#being on a disability pension sucks | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

not-poignant · 2 years

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I just want to thank you for writing FFS. As someone with a lot of trauma hangups (and is coincidentally american which means therapy is often out of my reach), this story has done so much to help me understand myself. Most importantly it's given me a view of a healthy, intimate, sensual asexual relationship is like. For a long time I've internalized the idea that nonsexual relationships were lacking or not as worthy, and having an ace writer write ace intimacy is... enlightening. So thank you.

Hi hi,

I ended up going on a ramble about how much mental health sucks just about everywhere so I'm putting the rest of this under a cut/read more.

Therapy is so hard for so many people to access, and it really sucks, and I'm so sorry. Even here, the majority of people don't have private health insurance because of socialised welfare, but socialised welfare doesn't cover dental and it doesn't cover mental health, meaning that the vast majority of people have to pay $200-650 outright per session (psychologists at the lower end and psychiatrists at the upper end) to access therapy at all. Accessibility is a huge issue, because almost no one can afford private health insurance since here it's not offered through your workplace, and you can't get it through a 'family plan' offered by a work place 99.9999% of the time. Even working through the government doesn't entitle someone to access to private health cover of any kind.

And it's not a problem if you have cancer or need surgery - those things will be treated for free, which is incredible and amazing and frankly should be the norm. But if you have mental health issues, you're just really fucked (there is a plan which lets you access discounted sessions, but the discount often still leaves you hugely out of pocket, and it only lasts a limited amount each year, so if you need weekly therapy for a year - which is not that abnormal for serious anxiety or depression - you're screwed).

It's the ugly side of socialised welfare that doesn't cover mental health or mental health treatments. Almost all of my disability pension goes towards therapy appointments, and anything leftover goes towards food. Everything else (i.e. writing income) goes towards living in this house, clothing, food, and other medical bills when they come up. Together with their powers combined, I still don't make the equivalent of a yearly minimum salary/wage in Australia.

Anyway, a long ramble, but the USA is sadly just one of over a hundred countries that makes it incredibly hard to access therapy and mental healthcare. :( It kind of sucks, especially in a world with the pandemic basically being a global trauma and increasing mental illness/es everywhere.

I thought it was important to shine a light on how things can be even in countries with 'free healthcare.' It's never really free for mental health in most places. And it's worse in some. The USA at least believes in and treats adult ADHD for example (though the cost is prohibitive and they make it as hard as possible), there are plenty of countries in Europe that don't even believe in adult ADHD and millions of people who will never - even with access to therapy (which most don't have) - get access to ADHD meds as a result. Having to leave your country just to get diagnosed and still not having access to meds is like... :( But the USA making all health so prohibitively expensive is frankly evil and borderline 'let's just kill all the poor people who happen to be overwhelmingly queer, POC or disabled.' The fascism burns.

In light of all of that, my story is such a tiny drop in an ocean. I'm glad it could give you something of (fictional, wish-fulfilment) therapy. It's not often like that, but I think it's close enough that people who've had therapy have recognised something useful in it, so I'm glad it could offer something.

As to the ace representation, that matters to me a lot. There's definitely so many different ways to be ace, and have ace relationships, they can be as flexible and as different as all the allonormative relationships. Arden and Efnisien having their sort of 'ace + allo person in an open relationship' works well. There are people who are monogamous and ace and ace, or more commonly, people who are monogamous and ace + allo (with many aces who just...have sex anyway, even if they don't really care about it). There are so many permutations.

And each relationship can have whatever shape works best for the people inside that relationship. It can be so hard to realise that if you've only ever been exposed to stereotypes, tropes, and never ever see yourself get represented. It took me years to unpack some of the things I'd been conditioned to believe about relationships, and much longer than I think the average person, because of the pressure media and society put on ace people to a) have sex and b) think a romantic (or aromantic) relationship with sex is more fulfilling than a romantic (or aromantic) relationship without one. Which happens to be complete and utter fucking bullshit.

But it's a long, long shadow that takes forever to unpack, and the oppression created by it can be crippling in interpersonal relationships.

Nonsexual relationships of any kind are 100% worthy, as worthy as any other kind of relationship. They deserve to have hundreds (and thousands) of television shows and movies made about them, including romantic ones. They deserve cartoons and anime and songs. We deserve to be seen regularly and often, in different permutations in different kinds of ways.

