8-21-17

[Jason]

There is a 50/50 chance I am going to join the Marines in February or so.

any reason behind the choice, if you don't mind sharing?

I was probably cut out for that kind of life, to be honest. But there is a guy at the gym I go to who was in the Marines for four years and is currently making 115,000 a year for the feds. He recommended joining the reserves and they will pay good money for you to go through training of any job of your choice, and they will also pay for the training. I will set up a couple of meetings with some recruiters and see what kind of jobs might be doable for me. Also, if I don't go to school, all I will do is the three months of boot camp, sign on as a truck driver through the reserves, but come back to my current job. I will always have military status on my record so it will make finding new work easier, and I don't have to deploy and kill ISIS to get that status. Though, I wouldn't mind that, to be honest.

so it's about finding better opportunities rather than active service or deployment? that's a good approach. if i thought i could manage the bootcamp part of it, i would maybe give that a try.

Bootcamp is annoying not really diffucult.

are you expected to do active duty, like grunts or whatever, or do you have the option of forgoing that for a different path? do they choose where you go, or do you choose it? (as in path of service, not geographically )

I believe if you join the reserves you won't have to deploy or anything.

[Jason]

Joss really has become the total archetype of the douchy loud feminist man who's full of shit. What a great story.

Best story of the day and didn't even involve the stupid eclipse.

I didn't see any eclipse.

[Jmac Attack]

I love when a conservative dude gets caught with a male prostitute (was almost a trend for a while)...so let Foo and the fellas have their fun.

[DancesWithWerewolves]

Joss really has become the total archetype of the douchy loud feminist man who's full of shit. What a great story.

Best story of the day and didn't even involve the stupid eclipse.

I didn't see any eclipse.

It had a path that we wouldn't see. If you were in Oregon, Utah, Tennessee all the way to North Carolina (I think) you'd have been able to see it.

[showa58taro]

Trucking And Blue-Collar Woes
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/0 ... llar-woes/

Something for Jason perhaps?

I had no ide the US trucking industry had been this badly maligned over he last 30 years.

I love how the article ended by blaming Trump for trucking wages going down since the 70's/80's. For every dollar that my company makes, I still make less than one penny. That is the issue with the trucking industry: Drivers agreeing to operate at such low wages. It is much like sports contracts. If all drivers were a hive mind, we could be making double or triple what we are making, the problem is everyone agreeing to work for such low wages. This is why elite level athletes such as LeBron James and Von Miller take the highest amount of money that the NFL can legally pay out. It sets a precedent for lower level athletes to make more money. This is why they are so rich.

Cool article, bro.

Must've missed the Trump dig myself. Sorry, was not intended. Was genuinely just interested about your profession and the state it seemed to be in. Guess as it's NYT it was bound to add an unneeded Trump bash. My bad

Can you guys not unionize to get fairer wages? Surely it's not an unskilled job.

[DancesWithWerewolves]

Ah hell yeah.

http://screenrant.com/creed-2-dolph-lun ... view=lista

If you don't wanna hear rap though, don't click the video.

[Dream]

There is a 50/50 chance I am going to join the Marines in February or so.

any reason behind the choice, if you don't mind sharing?

I was probably cut out for that kind of life, to be honest. But there is a guy at the gym I go to who was in the Marines for four years and is currently making 115,000 a year for the feds. He recommended joining the reserves and they will pay good money for you to go through training of any job of your choice, and they will also pay for the training. I will set up a couple of meetings with some recruiters and see what kind of jobs might be doable for me. Also, if I don't go to school, all I will do is the three months of boot camp, sign on as a truck driver through the reserves, but come back to my current job. I will always have military status on my record so it will make finding new work easier, and I don't have to deploy and kill ISIS to get that status. Though, I wouldn't mind that, to be honest.

so it's about finding better opportunities rather than active service or deployment? that's a good approach. if i thought i could manage the bootcamp part of it, i would maybe give that a try.

