. . . and in the US, we have extra taxes tacked on for Hybrids and BEVs'. Right now, in the state I am in, there is an additional charge every year of $100 for hybrids and $165 for BEV. Further, a tax of $.03 per kWh is being phased in at any public charging station, regardless of whether the charging station charges for its use.

People seem to be forgetting the credit card fees. The doughnut shop I sometimes go to (truthfully, about, or less than, once a month) charges something like $2.50 for credit card purchases under $10.

My dog's veterinarian charges 5% for credit card payments. When I take my dog in, I make sure I have a cheque book with me.

Yes, I realise that vendors are not supposed to add on charges for credit card purchases. But they do.

It is pressure from their near-peer competitor, LibreOffice, forcing them into this desperate move.

. . . what? No? Well, in an alternate universe, it might be true!

Trump continues to be a gift to the foes of the United States that just never stops giving.

Ha! Joke's on them, my classroom doesn't have outside windows. Further, the windows it does have, facing an interior hallway, can not be opened.

I did place two air filters in my classroom (yes, I had to pay for them myself), and since I did, I haven't had allergy issues. My principal said absolutely no to the box fan DIY style, though.

The article looks interesting, but I do not see an easy bypass in order to read it. Can anyone point me to a non paywalled copy?

Funny, it worked for me once. Be aware that it was in the 80s and it has never worked since.

A company I knew of was doing a free pizza, beer and big screen sports Saturday. I didn't work there, but I worked in the industry.

I showed up in sandals, a Hawaiian shirt (long before the political thing with Hawaiian shirts), and shorts. I hadn't been told that it was also a recruiting event.

Apparently, they loved the "what you see is what you get" that I was exuding. They offered a big pay jump and a bunch of other stuff. If the "real" applicants had realised that I had gotten an offer, I would be able to understand their being annoyed. And yes, they did know, each time someone signed they put the name and the offer on this big scoreboard. It was a really weird recruiting event.



I didn't stay there too long, though. I got assigned to a manager who was a real nut case. Firstly, I have worked at places where the manager and the department secretary were sleeping together. This guy "wanted" to be sleeping with the department secretary, I assure you that was a lot worse. Secondly, and I am as gun-nut as anyone else, yes, I have what would be described as a small arsenal. That said, when the manager sat there at his desk, loading and unloading his revolver, as I was talking to him about news he really didn't want, it really wasn't a good look (I was over budget, and for a good reason). Oddly enough, I bounced upward from that job, too. (It wasn't until years later that I became downwardly mobile, but that is a different story.)

I have been at companies that make engineered wood products. In this case think of a 4"x12" wooden I-beam. This isn't all they made, but they were pretty much in the wood I-beam business. They were as strong, or stronger, than identically sized solid wood and significantly less expensive.

That said, it is very rare to see a wood I-beam in construction. The reason was simple. People who wanted a big piece of wood wanted it to look a certain way. People who didn't want wood didn't want wood, nothing was changing that either.

As in other ventures, I hope the best for them. I am sure they will find some clients. That said, I do not expect to see it start a revolution.

You are describing the early boomer MBAs'. They were permitted to strip mine anywhere that money could be found. Further, the WWII and silent generation were willing to step back and let the, at the time, young generation "drive the car."

In retrospect, everyone can see that it was a mistake.

At this point, MBAs' are not being given, and don't expect, the keys (to keep the metaphor consistent).

As I expect you can surmise, I do indeed have an MBA, so do several other teachers in the Title 1 (education jargon for "poverty") district that I work in. I am not going to say that it is the most common degree among middle school teachers, but I can assure you that it is pretty common here. Considering my deficits, without it I wouldn't have gotten this job. To teach at the high school I went to, in a different district, but also Title 1, it is pretty clear that I would need a doctorate.

The reality is that most of the jobs the early boomers landed in were closed up tight before Gen X came knocking at the door

A lot of people seem o think the MBA is a job title. Some position in the company where the best occupant is someone who is equally clueless and heartless.

The reality is that it is a broadly applicable degree. That said, the silver spoon nepotism poster children frequently pursue an MBA and really do have no other redeeming qualities. The problem isn't the MBA, it is that they have no meaningful background to understand the companies and people that they destroy in the pursuit of the fleeting god of "perpetual growth" and "increasing revenues."

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden, ended the law that prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices. This act allows Medicare to negotiate prices for certain drugs covered under Medicare Part D (starting in 2026) and Part B (starting in 2028), something it was previously barred from doing.

Firstly, there are several major sites. This one is not alone or particularly unusual. The problem is that no one can "invest in America" right now because there is too much uncertainty about the, even near future, regulatory or trade environment.

I sent it to the arbitration committee that will be negotiating next year's agreement (contract). So, I know it will at least be discussed.

Firstly, the issue is not the drones, which, by the way, I got from a Department of Defence grant. They didn't just provide the money; they purchased the hardware. The hardware was then given to me as I completed the class on how to teach students how to use the drones and robots.

The issue is a paranoid lockdown of services. This is in response to a post that said,

Your post fails to answer the question of why the administration is permitted to use the "staff" network, but teachers have to use our own data plan for our required smartphones and other connected devices.

Finally, your post seems to be an echo of a fear in the 1970's, when microwave ovens were starting to show up in homes. Some people were very concerned that the Russians (the bad guy of the time) were listening to our conversations through the microwave oven. Yes, there was a case of Russian listening to conversations using microwave, however, it was a very specific case and had nothing to do with ovens.

My father was a radio communication engineer for one of the largest counties (population, not size) in the United States at the time. He told me that he had given up on trying to point out that it was not possible for technical reasons. Instead, he asd a simple question, "Why do you think the Russians would want to listen to you in your kitchen, and do you think they have the resources to monitor every kitchen in the United States?"

Finally, I have spent more time living and working in PR China. By that I am talking about years the had just edged into the double digits when I left; yes, teaching is a bit of a "near retirement" gig. I can assure that there is little at this middle school that would interest the Chinese.

Yes, I do have the wi-fi password; it wasn't rocket science to figure it out. But that isn't the point.