It's bigotry that stops that from happening, but hopefully as time passes, we get more and more representation. In the meantime, I'm glad AO3 is a great place to put an extremely long story about how sensual ace love is just as valid, and a nonsexual relationship is as loving as any sexual one. :)

(And I am very sorry for the lack of access to mental health assistance. I will add that while it might not be accessible, telehealth has really opened up therapy for many people, and a partner of mine is seeing a psychologist in Romania for like $50 USD per session (with the conversion rate/s, it still works out quite well in Romania too). The downside is that psychologist's recommendations won't be recognised by doctors in Australia. The upside is it's very affordable comparatively speaking, and it might be worth looking outside of your country for online therapy, because while the pandemic sucks donkey balls, the one thing it actually did was open up global / international therapy across countries in a way that wasn't really possible before. Obvs even $50 USD a session might not be affordable, in which case your issue is global and not just USA, but...it's something to think of. I wouldn't have thought of it myself, if my partner hadn't started doing it. And they're getting a lot out of it).

#asks and answers #personal #falling falling stars #i don't really know how to tag this #basically mental health oppression and then ace oppression a little bit as well #i got really distracted by the big issues #and then talking too much about falling falling stars felt really weird after that #so i just couldn't #really do that much dsalkfjasfsda

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j-a-smiths-blog · 25 days

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0808 6May24: Chapter 127

Super annoyed today.

Tell the nephew we are leaving the house at 730... whats he translate that too? Oh I can sleep in until 7 and drag ass... but then my wife does the same shit and since she wanted to go because we had to get things it made my schedule all fucked this morning. You can't teach a young adult shit if you don't hold a standard. So when I say we are leaving at 730... changing and being alright with leaving 10 minutes late is not going to fix the issue... you're actually embracing the problem and saying it's alright. He's 18 fucking years old and has no sense of direction in life and literally is doing what's he's told at his own pace and I'm going to quickly become fucking pissed about it because he's about to go to college (if he passed the entrance exam) which means we have a few more years of him thinking we are just going to pay his way and give everything to him for free or very little work... its the same thing that happened between my wife and his dad... we are setting up a bad scenario... and it sucks because my pension and disability is the only income for the household and I barely get to spend anything.

#angryandannoyed

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emma-radfemcanu · 3 months

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Hi you’re my favourite blog on tumblr and I’m always too scared to message you but I really need a friend for a moment so I’m hoping I can borrow your ear lol

So yesterday was my 25th birthday, it’s also the 15th anniversary of me becoming a Swiftie (I got Fearless on my 10th birthday as a present, instantly fell in love), but instead of being at Taylor’s Eras Tour concert in Sydney (just a state over from where I live) I spent the night at home.

All this because the ticketing company for the Aus leg of the tour is dog shit. Im on a disability pension so I had literally spent years saving up for a chance to one day see her, I didn’t even go to see Harry Styles on tour bc I’ve never seen Taylor live (I’ve never seen Harry live either but Taylor is my priority). I spent 10 hours online trying to get tickets, I didn’t have anyone to help me so I only had one chance. I never once even made it into the online ticket lobby.

I’m actually so crushed. It’s been getting me down for ages but I was hoping that for the actual day of, I might be able to go out with a friend to take my mind off it and hopefully enjoy my birthday but all my friends managed to get tickets and so went to the concert without me. Also just to rub salt in the wound I didn’t get any birthday presents, which like I get it I’m an adult and my family is pretty poor but it still would’ve been nice to at least get a card. My Mum did cook me my favourite dinner which was nice and she and my Dad tried to cheer me up by insisting I watch the SpongeBob movie with them, I used to watch it as a kid whenever I was sick, and it used to work to cheer me up but yesterday it just reminded me of spending my childhood in a hospital and having no friends. So yeah I just feel really shit.

Sorry to dump all this on you but i can’t really talk to any of my irl friends about it bc for some bizarre reason they just say I’m being ungrateful (I don’t get why but that’s just how my friends are lol). I just had to get it out of my system you know? I hope it doesn’t bum you out too much. I spent some time scrolling on your blog and as always it’s cheered me up a great deal so thank you💖

Ok anyway if you read this thank you you’re the best, I’m gonna cry in the shower now lol (btw we have the same name which I think is really cool🥰)

Another rad Emma xxx

Hello! (I am v excited that I can finally answer asks again- I meant to contact tumblr support so many times but was afraid of getting termed, but I saw the beginning of this and it made me finally do it)

I'm sorry that you didn't have a nice birthday :( it sucks when you really look forward to something and then it doesn't work out. It is what it is but you shouldn't feel bad for feeling disappointed- even if your parents did make an effort I get why you would feel sad about it

And unfortunately you definitely weren't the only one who had this experience with Eras tickets- the sales were enough of a shitshow as it was lol, I can only imagine how difficult and frustrating it must be trying to get accessibility tickets. And it was especially crappy timing for you with it being your birthday. I really hope that you'll get to see Taylor (and Harry) someday even if it wasn't to be this time

It was very sweet of you to say that you love my blog 💕 and I am always happy for people to send me stuff so please do if you want to talk!