Bootcamp is annoying not really diffucult.

are you expected to do active duty, like grunts or whatever, or do you have the option of forgoing that for a different path? do they choose where you go, or do you choose it? (as in path of service, not geographically )

I believe if you join the reserves you won't have to deploy or anything.

If you join the reserves and the unit you are in gets deployed it is not optional. Odds of being deployed are pretty low right now, but it doesn't take war to cause a deployment.

You do not get most of the benefits of being an active duty marine (You are technically a Marine, but most active duty Marines will not see you that way.) You don't get healthcare unless deployed, You have to keep your uniform tailored to you at your own expense, Air Force and Army get a $4500 per year allowance for college, Coast Guard get $4000 per year, Navy and Marines get nothing (4500 and 4000 might cover one semester of school.) Also, apparently a lot of people in the reserves find it harder to get a job in the private sector because of training commitments and risk of being deployed. They also pointed out that they never trained long enough to really become great at the job they were training for unless they also did that job in civilian life. And reservists make about $250 a month unless deployed (and if deployed they don't get paid until they back, or so I'm told)

If you want to join, join because you want to serve, not because you want the benefits or status of being able to be called a "insert branch of choice here", cause for a reservist, the benefits suck.


Also, would you even be accepted with your blood clots/lack of spleen issue?

[Dream]

Ha! I fucking knew I read Joss as a fake feminist!

https://ageofshitlords.com/ex-wife-says ... fuck-women

Sure, the source is a scorned woman, but I still always said he came off as the kind of dude who uses feminism to get laid.

Well that sucks. Still like his movies though.

[Jason]

Joss really has become the total archetype of the douchy loud feminist man who's full of shit. What a great story.

Best story of the day and didn't even involve the stupid eclipse.

I didn't see any eclipse.

It had a path that we wouldn't see. If you were in Oregon, Utah, Tennessee all the way to North Carolina (I think) you'd have been able to see it.

I know. It's just everyone in California making a big deal about it needs to shut up. :p

[Jason]

Trucking And Blue-Collar Woes
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/0 ... llar-woes/

Something for Jason perhaps?

I had no ide the US trucking industry had been this badly maligned over he last 30 years.

I love how the article ended by blaming Trump for trucking wages going down since the 70's/80's. For every dollar that my company makes, I still make less than one penny. That is the issue with the trucking industry: Drivers agreeing to operate at such low wages. It is much like sports contracts. If all drivers were a hive mind, we could be making double or triple what we are making, the problem is everyone agreeing to work for such low wages. This is why elite level athletes such as LeBron James and Von Miller take the highest amount of money that the NFL can legally pay out. It sets a precedent for lower level athletes to make more money. This is why they are so rich.

Cool article, bro.

Must've missed the Trump dig myself. Sorry, was not intended. Was genuinely just interested about your profession and the state it seemed to be in. Guess as it's NYT it was bound to add an unneeded Trump bash. My bad

Can you guys not unionize to get fairer wages? Surely it's not an unskilled job.

It is a pretty fair wage in all honesty. Outside of the government stealing one full day every week out of my check, and the fact that every tiny little fucking thing in California is so god damn expensive, it wouldn't be so bad at all. Might actually be living comfortably in any other red state. Blue states enjoy raping their population for all the money they're worth.

[Jason]

There is a 50/50 chance I am going to join the Marines in February or so.

any reason behind the choice, if you don't mind sharing?

I was probably cut out for that kind of life, to be honest. But there is a guy at the gym I go to who was in the Marines for four years and is currently making 115,000 a year for the feds. He recommended joining the reserves and they will pay good money for you to go through training of any job of your choice, and they will also pay for the training. I will set up a couple of meetings with some recruiters and see what kind of jobs might be doable for me. Also, if I don't go to school, all I will do is the three months of boot camp, sign on as a truck driver through the reserves, but come back to my current job. I will always have military status on my record so it will make finding new work easier, and I don't have to deploy and kill ISIS to get that status. Though, I wouldn't mind that, to be honest.

so it's about finding better opportunities rather than active service or deployment? that's a good approach. if i thought i could manage the bootcamp part of it, i would maybe give that a try.

