There's More Truth To This Than You Might Think!

[ISAF2009]

Yup hilarious. I see PT standards have dropped since I got out also. I’m sure one of those AR-14’s could be repurposed as a hood ornament on my bus after its previous owner pulls a stress card over something they read on Twitter and abandons it.

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by ISAF2009

I’m sure one of those AR-14’s could be repurposed as a hood ornament....

AR-14...I get it!

On a semi-related note...I went to a bank today. Not my bank, but a name brand bank in my town. I needed to make a deposit for a bus we bought and I missed the wire transfer cutoff time, so I took cash to the bank and tried to deposit it into the seller's account. I'd already taken out enough cash, from my bank, to cover the deal and I thought depositing some of that cash would allow it to post immediately in the seller's account. Imagine my shock when the teller told me I could only do that with a check...they couldn't let me deposit cash unless I was listed on the seller's account. Really? I asked about the whole "legal tender for all debts, public and private" thing and she said it was a money laundering protection. I offered to provide ID with the cash...but no, that wouldn't work...checks only. Fortunately, I had time to run to my bank, get a check, then return to the other bank to make the deposit. But this was a new thing for me...really, I guess I ought to get out more.

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by s2mikon

I have been trying to de-google for a while now, and it's not easy. Went to duck duck go, proton mail now trying to figure how to do the phone now. We'll see.

Pinephone, Librem 5 or just opt to not have a phone number and use a UMPC with an LTE modem.


I degoogled / went protonmail two years ago, its really only scratching the surface... a good VPN (with servers available in other countries) is also a nice tool to have.

[s2mikon]

Kazetsukai. Thanks for the reply. I do use a vpn too just not all the time. I looked at the pinephone just the other day. Out of stock. Same for the librem. So how do you use the umpc with the lte modem? VoIP? Your opinion on flip phones? Thanks for the tips. By the way I like your bus. You did a great job making a hang out for your fur buddies. How many do you have?

[BeNimble]

Yes it is now complete, the USA is run/owned by a tiny number of huge corporations.
We all work for them. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Walmart obvious examples.
No buyouts or mergers denied since 1980, this is what you get. Going to be very very hard to reverse the state of affairs. HR1 is a start.

[s2mikon]

Yes. Why was walmart still open during the lockdown but the computer store was closed. I could by clothes at walmart but not my favorite western store. And I can go on and on.

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by s2mikon

Kazetsukai. Thanks for the reply. I do use a vpn too just not all the time.

One of many tools in a toolbox, not a be-all-end-all.

Originally Posted by s2mikon

I looked at the pinephone just the other day. Out of stock. Same for the librem.

Why do you think, lol. Lots of folks waking up to the dangers of all of this tracking now, they just don't talk about it.

Originally Posted by s2mikon

So how do you use the umpc with the lte modem? VoIP? Your opinion on flip phones? Thanks for the tips.

The OneGX1 Pro comes with a 4G LTE option, you use that for internet, and again, either opt _not_ to have a phone number, or, use VoIP. I use Ooma for VoIP service.

Flip phones, I had one until recently (my UMPC (GPD Win 2) broke, I've been eyeing the OneGX1 Pro as my replacement) On Android again, disabled all Google-related stuff. Its crippleware/awful.

Originally Posted by s2mikon

By the way I like your bus. You did a great job making a hang out for your fur buddies. How many do you have?

Thank you. We have two cats.

[Exhausted]

[deleted by moderator]

[joeblack5]

Wow "Exhausted", if this your first post for a new member???

Good luck with your build. be sure not to put to much work in it, you can always take a train.



Johan

[ISAF2009]

[QUOTE=joeblack5;423916]S2mikon, ..trains to camp ..might be a little unfunny...over simplification...besides that sad choice of words.

And oh yeah,. Perceived Capitalism did that already with the native indians, africans before communism and socialism was even invented.
We ourselves in modern times had something going on with japanese camp during ww2... We did apologize though.

