One more moment

In August, the Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: One more moment

In September, the Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: soon

In October, the Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: Just a little bit

In November, the Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: Almost done

In December, the Dutch government: ASML, is it okay?

ASML: OK, all delivered

Dutch Government: In order to maintain world peace and assist our great allies, we announce the immediate cancellation of sales licenses to China. immediately! immediately!

The Netherlands cannot fight against the United States, but this does not prevent the Dutch from trying their best to safeguard their interests. After all, that is tens of billions of dollars in profits, and they have sold all the equipment they can sell to the Chinese in the past two years.

ASML CEO (Peter Wennink) told reporters, “There is no hope of completely isolating China. If we don’t share technology, they will study it themselves.” “China has 1.4 billion people, and many of them are very smart. They will Come up with solutions that we haven’t thought of yet. You’re forcing them to be very innovative.”

The Chinese cannot control the madness of the United States. Their approach is to purchase as much technology and equipment as possible to buy time for the equipment they develop.

Once the Chinese get this done, the industry will be disrupted.

How to do it…

What is the best way to choose life partner?

Here are 8 things you have to consider when choosing life partner:

1.Ability to cope with your family

Your family will always be a key support system in your life. They can tell if your prospective life partner is suitable or unsuitable for you. If he or she cannot cope with your family members, you might be choosing a wrong partner.

2. Find someone who makes you laugh.

A sense of humor can help you overcome many of life’s obstacles. If someone can make you smile when you don’t feel like it, that’s a great quality.

3. Choose someone who respects you

When choosing a life partner be sure to select someone who will respect all aspects of your life. Mutual respect is one of the defining traits to look for in a life partner.

4. Find someone who have shared values

Having shared values reinforces the foundation of your relationship. Simple things such as consensus on the number of children you want or living within your means create a conducive environment for your relationship to thrive.

5. Choose an honest life partner

If a relationship is not enshrined in a culture of honesty and trust, it will definitely fail. Choosing a life partner who does not refrain from open and genuine communication is important.

6. Throw out the Idea of Perfect

Don’t make a checklist — mental or otherwise — of traits your future partner must have. You can’t conjure up your perfect mate and go buy said robot at Target. If you must make a list, make a list of deal-breakers: no smokers, no drug addictions, no one with a violent felony conviction. Those are healthy boundaries to set.

7. Know how they handle anger

You’ll need to observe this one rather than asking about it. Watch how they behave when they don’t get their own way, are disappointed, or feel angry. How people act with others under these circumstances says a lot about how they will one day act with you.

8. Find someone who have the same financial and social standards

It is not always important to have the same status, but having a similar financial and social standard helps in thriving together. If one person is very poor and the other is very rich then there is a possibility of being called a gold digger. But there is no exact rule book but do check if your potential partner has the zeal to make it later in life.

Who are some of the dumbest criminals ever to be caught?

I had a friend call me in the middle of the night, asked me to get my gun, and go over to his house. When your best friend asks you this, you don’t hesitate. Eventually the story came out – his wife was the manager of a jewelry store. Some men followed her home after she closed (crossing county lines), then at gunpoint (turns out it was a BB gun), forced her to drive back to the store, open it up, and unlock everything so they could clear it out. Of course, when she opened the store after hours, the security team watched on camera and called the local PD. When the perps left, the police were waiting for them. They took her car, and theirs and ran from the cops. After crashing and rolling both cars, they were arrested.

the morons got the idea from a movie. If they had just walked in during daylight and stole/robbed the place, they would have gotten 5 years. Instead, they committed multiple FEDERAL felonies (kidnapping etc), and all of them were sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in federal prison.

edit: the reason for asking me to come over with my gun:

He didn’t know if they were going to come back there. At that point the chase was still going on.

As a follow up – he gave my description to the local police, and let them know I’d be at his house. They showed up about an hour after I arrived, and I answered the door. I was slightly nervous because being 6’4 and nearly 400lbs I’m not a small dude, and had a 45 in a holster on my waist. I went to turn the porch light on, only to discover the porch light was burned out. I was very careful to let them know who I was and immediately informed them that I was armed – being sure to keep my hands nowhere near my firearm. When they asked for ID, I let them know I was removing it from my right rear pocket and moved with very clear movements, allowing them to see that I was reaching for my wallet and not my firearm. After they verified I was who I claimed to be, they made a comment like “yeah, I’d be armed too”. I love living in a rural community! 🙂

What is the most insane conversation you have ever had with your parents?

When I was in high school in 1965 I was reading a book about lesbians called The Grape Vine. My Mom asked me what I was reading. I said “a book about lesbians”. My Mom said “that’s nice, you love the theater”. I said “ no, those are Thespians. This is about lesbians, women who love women, not men”

My Mom insisted there was no such thing as a lesbian adding that the proof was that there was nothing two women “ could do together”. After my mother became hysterical, I went to my room.

Later that night my father paid me a visit. I was a little worried as my mother was his princess. He said “Laura, your mother is 45. She has made it to 45 without knowing what a lesbian is. Unless you are a lesbian, feel free to NOT educate her further”

I think when my Mom was about 80 she told me there were actually lesbians.

PS. Oh my. My mother would die a second time if she knew over 2k people liked this story. My Mom was so embarrassed that I got divorced she told everyone that my first husband was hurt in the Viet Nam war and that was why he shrunk 5 inches, grew blond hair and green eyes ( husband number two).

