patrick.net

Philistine says

I don't rock the boat because I prefer staying under the radar, where I can do my job with mediocrity and fleece my employer for annual salary. I have so much more of a life outside of the 50 hours I waste at an office each week.
It's been a lucrative scam for 10 years running now. You only feel cheated if you're not cheating them back.

Hilarious!

It works until the "consultants" come in.

One of the Bobs: "So what would you say...you DO here??"

wthrfrk80 says

Michinaga says

When legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks went into city politics after baseball, someone asked him about the ideal employee, and he said, "Someone who's married and in debt."

God Bless America.

Isn't that Patricks slogan?

Debt is slavery.

curious2 says

the principal impediment to small business formation in America is the private health insurance cartel, NOT government.

The two are connected though. Government is one mechanism through which cartels increase the cost of insurance, including the prescription mandate, mandatory coverage for disproven toxic pills and their purveyors, the AMA cartel, etc., with the result that medical care and insurance cost 10x more here than in Mexico. There are other mechanisms, e.g. insurers' RICO-like protection rackets with hospitals (wherein hospitals agree to overcharge triple prices for everyone outside of the insurer's network, in exchange for network referrals). Government ends up being a pawn in AHIP/AMA/PhRMA/AHA's game.

OK, yes, business uses government to keep prices high and consumers trapped. Similar for real estate with the NAR and banks. But it's not any inherent problem with government. The problem is corruption of government by businesses.

I worked with a doctor in a lab during my college work-study days who told me she constantly got solicitations from the AMA for money or votes to support laws that artificially restrict the supply of doctors, to keep doctors' salaries high. She even showed me one of the letters. So I'm pretty certain that that is the principal purpose of the AMA.

I worked with a doctor in a lab during my college work-study days who told me she constantly got solicitations from the AMA for money or votes to support laws that artificially restrict the supply of doctors, to keep doctors' salaries high. She even showed me one of the letters. So I'm pretty certain that that is the principal purpose of the AMA.

I wonder how many members of the AMA bitch about labor unions and the UAW...

And to be fair, I wonder how many UAW members bitch about OPEC.

"My cartel is good...the other guy's cartel is evil!"

Philistine says

I have so much more of a life outside of the 50 hours I waste at an office each week.

I'm with you on that one. The main driver for my threat to quit was that I was BORED! If I am going to spend 40-50 hours a week at work, I would at least like some sort of stimulating, challenging work. My threat got me moved from the hardware test team to the hardware design team, which is a lot more interesting.

In the end though, I appreciate my employer because it lets me go home & live my life. I had some interviews lined up at Apple & a couple other places as back-ups at the time, and I was relieved that my current employer took my threat seriously & gave me what I wanted. My colleagues that went to Apple & Google...have a lot less time free to LIVE their lives. They can go ahead & be working at 7PM on a Friday (or any day for that matter)...I am up in the SC mountains going for a 10 mile trail run or climbing.

I worked with a doctor in a lab during my college work-study days who told me she constantly got solicitations from the AMA for money or votes to support laws that artificially restrict the supply of doctors, to keep doctors' salaries high. She even showed me one of the letters. So I'm pretty certain that that is the principal purpose of the AMA.

Certainly explains why there is a shortage of doctors in this country and why AMA makes so much money.

Seems like with every bill government has been trying to reduce the supply and increase the demand while pretending that it's for the good or that they actually care about someone.

bmwman91 says

I am up in the SC mountains going for a 10 mile trail run or climbing.

You can run 10 miles?

I get winded after 1 or 2 on flat ground.

Goran_K says

You can run 10 miles?

I get winded after 1 or 2 on flat ground.

Haha, well it all depends on priorities & whatnot. I am a little OCD about personal fitness & it is definitely a part of daily life. Not owning a TV or having a Netflix account buys me the time to do that. I like engineering and it is fun, but in the end, it is MORE fun to go exercise until you have the dry-heaves lol. Some of my friends are in much better shape than me (You run HOW far HOW fast? Shit, I can only run 10 miles at a 7:30 pace!). I guess that being 28 & having no kids also helps me in that respect, too.