We live with many people on a small globe.. when one takes to much another has to do with less.

If you ever were in Europe , pre covid, but probably even now, you can take a rail road pass and travel by train about everywhere for pretty cheap for a month or so and see a lot of interesting things.
Traveling efficient and inexpensive and experiencing different people and different cultures is always a good thing...

Information helps with that. Because of the Google's in this world we have forums about buses.

The U.S. also fought its first war as a nation against slavers and then another massive one to end slavery which still exists in countries that don’t share our values Ive seen it first hand. The first nations people on our continent fought a ferocious 400+ year war with us and each other, they were no hapless victims. The outcome was not ensured until the very end. Those first nations people also helped us form our government and worked very closely with our founding fathers. Go see how the carthaginians or any other conquered people are doing today most of their cultures are only found by archeologists and can only be seen in meuseums. Indigenous culture is still very much alive here in the US. It is estimated that there were 600k or so indigenous people when europeans showed up, over 5 million Americans are their ancestors today. You cannot blame europeans for smallpox any more than you can blame indigenous people for syphillis which killed many more europeans than natives that were killed by smallpox. Great, europe has better mass transit, along with worse healthcare, crippling taxes, no freedom of speech guaranteed, massive surveillance, and racism on a scale that makes the U.S. pale in comparison. There are pro’s and con’s wherever you go. I Briefly lived in Germany, Ireland, and the U.K where it would not be possible to enjoy the freedom I do here in the greatest, fairest, most equitable nation on earth (For Now unless google has its way). I have an E.U. Passport. You are right about when one takes too much others do with less but look at the clothing you are wearing and maybe get preachy if LITERALLY ANYTHING you have on isnt made in the 3rd world likely under horrific conditions. Socialism and communism have killed more people than RELIGION.

[joeblack5]

Hi Isaf.


My previous more detailed reply got lost, nodoubt that big brother read my intentions .. haha



throwing numbers is a very complicated affair.
A bit of wiki. I know probably all fake numbers ,
100 million to communism

100 million to religion
20 million a year to capitalism.


I am to lazy to read thru all of these numbers, and I am no true believer in either of these " systems".


I would rather think about the amount of people and the actual resources and how we would come to an about equal share. All man created "equal" and all that.

-Capitalism by definition is not going to help with that. hence we have google and walmarts, IBM, and about every cooperation with more then a 1000 people throwing their weight around, to gain more weight..

-The freedoms we "enjoy" cannot be shared with the world population. resource conflict.

The energy consumption per capita is the highest in the usa. resource conflict.


There you have it, do with it what you want.


I would be interested about your statements with bad experiences with health care in europe and also about racism. examples and facts.
I can tell you that my experiences are counter to yours for whatever it is worth.


Johan

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

throwing numbers is a very complicated affair.
A bit of wiki. I know probably all fake numbers ,
100 million to communism

100 million to religion
20 million a year to capitalism.

So, the state killing dissenters and religious zealots killing heretics... I don't know where/how you are getting your 20 million per year number from but it sure as heck isn't an Apples to Apples comparison, like CEOs or board members beheading unruly workers. Seems like dishonesty to me.

Originally Posted by joeblack5

I would rather think about the amount of people and the actual resources and how we would come to an about equal share. All man created "equal" and all that.

Are you suggesting that "all men were created equal" means that every last person on earth is then entitled to the same "equal share" of resources? Did you actually think this through before saying it?

Originally Posted by joeblack5

-Capitalism by definition is not going to help with that. hence we have google and walmarts, IBM, and about every cooperation with more then a 1000 people throwing their weight around, to gain more weight..

Some of us would like to point out that the State tends to act the same way...

Originally Posted by joeblack5

The freedoms we "enjoy" cannot be shared with the world population. resource conflict.

Sounds like you are confusing freedom with resources, I don't know why. Freedom as I see it is the absence of coercion from the state. Freedom of speech doesn't create a resource conflict. Right to fair trial doesn't create a resource conflict.