Nicaragua BETRAY Ally U.S in South America, Choose China

As a mechanic, have you ever performed free work on a customer’s car because you felt bad for them?

Around 10 or 12 years ago, I was on a trip and stopped at a rest area to stretch my legs and use the bathroom. As I walked back out to where my car was parked, I noticed a college age kid standing in front of his car with the hood up. I wandered over and asked him if he was having car trouble.

He replied yes and that his car wouldn’t start. He still had all his lights and so forth so I knew his battery seemed okay, but the engine wouldn’t turn over.

The car was an Acura, if I recall correctly, and the starter was located on the top of the engine, rather than down underneath the car. On the starter was a warning sticker that said not to hit the starter with a hammer.

Another gentleman wandered by and asked if he could help. I asked him if he had a hammer in his car. He thought I was joking, but I let him know that I was serious. He said that he did and left to go get it with a puzzled look on his face.

When he returned with the hammer, I took it and gave the starter a solid whack, right on the warning sticker that said not to hit it with a hammer.

I then told the college kid to try starting the car. It fired right up.

I handed the hammer back to the gentleman who had loaned it to me. Both he and the kid seemed amazed.

I asked the kid how far he had to drive to get to his destination. He said just another 2 hours or so until he got home.

I told him to drive straight home without shutting the car off because I couldn’t guarantee that the starter would ever work again. And then once he got home, he needed a new starter.

He thanked me and offered me $20, but I just sent him on his way.

Hungarian Potato and Egg Casserole
(Rakott Krumpli)

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• Paprika

Instructions

1. Heat 1 inch salted water to boiling. Add potatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain; cool slightly.
2. Cook onion in oil until tender. Mix onion, oil, sour cream, salt and pepper.
3. Peel potatoes; cut into 1/4-inch slices. Gently mix potatoes and sour cream mixture.
4. Arrange half the potatoes in greased 10 x 6-inch baking dish or 1 1/2-quart casserole. Arrange eggs on top; add remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika.
5. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees F until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Garnish with minced parsley if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

What are few things only mature people can tell you?

1. Not everyone will live long. Stay happy and useful to humanity as much as you can.
2. Life is not Disney Island, always strife for the best and prepare for the worse.
3. Nobody can love you unconditionally except your mum and in few cases, your family.
4. You can simply avoid future problems by listening to your instincts and warnings from your loved ones.
5. Most people won’t support you in life until there’s no option but to join the crowd.
6. Discipline will take you farther than talent.
7. Everybody is fighting their own demon either publicly or privately. Never envy anyone.
8. Don’t look down on anyone, life can switch up within a minute.
9. Money is not everything, it incredibly betters your life but doesn’t solve all life problems. Still have it anyway.
10. You don’t have to get to the level of Elon Musk to change the world when your little kindness can.

Hungry Crocs

Have you ever seen a doctor yell at their patient?

I was that doctor.

I yelled, loudly, not at the patient but at her aunt.

So I was working in the ER. A little kid of around 10 or 11 came late one evening. She had a massive blow on her skull and was getting seizures. It was all bloody but surprisingly she was conscious.

Her aunt was very caring and hovering over us. She told me the girl fell from a bike. I pacified her and told her to wait outside while I provided primary care to the child before transferring her to a higher care centre.

When the aunt was outside I asked the girl what happened. Her aunt had hit her in the head with a hammer. That vile lady had hit her 10-year-old niece in the head with a hammer. I was horrified, enraged. I was mad.

I stabilized her, came out and called the aunt inside. As soon as I saw her I just lost it. I yelled at her at the top of my lungs. I don’t even remember all that I said but it lasted long enough for the ward boys and nurses and the ambulance driver to gather. It also lasted enough for the aunt to break down and confess.

I called the girl’s parents and they called the police and registered the complaint.

My behaviour was unprofessional, but I have never regretted it. I don’t usually lose my cool, but I am glad I did that day.

Devastating Industry

What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?

Seen a number of these over the years. First one that comes to mind is this one. Sitting in a bar in Neenah WI, conversing with a gentleman, probably about 40 something, less than 5′10″, probably about 150 lbs. Well spoken, polite, decently dressed. A larger (12–13) groups of people all came in at once, bikers by their dress and the beautiful sound of the harleys they pulled up on. Now please understand, the greater majority of bikers I’ve known over the years were great people, polite, non confrontational, and all around nice. These folks were not. Loud, already half tanked, and generally pushy. Once they had settled, one of them walked by, catching his elbow on my conversation partner and spilling both of their drinks. Confrontation ensued. Biker: you “effing spilled my drink!”

CP: sorry about that, let me get you another

bartender: no worries, I’ve got both of you

biker: you’re damn right you’re sorry!
and proceeded to grab CP’s shoulder. CP spun as he stood up, spear handed the biker in the solar plexus, and then Kicked him in the face! Biker was about 6′2″-3″, and now unconscious and bleeding on the floor. Everyone else stopped cold and looked at CP, shrugged, and went back to their conversations. Bouncer dragged biker out to the curb where the police and an ambulance took him away. Broken jaw, shattered septum, severe concussion. CP was the owner of a local martial arts school and had been training since he was a child. Oops.

JEFFREY SACHS FULL INTERVIEW ABOUT BAD SITUATION IN EUROPE AND U.S, U.N SITUATION, GAZA, AND MORE