If you don't already, you should look into biking / running / climbing. It is a GREAT stress reliever. Seriously. Whenever I get irritated about the housing situation around here, or work is stressing me out, I go for a trail run & throw in some calisthenics. After 30-60 minutes, I couldn't care less about any of it & am just happy to be alive!

Works for me too. I run three miles, three times a week. Not real fast, but it definitely helps lower stress anyway.

bmwman91 says

.I am up in the SC mountains going for a 10 mile trail run or climbing.

Ever do races with PCTR (Pacific Coast Trail Runners)? Awesome, mellow crowd.

1sfrenter says

Ever do races with PCTR (Pacific Coast Trail Runners)? Awesome, mellow crowd.

No, never heard of them. I will check it out though, sounds like a lot of fun. There's nothing like running on single track through dense forest, coastal scrub and open grassland...all on the same trail! RACING through it...that's gotta be a whole new game!

If anyone here is into trail running & wants to do some of it up off of Page Mill (Monte Bello / Los Trancos) let me know. I can usually duck out of work a little early (not that I really need to now...daylight savings FTW).

http://www.pctrailruns.com/

I get zero problems from the government at all in running Patrick.net. I make so little I paid zero federal taxes this last time, and I'm not incorporated so I don't pay those fees either.

Patrick - I think you are making an important point. I tell all of my friends that it is much easier to make money around the internet and new technology than it is in some of the older traditional industries. Go try to set up a hot dog stand and see how far you get. You did not need the governments permission to start Patrick.net but tecnically you would most likely need a permit if you wanted to sale lemonade on a street corner.

I do not doubt that the government has interfered very little with you but just wait until Big Govt figures out to get is paws on the internet and all of its related businesses and then i think you will be singing a different toon.

I have a traditional bricks and mortar business as well as an internet business and there is no comparison between the two when it comes to govt regulation. Virtually none with the internet business but with the bricks and mortar biz its a complete nightmare- one which hopefully will soon end.

I'd recommend this book

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594032556

to anyone who thinks that the government is not a barrier to business - and life in general for that matter.

EastCoastBubbleBoy says

The key to life is to know the rules

Arbitrary inflation means the rules change on a nearly continuous basis.

Philistine says

It's been a lucrative scam for 10 years running now. You only feel cheated if you're not cheating them back.

The problem is, the big fish (the fortune 500/global 500 companies) are good at ferreting out this behavior.

In fact a lot of these companies are moving new sites outside of SillyCON valley. Its a scam here, there are a few good people, the 80% of the rest of the stock here is normal trash, except since the cost of living is out of control, we all make too much money for the given productivity in a global sense. And since that too much money isnt enough to buy a port a potty for a house, we all have to cheat to make ourselves sane. What this does is RUINS innovation and creativity. And now we have a crop of billionaires and IPOs based on garbage crap "technology". Its actually worse than pets.com at this point, as these companies are fostering MASSIVE wasting of time with games and spying on us and gleaning every bit of information about us and turning us into the police state or selling our info to the highest bidder.

Welcome to the greed machine. No middle class allowed.

wthrfrk80 says

One of the Bobs: "So what would you say...you DO here??"

If you are good liar and / or a psychopath, you can answer this question quite easily.

bmwman91 says

I would at least like some sort of stimulating, challenging work

We are red shirt drones. Most of the stuff most anyone works on is of no consequence. In fact, the most consequential and meaningful work, like raising kids, or being a kids coach, etc, is unpaid and this unpaid time is aggressively sought out and destroyed by the globalist cabal of corporations.

The want us to barely squeak out a living in the dark shadows of the rigged game.

but it definitely helps lower stress anyway.

Stress reduction by exercise. if it works for rodents in a cage, I suppose its goof for us humans.

