Venandi

It's not just the tendency of people with no knowledge or ability to overestimate their possession of both qualities. The other side of the Dunning -Kruger effect suggests that people who actually do have skills, knowledge or even common sense will tend to underestimate it in the face of incompetent leaders (or peers) who are totally unaware of their own incompetence. Sometimes turning a thing on its head or looking at a single element of a sweeping agenda offers perspective on the whole. Say forest fires for example. They are the darling of climate activists everywhere but thus far, paying the carbon tax hasn't had any effect on them. It certainly has made it more expensive for people to get to work or even stay warm on their days off though. So I'm curious, would raising the tax to levels of stratospheric absurdity (a liberal SOP now) improve the situation? I recall reading an assessment by the UN (some time ago) that suggested a carbon tax of $300 per ton was required to provide a sufficient level of deterrence against using the "dirty" energy subject to taxation. The effect of doing that would certainly be huge on our economy but would it have the desired effect? Could we logically assume that forest fires would decrease because of it? If you've never ridden a horse along a logging road and observed the amount of tinder dry residue left behind after clear cutting you might be surprised. Personally, I'm amazed we don't have more forrest fires so I took the liberty of discussing it at some length with the horse... it was one of those blow once for yes, twice for no conversations. He seems to think that forestry practices are a big issue and that tax increases don't fight forest fires. Then again, he tends to be more conservative than moderate. I'm working on that...

The skunk's sacrifice deserves a bit more credit I think, he actually helped make my point. Smelling your own butt in the middle of a busy highway comes with potential consequences and if you need the services of a road engineer to identify them it may already be too late. A thoughtful skunk, even in the absence of an engineering assessment, would have applied common sense, anticipated the hazards and looked both ways before crossing. That was my point...

Thank's, off to a good start eh? Comparing some of our past absurdities with present ones intrigues me a bit too. Take the covid mask rules as a (one of many) example. Back then, if you wanted an immediate coded response from the police then reporting someone for not wearing a mask was second only to reporting a group of Jewish people for praying in public. Ya, I'm being a bit sarcastic here but you get my drift... With the clarity of hindsight, we can look back and consider mask filtration efficiency as a function of virus diameter without getting fired now. It's something akin to erecting a chainlink fence around your property to keep mosquitoes out but even knowing that at the time, we still lost our collective $--- over it. My favourite remembrance was watching a guy on a lawn tractor cutting a 3 acre field on a hot day whilst wearing a mask. Now compare that with our latest self inflicted hospital absurdity and stand in awe... B.C. nurses told not to confiscate drugs, weapons from patients The leaked memo, released by BC United, tells nurses that they could face charges for confiscating a patient’s drugs or weapons, a policy the BC Nurses’ Union says is putting health-care staff at risk. So, indulge me in a two part question if you would: -In future, I'm wondering if you'll feel as silly as I will when explaining our thought process to grandchildren who may find themselves writing a history paper on the subject. And, since I'm personally at a loss to explain our conduct rationally, maybe you can help recommend an intelligent response. Luckily, I still have a few years to come up with something.

If you don't consider his actions negligent, his advisors incompetent, and the resulting carnage as predictable as it was criminal, then I will likely never be able to see over the weeds in your garden.

Mostly because you're paying the contracted driver. Since he's plowing for hire and reward he's expected to exercise a reasonable standard of due diligence. I think most people would expect a contractor to be accountable for damages to known infrastructure temporarily covered in snow; hitting them in a contracted driveway would normally be considered an error on his part. You may have even insisted that a given area be hand shovelled because of the obstructions, that makes it worse. It's a step above the ordinary care required if I (being a good neighbour) simply plowed your driveway for free because you had Covid.... that was a weak attempt at avoiding thread drift accusations BTW. The difference is important though, due diligence implies knowing that ordinary care actions have been carried out. A similar error on my part wouldn't be attributed to negligence if I couldn't reasonably know about the obstacle and you failed to tell me after asking for my help. That said, maybe you're more forgiving than most customers and that's great. Darned unusual to be sure, but still great. Anyway, that's how it was explained to me... since I don't plow commercially anymore, I didn't bother looking it up. But surely, doctors, politicians, airline pilots, police officers etc, should be held accountable for negligence too. And before you assert that none of the errors (meaning mistakes BTW) were due to negligence, I would suggest that what Gov Cuomo did was gross negligence on a grand scale. In addition, and IMO, mistakes deliberately wrapped in a deceitful blanket of misinformation (and there was lots of that) immediately qualifies graduates from error to negligence in a single bound.