(although just for clarification my name is not actually Emma haha, my url is a tennis pun)

#asks

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angelaselina · 6 months

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Trying

The way Switzerland fails at helping mentally ill/disordered and neurodivergent people is both heartbreaking and enraging.

I've been struggling mentally since I can remember. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was eight, as I was institutionalized for the first time. My childhood has been rough to say the least, I've been through one deeply traumatizing experience after the other and have since developed C-PTSD. I'm now almost 26 years old and I've only just recently got to a place where I feel stability and safety. But now that I'd be able to sustainably build a life for myself, everything I try makes me feel like it's too late for me.

I didn't get to finish any sort of education, because every time I almost reached the finish line, either something devastating happened or my lack of mental health finally caught up and shattered my ability to function like a normal human being. I've been trying to find part-time work that doesn't require any sort of education, but either it's too far away or the opportunity falls through in other ways. I'm constantly looking for anything that could realistically work out longterm, but I can't emphasize enough how difficult it is for us out there.

You'd think there would be some sort of service Switzerland provides as it is praising itself on being such a progressive country, and in theory, there is. It just really, really sucks. Disability Insurance here is obligatory, we all pay for it, and if you haven't been able to work due to illness, injury etc. for a while, they step in and either help you with accessibility issues, (re-)integration into the labour market and so forth, or - if employment is not possible - they pay you a disability pension.

Now, the problem is, it's up to them to conclude whether or not you are eligible for their services. Not your doctor, not any external specialists, not you, obviously. They will ask for their perspectives (and make you wait for months to evaluate) , but at the end of the day, the decision is entirely up to them. And as they make you wait, you shouldn't work at all, because it can immediately be used as a reason to deny you any services - you just proved you never needed them in the first place after all, right? Eventually, you don't have any income or savings to get you through the month anymore, and that's where social services and their welfare aid come to play. They will pay you a set amount of money each month to barely cover basic expenses. The catch is: you are now in debt. And as the months go by, and as you wait for the Disability Insurance to evaluate your case, that sum rises and rises, and the social worker that got assigned to you makes sure to remind you of that and that maybe, if you just tried hard enough, you'd just be able to call off DI and go back to work. It's taxpayers' money that they're spending on me, after all.

And I just really don't think these people understand how much people like me are trying, that's all we do. We're trying to get better, we're trying to get away from these services where we are treated like subhumans, we're trying to find work, find a place in our society and do our part. Do you think it's fun, living like this? With all the shame, lack of perspectives, not being able to afford anything other than the absolute bare necessities? All of that on top of our already existing struggles via the illnesses or disabilites that caused our need for help in the first place. I can't leave the house on my own. There are times where I can't even find the energy to brush my teeth, let alone take a shower, or prepare a simple meal. I do the work, I am in therapy, I am medicated, and there's nothing I pray for more than just the ability to function. So what more do you want from me?

#rant post #cptsd #actually cptsd #ocd #IV #switzerland #ways society fails us

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bulldagger-bait · 1 year

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Multiples of 5 pls :)

(long post ahead...)

5: what's the worst part about being physically disabled?

For me, the worst part is asking for help. Not once, or twice, or even for the twenty-thousand-th time that day. No, the asking that happens after you stop asking.

Cos a lot of it blends into the background. Like handing someone something you need opened, and the act of them opening it for you becoming routine; no words necessary. Or how my partner will assemble my wheelchair and push me--she did it yesterday, and last week, and months before that, why check if it's different now? Or when I try to do something and realise I can't; how I'll sit there silent and defeated and she will ask if I need help. Help, without me having to say it. When I can just nod and know the assistance will come naturally in the absence of verbalisation.

That's not what I'm talking about. That kind of help has its own way of tormenting you when you want to eat yourself alive with internalised ableism, and guilt, and hatred, and et cetera, et cetera.

No, the worst thing is when you have all of this help that becomes routine, but then you have to ask for more. Because it already fucking sucked asking for what you have, but jesus, now you need more? You already did the battle with your pride, you already grieved what you'd lost, you'd already done the work. You did it. You asked. You accepted that this was your life, and these were your new rules... but now they've gone and changed? And you have to ask your loved ones--people you already ask so much of--for more? Fucking more???