Mick Russom says

We are red shirt drones. Most of the stuff most anyone works on is of no consequence. In fact, the most consequential and meaningful work, like raising kids, or being a kids coach, etc, is unpaid and this unpaid time is aggressively sought out and destroyed by the globalist cabal of corporations.

The want us to barely squeak out a living in the dark shadows of the rigged game.

Sure. I know that what I do isn't contributing much to society, or the company as a whole. I'm expendable. I do it solely for myself. Learning & conquering technical challenges pleases me, and if I can get paid to do it, I'll do it while taking care to make sure that I don't care any more about the company than they care about me. My work represents me and I do it well simply because it is a reflection of me, but in the end there is no "loyalty" from either side. Taking pride in your work is important simply because it is a reflection of you as a person. That just means that you should do a good job though, not that you need to kiss ass, work ridiculous hours and try to please the company. There's a difference. If you want promotions & raises...jump between companies lol...it's rare at one employer, unless you happen to time it right & make the right threats.

The fact that there's no "point" to it is inconsequential to me. As far as I can tell, there's no "point" to life or anything we do, so I just roll with it. It may sound depressing to some, but it has actually been one of the most liberating realizations I have ever had. Not worrying about whether or not there is a "point" to things removes some of the mental constraints on hobbies & passions and lets me pursue them freely.

An in-law told me how wonderful having kids was because it gave him a PURPOSE in life. Personally, I don't see having kids as being any different than not having them in terms of life's "point." You certainly are responsible for them and their upbringing, but ultimately, there's no more point in their life than there is in yours! But hey, whatever floats your boat. I'll most likely have one or two in the next 5ish years. Point or not to life, dying alone seems unpleasant, and they seem like they can be nice to have around once they grow up & are adults.

Mick Russom says

Stress reduction by exercise. if it works for rodents in a cage, I suppose its goof for us humans.

One of our biggest follies as a species is thinking our unique cognitive abilities somehow nullify our biological foundation. In the end, we are almost exactly like most other animals, except we think we are smarter.

I hate the word corporation. Trust busting did one thing it created the corporation so instead of say a Rockefeller or Mellonhead hiding themselves. Now they could hide the entire entity that is their empire and themselves. So when you say corporation. Your just hiding all their assets for them. Your also hiding them. See. Holding companies etc. I don't want to help them hide their assets or them. Its huge no doubt. You would spend countless minutes just enumerating everything in identification with them. Even then a lot of people still would not be sure. Why did they do it. Because before trust and at trust they were actually hunting these guys down physically with guns. So they decided better hide our stuff also we better hide to. So as far as your concerned they could exsist then again maybe not. You get PBS programs funded by foundations. Announced by a guy with a low tone like hes been to their funeral. Your pretty sure they are all dead at that point. They like it like that.

Your not sure why neither are the people that protest however your pissed at somene for all of this pounding debt. Your not even quite sure thats the problem. You live in fear every day for your survival. Your giving the one life you have away to these people with your labor.

After all its a "Christians" duty to do the best job for his employer otherwise you would be cheating him.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/4YH5MEyNuIM

'
They of course had Barabas the sedationist wedged in there somewhere between Jesus pacifism and Roman authority. They all took a vote to free Barabas of course because they were all crazy and wanted a "showdown" with God. The nice guy went meekly and got hammered to a board no less. The Romans never really got in trouble. They even got to come back in and wipe out the crazy inhabitants of Jerusalem. Cause well they are authority. It all makes sense of course. Something like if you got caught by the foot on a merry go round and dragged through the sand for an hour being made so dizzy you can't even find the parking lot your car is in.

If you get a kalidescope look through it while your dizzy. You will see the Romans get theirs in the end. Oh so its one of those end time vengence thingy's. Yep, a lot of my NY friends would say, it is. Thats the blow hole to hell right under them Romans a cook at the Huddle house told me once. So it all makes sense now. You fill in the blanks if you want.

You listen to this song carefully. One verse says.