In some of these cases I think (or at least hope) that your definition of "error" would benefit from a bit of tweaking. Right now it means the state or condition of being wrong in judgement or action. Wrong can easily come with legal consequences, it becomes more than a simple deviation from nominal when it openly assaults reasonableness. The Governor of New York comes instantly to mind for me when I consider such things. Remember when he forced 9056 covid patients into nursing homes knowing that they housed vulnerable people and knowing that the facilities were under staffed and ill prepared. As if that wasn't enough, remember when his office deliberately under reported all the numbers by 40% or more... I say that added intent to existing gross negligence. Incredibly though, people still defend Cuomo, personally I think he should be in jail. That level of gross negligence should come with a cost that runs steeper than a simple shoulder shrug from people who were't injured by the negligence. I wonder if you would be as forgiving if airline pilots in Canada operated with the same attention to detail that he did. Here's another example of what I mean, It might be off topic but it illustrates the trajectory. There's a case in Quebec right now where a man had two healthy fingers amputated from his left hand because of "body integrity dysphoria." What's with the doctors here? This is well above an error in judgement IMO. Should this guy get disability checks for life now because he's missing fingers? So, have Doctors in Canada become as demented as the ones advising Gov Cuomo? I would say that the acid test for determining such things is reasonableness, often mentioned in the same breath as ordinary care. In terms of damage caused, the guy who plows your driveway is held to higher standard, and I bet you would agree that he should if something got damaged.... due to an "error" on his part.

It was for me and you seem to have supported my very point below... Maybe my post wasn't clear enough, and not to drift the thread further from vaccine death and harm statistics but: I tend to hold voters (the people) accountable for a lot of this. Some 70% were in favour of mandates and cheered when their neighbours got fired. About 20% (if memory serves) supported the idea of interning unvaccinated individuals. If those folks had defended the idea of individual rights, if they had done their own threat assessments, if they had left others alone to do theirs and minded their own business, if they hadn't gleefully cheered those firings, I might be feeling a little better about our trajectory as nation right now. Vaccine hesitancy is becoming an issue now and I'm not surprised that it is. I fear there are more harm statistics coming our way as a direct result of it.

Sky Termination Debris (STD). The collateral damage caused when large pieces of sky crash to earth. Exactly. At this point you should already be in your basement, if not though, under no circumstances should you leave the house. A final word of caution about breaking communication protocols. For your own safety, I urge you to maintain strict electronic silence until after the event. That means no phone calls and absolutely no further posts on social media. Only complete electronic silence will prevent the people who failed to prepare for STDs from getting anything that rightly belongs to you.

The back and forth on this issue is interesting because it speaks to the lingering divisiveness. It's noteworthy though that none of it (in terms of general consensus) really addresses my concerns, which I think were always pretty modest. Personally, when I look back on all this I see that: - My questions were never answered, instead they were ridiculed by people who didn't even understand basic biology... but that's not the point. - Mandates divided the country and divided families, adverse reactions later observed (even anecdotally) created a level of vaccine hesitancy that never needed to happen. Trust in government, media, doctors and vaccines in general plumeted... but that's not the point. - The rabid pro-vax community were wildly wrong on virtually all fronts, not the least of which was efficacy, virus transmission, longevity of protection, SP systemic migration, and inflammation effects... but that's not the point The final pro-vaccine rationalization was almost comical. Remember the "if you get covid you won't die" stance. Well, even that was wrong... but that's not the point. The point for me was letting people do their own threat assessments and letting them come to their own conclusions. All that was need to support it was honest information, answering questions, not suppressing information with a paid for media and not weaponizing professional associations. It makes people lose trust in previously trusted institutions and professions. Why would anyone be surprised at that? For me it was pretty simple, do what's right for you based on your own situation, your own threat assessment, and honest (heavy emphasis on honest here) recommendations from your doctor based on assessments that are tailored to YOU. Then have the courtesy to allow others the same consideration. Here's how simple it was: In general, and specifically with regard to mandates and firings, all I needed from you was absolutely NOTHING and all you ever had to do to get along with me was mind your own business and leave me alone.