Maybe it's temporary; a flare. Fine. Just a few days or weeks and then you can be normal again. Okay, swallow your pride. Ask.

Maybe it's during recovery; post surgery or procedure. Fine. You knew this would happen. You go from your normal level of independence to a complete invalid and you need to ask someone to help you do basic activities of daily living (eat, dress, toilet, wash). That's humiliating. Having to ask someone to hold your bed pan is humiliating. Having to ask your partner to practically carry you to the toilet and pull your pants down for you is humiliating. But, fuck, pissing yourself is worse so you do it. You ask. And you ask them to help you put on clothes, and wash you because you can't fucking do it yourself. Fine. You swallow your pride and do it.

But maybe it's permanent. What you used to be able to do is now something that's out of your scope of ability. And now you have to ask. Maybe you can try and be lighthearted about it. Make jokes. Try to laugh about it to ease the tension--because you can't melt down about this every day. It's such a small fucking thing anyway, why even get upset? But you used to be able to do it, and now you can't. You didn't think you were going to have to do this again. Go through this process. And now you realise it's going to be more of this for the rest of your life. More swallowing your pride and asking.

And then you go from asking your loved ones and your health providers for help, to asking the government for help; Disability pension, NDIS. You have to fill out long forms, and tick all the right boxes, and then bare your soul to a faceless institution about what you can and can't do. You feel like a liar, because you describe a picture of your worst day on a day that is not your worst--because you wouldn't be able to have this meeting, now would you? (And if you feel like too much of a fraud, don't worry, your worst day will come again and it will hit you in the face just how much you weren't underselling it. That's its own kind of terrible, that realisation). But you do it. You ask. In a lot of ways, it's easier; asking like this. There's no personal pride on the line against an institution. It's one more thing to get done, but then it's finished and you can have help and stop. fucking. asking. (it's a naive thought, but you don't know that yet)

Only then... the letter comes back and it says: "we need more evidence" (you gave them everything you had, and the waitlist to see another specialist stretches into the next year; one more year without help), or it says: "you're not eligible" (you are. you either appeal or you give up the fight because you can't do it anymore. crucially, you still don't get help that you need right now), or maybe it says: "we'll fund your less severe disabilities, not your more severe ones" (they're not convinced you need the treatments you do, or there's not enough proof for them you are disabled, and so you have a plan thats so comically underfunded its impossible for you to get the help you need)

And that's the worst thing about being disabled. Asking for help.

That and not being able to find any goddamn parking.

10: what's something you want someone to know about your physical disability/disabilities?

Not. Every. Fucking. Person. In. A. Wheelchair. Is. Paralysed.

Also: some paraplegics can walk. Not for very long, and it takes painful, gruelling therapy... Sometimes years of it. But some people can do it. So before you or someone you know makes a shitty comment about a stranger in a parking lot... Please know that fact.

In a different vein, my conditions are more complicated than what they say on the tin. There's more to one condition than the brief smattering of symptoms on webMD. A lot more. And how they interplay can be unpredictable.

I'd also want people to know that they can laugh with me about my disability. I have a dark sense of humor (gallows humor), and so I will sometimes make jokes that are a bit fucked up. The important thing is I'm making them. I'm not offending anyone. It's okay to laugh. It's okay to have fun with a disabled person about their disability, so long as you are always laughing with, not at. I make jokes to ease tension; to address the elephant in the wheelchair.

A lot of the time I interact with people who can't see past the chair. That's fine. Most interactions are brief. But if I'm talking to someone, I want them to see me. Not the chair. Familiarity helps with that. The more you see something the less abnormal it becomes. Joking helps with that too. I want people to laugh with me, because then they're interacting. with. me.

Treat disabled people like you would anyone else. We're not that different.

Also: nerve damage REALLY fucks with sensation. Like, yeah I may be in decently severe pain most of the time, but don't be too sorry for me. Not everything hurts all the time. Hypersensitive skin. Not always bad.

15: when and how did you discover the cripple punk movement?

I don't remember. Probably not long after I saw a post tagged "spoonie" and got curious. I really appreciate that it's not filled with toxic positivity. But I do also feel like I don't really fit in a lot of the time. I can be really negative about my disability. I'm not happy living the life I am, and I wish it was different. But it's not. And... Well... I don't have any other options. I wish I wasn't disabled, and I would take a magical cure if there was one. I know plenty of disabled people who would bristle at that.