Up above my head
I hear music in the air
That makes me know
There's a party somewhere.

This appears to be more like an early 80s Jesus dance party to me.

Listen to the very end of the song it becomes really clear who footed the bill.

You think all these Jesus people are so innocent. I have seen some of these little Jesus bastards running for funds from these people so hard their shoes come off trying to get funded for their little "projects". In fact its almost worth going Jesus when you think about it. Deal is do a search amoung our "suspects" dawn may arrive earlier than you expected. These boy's will fund the shit out of Christianty and all day long. If you understand that life becomes oh so much clearer. Jumping from one foot to another from Christianty to everyone else dosen't bother these boys after all it's better than the alternative of everyone getting together and shearing their balls off. Sometimes they even make a mistake like funding the Christian coalition and the Rainbow movement at the same time.

What this really boils down to is your monetary system and where you got it from. Look there. You might find Mr. Biggie Smalls and his friends. Which is one of those expressions like oh Jumbo Shrimp. Buried under a ton of bullshit. The American Govt owes someone. So they will bascially tell you anything they are told to tell you for more. After all you would to. Don't tell me you wouldn't lie to me to get more.

bmwman91 says

The fact that there's no "point" to it is inconsequential to me. As far as I can tell, there's no "point" to life or anything we do, so I just roll with it. It may sound depressing to some, but it has actually been one of the most liberating realizations I have ever had.

Ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? A lot of wisdom there. And 99% of people who self-identify as Christians have never read it.

wthrfrk80 says

Ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? A lot of wisdom there. And 99% of people who self-identify as Christians have never read it.

Nope, never read it. I had 8 years of Catholic schooling (you know how THEY like to teach things) and then 4 years with the Jesuits in high school. The Jesuits made me into an Agnostic, although I am totally fine with Jesus' overall message of, "don't be a selfish dick." I'll dig out my old King James Bible & check out Ecclesiastes. Anything in particular I should look for?

bmwman91 says

I'll dig out my old King James Bible & check out Ecclesiastes. Anything in particular I should look for?

Wow, KJV? You're more ambitious than I.

Nothing in particular...just read the whole thing.

bmwman91 says

I am totally fine with Jesus' overall message of, "don't be a selfish dick."

Didn't Jesus claim to be God? Or at least the God of the Jews? He was crucified under the charge of blasphemy.

wthrfrk80 says

Didn't Jesus claim to be God? Or at least the God of the Jews? He was crucified under the charge of blasphemy.

Jesus claimed he was doing the will of the father and was the son of God.

He also claimed that he and God were one: "'I and the Father are one.' Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?' 'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God'" (John 10:30-33).

The Jews came after him for these claims.

Goran_K says

The Jews came after him for these claims.

If someone claims "the son of God" today and has many followers, I am sure the government/church/vigilant will come after him too.

Edit: Also if someone creates some food out of thin air and doesn't pay tax, IRS and FDA will come after him.

xenogear3 says

Goran_K says

The Jews came after him for these claims.

If someone claims "the son of God" today and has many followers, I am sure the government/church/vigilant will come after him too.

Or men in white coats.

Look I have Hebrew relatives. They aren't insane. If indeed there was a "God" for them to deal with. Even they can fucking add. They might think hey the guy made the solar system. Fucking with him might get us all killed. A Christian might reccon they don't recognize Jesus, thats the problem. However Hebrews understand that Jesus is a bullshit story made from whole cloth. No one stops to think that the Hebrews are nothing but a family. That no one really knew that Jesus guy. You get the other asshole semites trying to pretend their way in. Hebrews can get confused because their now is a lot of them. Sometimes they don't recognize that other Semites like the game to.

One more time. I guess no one caught it. 9 different Semetic peoples. They all have their own religions. Many of them some very similar to the Hebrews. They all have their take on it. For example. Zoroastrianism, Iran recognizes that as a religion. See. Semites like fucking with this stuff obviously. They like fucking with each other with this stuff and everyone else. A Hebrew will say hey thats my family. Not say much. Anyone else that screwing with you. Probably isn't Hebrew. So Hebrews don't figure some Luddite in the picture is fucking with them about Zoroaster. Or Zoro-roaster as I like to call him. See so just like these assholes that like to make up religions to confuse everyone. Thats how you got Christianty.