Bootcamp is annoying not really diffucult.

are you expected to do active duty, like grunts or whatever, or do you have the option of forgoing that for a different path? do they choose where you go, or do you choose it? (as in path of service, not geographically )

I believe if you join the reserves you won't have to deploy or anything.

If you join the reserves and the unit you are in gets deployed it is not optional. Odds of being deployed are pretty low right now, but it doesn't take war to cause a deployment.

You do not get most of the benefits of being an active duty marine (You are technically a Marine, but most active duty Marines will not see you that way.) You don't get healthcare unless deployed, You have to keep your uniform tailored to you at your own expense, Air Force and Army get a $4500 per year allowance for college, Coast Guard get $4000 per year, Navy and Marines get nothing (4500 and 4000 might cover one semester of school.) Also, apparently a lot of people in the reserves find it harder to get a job in the private sector because of training commitments and risk of being deployed. They also pointed out that they never trained long enough to really become great at the job they were training for unless they also did that job in civilian life. And reservists make about $250 a month unless deployed (and if deployed they don't get paid until they back, or so I'm told)

If you want to join, join because you want to serve, not because you want the benefits or status of being able to be called a "insert branch of choice here", cause for a reservist, the benefits suck.


Also, would you even be accepted with your blood clots/lack of spleen issue?

I've heard it depends on the recruiter, but there are some dudes right now on active duty with the same condition I have.

[Dream]

There is a 50/50 chance I am going to join the Marines in February or so.

any reason behind the choice, if you don't mind sharing?

I was probably cut out for that kind of life, to be honest. But there is a guy at the gym I go to who was in the Marines for four years and is currently making 115,000 a year for the feds. He recommended joining the reserves and they will pay good money for you to go through training of any job of your choice, and they will also pay for the training. I will set up a couple of meetings with some recruiters and see what kind of jobs might be doable for me. Also, if I don't go to school, all I will do is the three months of boot camp, sign on as a truck driver through the reserves, but come back to my current job. I will always have military status on my record so it will make finding new work easier, and I don't have to deploy and kill ISIS to get that status. Though, I wouldn't mind that, to be honest.

so it's about finding better opportunities rather than active service or deployment? that's a good approach. if i thought i could manage the bootcamp part of it, i would maybe give that a try.

Bootcamp is annoying not really diffucult.

are you expected to do active duty, like grunts or whatever, or do you have the option of forgoing that for a different path? do they choose where you go, or do you choose it? (as in path of service, not geographically )

I believe if you join the reserves you won't have to deploy or anything.

If you join the reserves and the unit you are in gets deployed it is not optional. Odds of being deployed are pretty low right now, but it doesn't take war to cause a deployment.

You do not get most of the benefits of being an active duty marine (You are technically a Marine, but most active duty Marines will not see you that way.) You don't get healthcare unless deployed, You have to keep your uniform tailored to you at your own expense, Air Force and Army get a $4500 per year allowance for college, Coast Guard get $4000 per year, Navy and Marines get nothing (4500 and 4000 might cover one semester of school.) Also, apparently a lot of people in the reserves find it harder to get a job in the private sector because of training commitments and risk of being deployed. They also pointed out that they never trained long enough to really become great at the job they were training for unless they also did that job in civilian life. And reservists make about $250 a month unless deployed (and if deployed they don't get paid until they back, or so I'm told)

If you want to join, join because you want to serve, not because you want the benefits or status of being able to be called a "insert branch of choice here", cause for a reservist, the benefits suck.


Also, would you even be accepted with your blood clots/lack of spleen issue?

I've heard it depends on the recruiter, but there are some dudes right now on active duty with the same condition I have.

I'm pretty sure the recruiter doesn't get to do your medical assessment. They just take the forms and send 'em up to the medical guys who make that determination and from my understanding, their determination is final and they can disqualify you based entirely on your medical records without ever giving you an actual exam. You'd probably have to get a waiver, if you were allowed an exam at all.

Splenectomy for any reason other than trauma is grounds for rejection alone.