Originally Posted by joeblack5

The energy consumption per capita is the highest in the usa. resource conflict.

Energy is produced by man, it isn't merely a raw resource in a zero-sum exercise of excavation. Energy is also used to produce more energy. Alarms go off in my head with this kind of rhetoric because it seems like the interest is more in interfering with / creating problems for the biggest users of energy than doing the actual hard work of bringing energy to those that have the least of it. This is the divisive language of envy.

[joeblack5]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

So, the state killing dissenters and religious zealots killing heretics... I don't know where/how you are getting your 20 million per year number from but it sure as heck isn't an Apples to Apples comparison, like CEOs or board members beheading unruly workers. Seems like dishonesty to me.






Thanks for your vote of confidence about my purposely perceived deception.



here some articles, no doubt not acceptable by you but what do you want.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Liv...du_capitalisme 100 million in the 20th century


https://www.quora.com/How-many-death...-by-capitalism




https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCa...illion_a_year/





Are you suggesting that "all men were created equal" means that every last person on earth is then entitled to the same "equal share" of resources? Did you actually think this through before saying it?



well, are you not??? and why not??Are you one of the "choosen" ones, that is the question is it?


Some of us would like to point out that the State tends to act the same way...
The state by now is the large corps is capitalism and the problem.



Sounds like you are confusing freedom with resources, I don't know why. Freedom as I see it is the absence of coercion from the state. Freedom of speech doesn't create a resource conflict. Right to fair trial doesn't create a resource conflict.


I am not sure who is confused.

The state only helps with implementing it. you are coerced by the state every second, That does not have to be bad.
But yes you can only be as free as the resources you have.. The simplest form, if you are a large corp with many resources then you have many freedoms.

I think again we have much more in common then how it appears.




Energy is produced by man, it isn't merely a raw resource in a zero-sum exercise of excavation. Energy is also used to produce more energy. Alarms go off in my head with this kind of rhetoric because it seems like the interest is more in interfering with / creating problems for the biggest users of energy than doing the actual hard work of bringing energy to those that have the least of it. This is the divisive language of envy.

Energy is not produced by man, it is a limited raw resource. If we would pay the total price for excavation and destruction then it would be a lot more expensive.

The numbers speak for themselves since 1967

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/p...e?region=World
I cannot help that you and i are part of it, No use denying it either.


Johan

[ISAF2009]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Hi Isaf.


My previous more detailed reply got lost, nodoubt that big brother read my intentions .. haha



throwing numbers is a very complicated affair.
A bit of wiki. I know probably all fake numbers ,
100 million to communism

100 million to religion
20 million a year to capitalism.


I am to lazy to read thru all of these numbers, and I am no true believer in either of these " systems".


I would rather think about the amount of people and the actual resources and how we would come to an about equal share. All man created "equal" and all that.

-Capitalism by definition is not going to help with that. hence we have google and walmarts, IBM, and about every cooperation with more then a 1000 people throwing their weight around, to gain more weight..

-The freedoms we "enjoy" cannot be shared with the world population. resource conflict.

The energy consumption per capita is the highest in the usa. resource conflict.


There you have it, do with it what you want.


I would be interested about your statements with bad experiences with health care in europe and also about racism. examples and facts.
I can tell you that my experiences are counter to yours for whatever it is worth.


Johan

Easy in Köln as a kid there were daily street and schoolyard battles between germans and turks. In london everybody was viscous to the “Pakis”. In County Waterford first they all hated the poles but they were hardworking, white and Catholic so they integrated and everybody moved on to hating the Sri Lankans. During my time in Lyons I heard lots of the word Négre used in reference to african migrant workers most of whom spoke french. In Bratislava it was the slovaks vs the Hungarians.Everybody hates the Roma everywhere. In Brussels they hated everybody. Shall I continue? Find me a country that has looser immigration laws than the US ; I’ll wait

[joeblack5]

Hi Isaf,


You had me up for a part of the night trying to read up on that and sadly i have to partially agree with it. For sure it is not an only American problem.
A small difference is that most of these people came to work in Germany, France, England because of the bad situation at home.