Religion is tried and true. Governments love them. You have to pacify people. Its a Governments fucking duty. Or people will overrun them. I point out a Rockefeller in the old Trustbuster days. Half the country was screaming for his blood. The Government because you have a monetary system based on lending which they have to borrow from. Must stand in the way of you and the other very disgruntled. So they can get more funding. It's very simple. It's one more buffer so the lenders or usury people can feel safe. The government will even cooperate in selling their products. Like homes and loans. stocks, autos and auto loans etc. No one ever stops to think the government is doing business with these people. A lot of it to. So BP, Standard, Exxon and Chevron is very important to the government. Why? Your government needs more funding. Imano, imano. They are also in debt. They owe, they owe so its off to work they go. Its very simple stuff really. Don't twist yourself into a pretzel for anyone. The pacifism of 200 million potentially many of who could be a very dangerous mob. Is something new to you of course. However for them it is a reality. Thats why debt merchants will cooperate in stories to calm your anger down. It's continual managment on the governments part. See. Even you if in danger will pacify in some way the person your persons your afraid of. You do it every fucking day. Its something very similar to that. Next time your afraid of some danger involving people or a person. Think about your behavior and what you do to make that person happy and go away. Oh you have a wonderful race. My best friend is a? See you don't want them all pissed off at you because you just might have a bad day.

pacify
pac·i·fy

Calm: to calm somebody who is angry or agitated, or soothe violent or angry feelings

The pacification that religion brings on is a no brainer. Love your neighbor. Do good to those that hurt you. Turn the other cheek. It's simply not human nature for people to do those things even fucking Christians. So some asshole who may have been an advanced space ranger came up with. Jesus forgives your sins so don't worry about it. Which is really frustrating to some. Finger pointing starts and well they are absoloved of course. What it really adds up to the bullshit in the beginning of this paragraph wasn't working very well. Because it is fucking human nature. So they went with well try to follow the guideliness anyway.

So you can hate these idiots. What it really boils down to sense. Christianty is nonsense. You can't argue with a person scared into being delusional. All you can do is fuck with them. Like semites that like fucking with a Hebrew.

I like the guy that pushes the grocery carts at the market. I really do. He dosen't give me problems like everyone else around. He really dosen't know what the fuck is going on. All I can is thank God I don't have to explain things to him.

So basically if you give one trouble your going to get a shitload of it in return. Think about it. Lets take authority or imbued authority, for example. Like well your parents. Children like it or not. Answer to their parents. Give that parent enough trouble things are going to start to go really wrong for the child. Of course the smart ass child always thinks he's smarter than the parent. See. The childs brain is not big enough also he just dosen't have the resources. He will pretend he does. He's clearly not as smart as the parent. Although he might always think he is. Children always think they can get away with it. Parents may ignore some things. There is benovolence for the child. However children sometimes mistake that for stupidity. The parent have their role for a reason. The child needs that authority. Because they are not equiped to handle what that parent understands better than the child does. Children don't like that always. Thats just the way it is.

When the people of your government are behaving like stupid children then what? With all the confusing little games and their stupid little ways. When their little playmates all come around with their stupid behavior adding to the problem then what? When they start vandalizing your house then what? A child wants his own way thats clear. Children don't have enough sense thats why they need an adult. For the most part anyway. Or the children will continue down the road into their little disaster if not corrected. It's very easy to understand really. So an adult might say one day you need to be self-sustaining. The child may look up at the adult and say yes but he needs more toys. They like playing with toys. He likes his cartoons and fantasy. Yes, son but your toys and your fantasies aren't going to feed you. You will wind up in a very bad place. The child will never figure the future if someone dosen't call him on his play time. Running with the crowd of children that have the same ways, seems to make it ok. After all the child reasons there is strength in numbers at least on his playground. Its a good place to hide indulge himself with toys and and his fantasy. After all there is no parent to tell him hey your not practicing life for yourself your just playing with your friends. Yes but they have great toys. They aren't yours stop chasing after them. Just some kids thats are a little smarter and more devious than you taking advantage. Your not one of them just their fool.