It's the pervasive use of this fallacy that I find fascinating, in most cases it's a desperate deflection that flies in the face of common sense, real issues get totally ignored, and later, largely because of it, a bunch of easily anticipated WTF did you think was going to happen questions get asked. The people who use this fallacy to shutdown others would likely balk at the idea that they needed a Phd in anthropology before suggesting to their teenage daughter that it was a bad idea to quit high school and move in with a 28 year old boyfriend. You don't need a masters in criminology to recognize that the bulk of a police budget is personnel expenses either, run that by most 10 year olds and they'll suggest that cutting funding will lead to attrition. Throw in vilifying the department, easy bail, and raising felony/indictable offence limits (on shop lifting) and the result isn't, by any playground definition, an unexpected or unintended consequence. Take the madness a step further and eliminate all police responses below the new felony threshold (due to personnel shortages) and robbers will start carrying calculators. The idea that transgender women (meaning uncut males) would infiltrate women's sports isn't surprising either... is it? I'd suggest that anyone shocked by any of this needs to listen to people like JP a little more attentively, even if he's shouting naked from the roof. Most amazing of all is that In this particular example, much of the support the transgender community received actually came from young laddies who ultimately had the most to loose. Explaining that support may require a Phd but there's a huge gulf between explaining why and anticipating some of the potential negative effects.

Shhhhhh... I worked hard at composing that contrail and STD response.

Thanks for your input, at a time like this joint operations are truly a force multiplier.

Solid advice from two independent sources. I would lay in basic supplies and pre-pay all bills for at least a year. If day becomes night and night becomes day during a single watch, you know the time is nigh... you should proceed directly to the basement and remain there until further notice. Open source intelligence reports suggest this event is likely to occur on April 8th, you still have a few days to prepare. You're lucky to have him. On the off chance that he becomes the victim of "sky termination debris" (STD) please check this site every hour on the hour 24/7 for updates. Right back at you brother.... I salute your courage in facing the dark days ahead. Due to the risk of comms monitoring, and to prevent widespread panic in the civilian population, this will be our final communication on a publicly accessible platform until the all clear is given. If you need further technical advice on contrails and communications are adversely affected by the anticipated spread of STDs, simply hoist flag GOLF for immediate assistance.

Good point, I used to think it was because aircraft sometimes travel in different directions. OK, ya got me: On shorter flights we open one of the windows and have a flight attendant drain the excess coffee overboard with a garden hose. It accounts for some of those darker coloured trails. On longer flights we use the same procedure to empty the lavs. That's why the toilets contain blue water, it's mostly invisible when viewed against a blue sky. On cloudy days though we sometimes get caught with our pants down (so to speak). In that case additional company aircraft are recruited to lay coffee and beer trails in that distinctive criss cross pattern you identified. Sorry to have been so deceitful in the first post. I share your concern and think it's important to forward this new information to the appropriate authorities. Please contact the Ministry of Transport's Enforcement Section without delay. If you don't get an immediate response it's likely because they're in on the conspiracy. Lock your doors and shelter in place. I would then contact the CBC directly and give them the story, they're sure to appreciate having some credible news to report. In the interest of protecting sources and whistle blowers though, please don't mention my name. Cheers

Or maybe a fur trapper eh? The Nova Scotia wolf spoof was pure gold IMO. I absolutely love this story, it makes me laugh every time I think of it. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/military-propaganda-exercise-that-caused-panic-about-wolves-on-the-loose-lacked-oversight-investigation-finds Imagine explaining it to the "crazy cat lady" next door in an effort to calm her fears. Guaranteed she call you a "MAGA Trumper conspiracy theorist" and slam the door in your face for even suggesting it was a hoax.

