Armature Extra here, how can I help you get licensed? It's not that hard and these days you don't even need to learn Morse code like I had too. Entry level license requires only basic understanding of Ohms Law and Power calculations, a little about RF safety and some basic things about the rules (like what privileges your license gives you, who the FCC and ITU are.)

Great hobby with lots of interesting things to look at. We do community service like weather spotting for the NWS, event and emergency communications. Don't like talking on the radio? There are lots of computer based things to play with, Digital modes like PSK, packet or HSMM stuff. We have software defined radios you can build and program too. I'll bet we can find something of interest for you to play with.

Don't like taking tests? Well, what if I told you all the questions and the correct answers are published in advance and the test is multiple choice. 35 questions are asked and you only need 26 right. You can practice online (usually for free) and know almost for sure if you will pass or not before taking the test. Tests are likely given regularly and very close to you, no matter where you live and cost $15 for as many as you can take and pass. Pass all three to get your Extra and enjoy the full set of Armature privileges available. If you pass, your license will be good for life as long as you keep requesting renewal every 10 years (renewals are currently free if you file yourself online).

Go ahead.. Take a look!

http://www.arrl.org

CB Radio === Total waste of a good ham band. Would/should have given them something above 6 meters where linears would have been of extremely limited value. But, as it stands we bid you a fond farewell 11 meters...

Or waving flags if you can use signal flags. I hear smoke signals can work too..

The "problem" is that light rail is *never* a cost effective way to service the burbs. Infrastructure development of light rail systems is hugely expensive as are operating costs, so large in fact that nobody would be willing to pay the fares required to cover these costs. They end up being supported by government and subsidized out the wazoo in all but the most densely populated urban areas.

Buses are better options financially. They require much less costly infrastructure, are cheaper overall, and a whole lot more flexible. But even then, they cost more than you can charge in fares.

I've been a few places outside the USA a number of times. South America generally has ZERO public transit infrastructure, even in the larger cities. Out of the three midsized cities I've visited "south of the border" only one really had public transit, San Jose Costa Rica, but it sure didn't run where I wanted to go, ever. In Santiago Chile there was nothing but my shoes and taxis to get around, at least where I was staying. I think they had buses, but they didn't help me any.

I've made one trip to the UK, which was much better in it's public transportation setup, but it still didn't really cover where I wanted to go in Manchester so we had to take a lot of taxis. When RailTrack did service our needs, we took it, but I understand that Rail in the UK is HIGHLY subsidized because fares just don't cover the costs.

In all these cases, you simply walk, distances which most Americans consider excessive. In America, these distances are longer, simply because we did not pack our homes and businesses in as tightly. We didn't have to, we all owned cars. So now, we are stuck with it, at least for now.

Skilled trades are NOT subject to automation in most cases. But neither are STEM careers..

Farming was the primary motivation for me into a STEM career. Getting up at 3 AM to milk the cows then spending all day in the fields picking up hay only to return to the barn at 5 PM to milk again is a great way to motivate the lazy. I also got a fair amount of experience in mechanics, building and raising cattle so a skilled trade (mechanic, various building trades etc) wouldn't have been a problem, I just decided I liked Air Conditioning better than the great outdoors.

NOW they tell me that I should have been a welder? Um.. No, don't figure it's a good idea to spend my life in cramped spaces, berating heaven knows what welding something. Go ahead and get the engineering degree if you have the aptitude for math and science, but you might want to have a skilled trade or two up your sleeve.

Seriously, STEM isn't dead folks.. It will never be dead. But it's not a seller's market anymore in the engineering world. Right now it's a buyer's market because there are a bunch of us old geezers with decades of experience filing up the ranks, all the young whipper-snappers with the ink still drying on their bachelors degree don't have many jobs to choose from. But give it 5 years, maybe a decade and a lot of the engineering talent will be retiring, aging out or dying off. THEN your degree with 5 years of low level experience will be worth something..

Found the problem... Tell them to MOVE. NY is a pretty bad place for business and will be so for a long time. I hear North Dakota is booming, although you might have to drive a truck or something in the Oil Fields.

Getting better over the last few weeks... Still has issues during peak usage though.

(sarc on)

Only an apple user would consider their phone a fashion accessory... How many 5c's you got there? One of each color so you can match any outfit? Cool there metro man.

(sarc off)

Look, go ahead and buy the phone that floats your boat as long as you can afford it... Me? I'll stick with my 3 year old android, not because I cannot afford a new one, but because I like not paying for a new one and I have other things I'd rather do with the money.

But how this whole discussion has anything to do with the original Tesla vrs Nissan article is beyond me..

Taxes on fuel mostly, which are paid by the users of said roads when they fill up their cars to drive on the roads.. Some are supported by tolls around here too. Or didn't you realize that the government did that? In Kansas I paid for my share of the road in front of my house too though "special taxes". The city/county would pay for the infrastructure up front then literally bill the lot owners for costs and interest over 10 or 15 years. Seemed fair to me. It also seems that, for the most part, roads are paid for by taxes on fuel, cars, registration fees etc, which are paid for by the users of the roads.

Mass transit hardly ever is fully supported by its users. Around here a SALES TAX that supports it and EVERYBODY pays the sales tax. So, even though I don't use or benefit from Mass transit (mainly because it doesn't get anywhere near my house OR my place of employment) I'm still paying the sales taxes that support it. Not that I'm complaining, but I'm making a point that Mass transit is NOT self supporting and could never survive on the fares it collected from those who use it.

Ever heard about taxes on FUEL and TOLL booths? Some roads/bridges pay for themselves though taxes collected by the users of same. Mass transit rarely does this (if it ever does.)

And in some cases, much, much cooler than that Apple...

But hey, I didn't choose the example, but was responding to another's illustration.

If the bus/train goes when I where I want and when I want, I'll take it. Problem is that they hardly ever go where I want to go, when I want to go. Further, my experience is not unique, but more common. You can make a financial argument (parking, tolls etc) and that might be worth it to some.

Be careful with systems like BART though... They usually are not self supporting but highly dependent on revenue from government or taxes. Which generally explains why public transit is pretty limited. It simply doesn't make sense financially..

I'm having unpleasant dreams about wheelbarrows full of German cash being used to buy anything and everything one could find, only to discover the wheelbarrow was stolen while you where in the store..

beep, beep, beep..... BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.... BEEP, BEEP, BEEP .... Can you hit the snooze button please?