So they were not innate as the native indians or slaves who were here a long time and have to recover from a long time of systematic abuse.



Regarding refugees.
https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2020...most-refugees/


some on the difficulty to immigrate to different countries.

https://www.investopedia.com/article...itizenship.asp



Coming back on the health care..My comments were related to the healthcare system not to the ability of the nurses and doctors.


A small story in this field..
We were blessed with a daughter that was premature by two month.
Hence we camped in front of the hospital for several weeks in our Van and sometimes in the Ronald McDonald.



At some moment we had to be trained to take our baby out of the couveuse. Disconnect tubes and sensors and reconnect them again.
The training took 45 minutes and we were charged.. $ 600 for Dad, $ 600 for Mom, $ 600 for Baby.


Now 14 years later with all well that is good for a laugh.
The nurses and hospital did an amazing job for a baby at 2 LBS, I have no complaints about their charge,



Another little story I like to share is related to my bus accident. That happened in a very rural and very conservative area in PA.

The police officer that appeared at the accident site saw the situation and my dog laying next to the bus.. His first question... Are you living in that bus.. The tone was not positive and he found it prudent to give me a ticket about slipping on black ice.
I had to appear in court to fight the moving violation points that would have appeared on my drivers license.
During my defense argument/ introduction it turned out that I was an engineer with a company in aircraft NDT test equipment. I was able to convinceable argue that my speed was less then 20 MPH on impact based on the distance the van traveled up the bank and the distance it slid afterwards and as such I had everything in my power to avoid an accident.


I was able to get my points of after paying pleading guilty to PA article 3111. The officer confided that he would not have gone along with that if it was not for my dog.

The whole case based on profiling of homeless and "cheap" school bus. He focussed on the school bus and was not able to connect the dots with the 4x4 and solar panels.


Johan









Johan

[ISAF2009]

In europe you would've been lucky to receive that care at any price. There is a big difference between healthcare and health insurance. In europe everybody is for lack of a better term insured but who cares? Its care that matters... everybody who has any money has concierge care or else you suffer and die if you aren’t healthy. My buddy lost his arm after going septic and almost dying from GANGRENE because of an infection from an insect bite while on vacation. When he came home to the U.K. He wouldn't get seen and got turned away from emergency clinics until he was seriously ill. My mother got Routine abdominal surgery In ireland and almost died from poor anesthesia, and later infection. I am an RN I couldn't believe What I saw in Irish hospitals. When a doctor gave my grandmother an injection in the rear he placed a dot with a felt pen on the injection site so he made sure to miss her sciatic nerve. Americans think about Healthcare all wrong like I said focus on care, not insurance. And BTW the roma have been in europe since before the word slave was invented and are still hated.

[ISAF2009]

All these American liberals go to Europe for a little while and think it’s proof of a socialist utopia. In reality europe is a dark authoritarian hell.

[joeblack5]

Hi Isaf,



I don't know about all that. I have lived for 30+ years in the netherlands and some of my family and extended family have been treated for heart, throat cancer, stroke, hip replacement.
I do not share your outlook in about the exceptional quality of the US system.
Here some numbers.


https://www.commonwealthfund.org/pub...rspective-2019


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._of_healthcare


ttps://www.ajmc.com/view/the-quality-of-us-healthcare-compared-with-the-world


Sure no utopia, here or anywhere.


happiest countries


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_...ppiness_Report



suicide:



https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019...n-toll-suicide





.. Here, for the rich yes we have more freedom the responsibility part is lacking.


Johan

[BeNimble]

What is a better choice to make a 20-24ft motorhome, an old School Bus, an old Box truck, or an old Motorhome?

[s2mikon]

I'll take that international loadstar any day of the week. I have had about a dozen or more IHC trucks over the years and have found them to be very reliable. They are different though.