Or maybe the problem is people don't listen to experts who happen to have views that run contrary to the main stream. We know that most of the required surveillance technology already exists, right? It's just lacking a bit of fusion and integration. Even so, I think many people would be surprised at the capabilities of what is now considered "old technology". It will be interesting to see the effect of AI fusion with the new stuff. On the plus side, I guess no translators means extra fuel, a quieter intercom and more sandwiches. There are always people who will assert that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. But imagine the 15 minute city thing taking off in large urban centres. If your movements are easily tracked, and I were a progressive liberal politician, I would want to tax those movements outside of your authorized zone. Would you vote for me? I think we're a major emergency (real or manufactured) away from a capability demonstration that will surprise many.

I've worked with greek military colleagues on deployment (NATO NA5) and recognize some of the same arguments. As with other places in the world, situations can be totally different even though the rhetoric and outcomes are strikingly similar. One of my favourites was the "government would never freeze our bank accounts".

The quote above is worth reading again regardless of political persuasion IMO. Justifying bad behaviour (in all of its forms) simply because you support the stated objective is short sighted and inevitably bites back. Liberal progressives failed to look at this dispassionately and as a result it's leaving bruises. Imagine if the tactics they currently defend were suddenly deployed against them in equal and opposite measure. I bet they wouldn't like it. And Ironically, were that to happen, I think most conservative minded folks would oppose any form of draconian backlash on general principle. Or at least they would have, now I'm not so sure and that may be a potential accelerant. Personally, my tolerance for absurdity has pretty much evaporated and based on national polling, I suspect others share that view. If elected, Trump plans to make 5 Nov "Christian Visibility Day" and I say great, get er done. See how that works? Here's another off topic example: I watched as liberals and Muslims deliberately used each other for political gain over the last (say) 8-10 years. Not out of shared values, it was simply a marriage of political expediency. Since most liberals didn't see it that way it was only a matter of time until values and expediency collided. When it became clear that Muslims actually supported things like parental rights and were opposed to pornography in classrooms, liberal heads across the country started exploding. I'm not sure they learned anything from it. Identity politics, along with the manufactured wedge issues that pit people against each other can be an effective political tool if not overworked. But this poor little donkey has been overworked to the point of absurdity and beyond. Even donkey snarfing carnivores who can read polling results must see that.

In the interest of saving bandwidth I'll try and demystify it for you.. What you're referring to are contrails. They're caused by water vapour from the combustion process forming ice crystals in the colder ambient temperatures at altitude. Various impurities, also part of the combustion process, provide particles called condensation nuclei that the droplets form on. So, if water droplets do form, they freeze into ice crystals and form a contrail. Dissipation times vary depending on the temperature / humidity profile and the amount of moisture/nuclei produced. Some military aircraft like the C130 and CP140 (same engines BTW) burn dirty and usually leave a noticeable exhaust trail at the best of times. Contrails can last from minutes to hours and expand significantly if/when they persist. Military briefing packs normally contain an altitude estimate for contrail formation, something that pilots of surveillance aircraft seek to avoid like the plague. Otherwise, altitudes are selected based on direction of flight and fuel efficiency. There is some debate about reflectivity and contrails contributing to global heat retention, but other than surveillance mission planning, I've never given them a second thought.

I have no idea what a "chud" is but i'm guessing it's pejorative. If so, that was exactly the wrong approach to take with someone who has likely had more (actually way more) vaccines than most non-military people reading this post will ever have. For me, It set off a flashing MASTER WARNING light that wouldn't reset, it said look harder, look deeper, ask more questions, do more research... it screamed "you're on your own here." In short, it was over the top levels of mindless rhetoric / hateful ridicule, and bogus fact checks usually prefixed with "there is no evidence to suggest" that tipped my personal scales. And most of it (actually the worst of it) came from people unable to even discuss the issue at the most basic of high school biology levels. The down side of all this has been well stated above: OK... I looked up Chud. Apparently it's a: Canibalistic humanoid Underground Dweller So ya, that MASTER WARNING light is still flashing and I see nothing here to modify my original concerns or the reason for having them in the first place. When I reflect on what the rabid pro-vax crowd actually got right, I come up with an amount roughly equal to nothing.