One might take this personally. Well that you should. You have a very selfish government of people that let the wrong people in back when. Now the people of your government are clearly "owned". The "wrong people" are nothing but common swindelers. The people in your government likes to play games with the people in other governments that also let the wrong people in to prey on their people. I would say its to late now. Other than smacking the shit out of the "wrong people". So hey! theres no "authority". No one to call. Leaves you in dispair dosen't it. The earth after all is an inert entity that just spins till your dizzy and does nothing. It grows fucking food for you but so what. Whats food to Viperman? He's faster than a loco-motive. In fact he is a loco-motive. By now he's even a seismic wonder. Try looking around you there is more than you think. Don't make it less than you know.

Not teaching children how to be self-sustaining in their schools only the basics of running the empire of the monetary system set up by the cash swindlers. With fixed prices and no bargaining. Take what we give we will measure out what you get. How can you get ahead with no bargaining.

Artimus 7:11 The measure you be measuring by is measured back to you.

Another words someone has their finger on the scale. It's not the fact your overweight of course. It's just that they are bloated.

ArtimusMaxtor says

Not teaching children how to be self-sustaining in their schools only the basics of running the empire of the monetary system set up by the cash swindlers. With fixed prices and no bargaining. Take what we give we will measure out what you get. How can you get ahead with no bargaining.

Artimus 7:11 The measure you be measuring by is measured back to you.

Another words someone has their finger on the scale. It's not the fact your overweight of course. It's just that they are bloated.

Where's Google translate when you need it?

xenogear3 says

Also if someone creates some food out of thin air and doesn't pay tax, IRS and FDA will come after him.

Half the country doesn't technically pay taxes right now. Plus with all of Jesus donations, he would probably get a rebate anyway.

I also thought Ecclesiates was great, and that they just tacked on some blub about obeying God at the end of it, because otherwise it is rather anti-religious.

Jesus was anti-religion. That's one of the most interesting things I discovered by reading the bible.

Very true Goran. I discovered that Jesus is also anti-matter.

ArtimusMaxtor says

Very true Goran. I discovered that Jesus is also anti-matter.

Only after his earthly death.

Mick Russom says

Goran_K says

How do you win

You don't. You either take risks, ranging from calculated to outright foolish, or you are insanely lucky. If you took ANY one-percenter and stripped them of all their wealth and their contacts, they COULD NOT rebuild themselves. Take any one-percenter, take all their assets and force them to change their name and 90-95% of them wouldnt be able to earn it back.

Now that would be a really interesting experiment if we could do it.

Goran_K says

Jesus was anti-religion. That's one of the most interesting things I discovered by reading the bible.

Jesus was against debt and loans as well.

also thought Ecclesiates was great, and that they just tacked on some blub about obeying God at the end of it, because otherwise it is rather anti-religious.

Ecclesiastes is great I agree. But I never heard that anyone "tacked on" anything to it. How could that even be proven?

wthrfrk80 says

Ecclesiastes is great I agree. But I never heard that anyone "tacked on" anything to it. How could that even be proven?

The last paragraph just doesn't fit wtih the rest of the thing. After going on about the meaninglessness of everything, suddenly just at the end he says you should fear God and keep his commandments. Huh? Sounds like someone needed to come up with a moral to justify including it in the bible.

Sounds like someone needed to come up with a moral to justify including it in the bible.

Anything is possible. Is the Jewish version of Ecclesiastes different than the Christian version?

Maybe the writer just meant something similar to Jesus' teaching: "what good is it if a man gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?"