Talk about thread drift eh? But after two extended peacekeeping tours and a bunch of training with the IDF, I've come to the conclusion that Palestinians can have peace any time they want it. Imagine negotiating your property line (for that new fence) with a murderously hostile neighbour committed to burning your house down and poisoning your dog. In my experience, the word "genocide" (the crime of crimes) is often bandied about by people who can't get through a two hour "March Holiday" supper with their in-laws. But maybe that's just me. Your mileage on the Salah al din road may vary... it's one of those no win debates I usually avoid, unless it's too cold or too rainy to paint. The sun is out and the temperature is going up which means the final word goes to you.

I get it... I tend toward the same because discussing it seems futile and the only axis of advance appears to be with the election of a new government. At the same time though, I also fear the effect of platform creep and question whether (and I hate to say this), the conservatives are actually conservative enough. Recently, I've come to the conclusion that biting our collective tongues isn't helpful in the face of entrenched narrative on one hand and voter apathy on the other. Maybe apathy is the wrong word here but at a minimum, it seems average people aren't paying attention. Some have deliberately tuned the madness out in an effort to regulate their own blood pressure and that's not good. It allows the strident screams of a vocal minority to appear more credible (and popular) than I think they actually deserve. By way of example, when I look at my entire circle of acquaintances I see no one in favour of surgically mutilating minor children because they identify as "human puppies." A small victory for common sense eh? In short, I now view the silence of moderates as grease which lubricates the wheels of madness. And at the risk of gross oversimplification, it seems to me that there's been a seismic political shift directly under my feet and the only thing that hasn't changed is me (meaning the opinions and values I've always defaulted to). It's like the Conservatives now occupy the space previously inhabited by moderate liberals, and Liberals have become the NDP of old. As for the NDP themselves, well, they seem to be in some sort of slingshot maneuver around the planet Pluto. IMO, they've wrecked their brand and decided to defend that low ground which only exists somewhere between irrelevant and dangerous. Some might argue that it was liberals who developed the SRBs on "Starship NDP" and OK, you're probably right about that. So, maybe absurdity needs to be met with counter absurdity in the form of ridicule, like the "human pup" thing. Maybe the surgical alteration of hands into paws and affixing furry tails to hindquarters needs to experience the ridicule it rightly deserves. Mindless ridicule was used to great effect by the pro-vax crowd and their version of it required little in the way of knowledge or compassion to be extremely effective. Even I can do that... Maybe fiscal conservatives with traditional values that are tempered with compassion and the respect for consensus need to be more vocal. It seems to me that in the absence of those voices, absurdity, and the media who profit from overt displays of that absurdity feel free to run amuck on the streets of a once great nation.

And if 66% of Canadians stand opposed to a relatively modest carbon tax increase on "April Holiday Monday" I think you'll be seeing lots more of it. I'm guessing some of that group are liberals... no? If they cringe at that, wait till they hoist aboard the costs associated with 45% lower emissions than 2005. With only 6 years to go and a huge amount of ground to cover, I think it will be a challenge making your case, but I'm rooting for ya. Make the rich pay sounds great to voters until they discover who's actually in the crosshairs of a liberal "rich" reticle.

Sounds like a great new hobby, I drive a 2016 Indian Springfield... how's that for indigenous street cred, I can even use it for hunting out of season, right?. Clearly the Canadian Kennel Club rules are out of date too.

Guess who won? It was totally "unanticipated." Who'd a thunk... I'm betting that these "unanticipated" victories will continue until women walk off the field and refuse to compete. Since organizers and governing bodies are AWOL, women will have to assume the burden themselves. Shut em down and make em care, keep doing it until they do. Be polite, remain dignified, quietly walk off the field and simply refuse to compete with men. Don't be embarrassed either, the people pushing this agenda and ruining your sport certainly aren't.