20: do you have any physically disabled friends? How did you meet?

I met one of my friends one day just out in public. I saw someone else in a wheelchair and I talked to them. We then spent the whole day together. She later gave me her old wheelchair. A completely chance encounter that changed my life. Literally. I would not have done half as much in my old chair.

I also have another friend online. We have almost exactly the same shit going on. Like a mirror. Completely by accident. I just joined a zoom group and it blossomed from there. Changed my life too. Good friendship can really turn your world on a pin. Not feeling alone really matters.

I also have friends with disabilities that aren't physical. Or who may have undiagnosed illnesses. Or who have conditions that aren't disabling in the same way, who I may have neglected to mention. But the ones I have are people who are disabled in a way that's similar to me. So they were the first I thought of.

#disability #ask game

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disagigglebilities · 2 years

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Hey, as someone who got a job and had to quit on the second day because of disability, I get it. It really fucking sucks. I felt so useless, like a failure to society or some shit. But please don't feel ashamed to quit if you need to! I've had to come to terms with the fact that I can't work. My disability pension is very low, but thanks to my partner we make it through.

There's no shame in quitting, there's no shame in asking for donations if you need to. Looking after your health is more important. <3

I know that myself. Like in my person but I also know my family will make me feel like shit for not being able to work and with Thanksgiving coming around and then Christmas they're going to make me feel really crappy about myself. I'm half tempted to quit and then skip both holidays with family out of shame but it makes me feel like a crap person. Part of me also wants to ask the people hiring me if I could reapply or be rehired once the snow and ice melts but that also seems kind of unfair to them. Ugh I hate having limitations. Thank you though for the ask and for making me feel at least a little less like a failure here :)

#ask #anon

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kinsey3furry300 · 3 years

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So how the heck do the Avengers pay for stuff, and how rich are they?

So, in the wake of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” There’s a lot of debate about why Sam didn’t seem to get paid well for his work in the Avengers (at least in the MCU continuity), and this has got me thinking: we’ve got no evidence that the Avengers are, financially, anything but a hot mess. So lets break it down, Avenger by Avenger, using real-world pay scales for the ones who have jobs.

Tony: a billionaire, so clearly he’s a financial genius, right? Well….. his actions say otherwise. He’s shown to be wildly irresponsible with his money. He inherited a lot of wealth form his parents which was managed by the first Jarvis, Obadiah, and Pepper for him, he buys and then gives away not just woks of art, but entire collections by major 20th century artists on a whim, destroyed his own cars and home without concern, he tanks the value of his own company in the first Iron Man with a bad press interview, gets kicked of his own bord of directors, and ultimately, in Iron Man 2, gives control of his company to Pepper. He’s insanely rich, and insanely smart, but man, he’s not smart with his money. So all the cool stuff, his suits, the Avengers tower, the facility up-state: that’s all paid for by him, but Pepper is holding the purse-stings. So, does he pay the others? We have no evidence for most of them… but we do with Spidey. Peter Parker is in the Stark Internship Program a euphemism to hide the fact he’s training and mentoring him as a super-hero, but I find the wording interesting: he refers to Spidey, his surrogate son and chosen heir, as an intern. I.E., Unpaid. I’m guessing this is Howard’s influence over him, some sort of ‘make you own way in the world, son’ attitude, but if he’s not paying Spidey, is he paying anyone else? He certainly pays for stuff super heroes suits and things, equipment, fuel, the base, but does he pay anyone a wage? No one ever mentions it. You think it would come up.

So, if he’s not paying them a wage, where do Avengers (and thier allies) get their day-to-day money from, and are they rich? Using google and https://www.federalpay.org, lets find out.

Cap: Well, before Civil war, he’s a shield operative, and he presumably still holds his military rank: he’s a US Army captain, with (well) over 40 years service, so USD$88,142.40 per year, with $237.71 drill pay (pay per drill you have to do on weekends, on leave or outside of normal service) and $175.00 per month hazard pay (which I bet is interesting) on top of that. As a WW2 veteran, he’d be eligible for a war pension if he:

Was not discharged for dishonorable reasons; and,

Served 90 days of active military duty; and,

Served at least one day during wartime ("wartime" as determined by the VA); and,

Had countable family income below a certain yearly limit; and,

Is age 65 years or older; or

Regardless of age is permanently disabled, not due to wilful misconduct.

As he’s still receiving 90k per year, he’s ineligible for a pension as his countable yearly income is above the limit. So if shield pays him in accordance with his rank and years of service, about $90, 600 per year incuding hazard pay.

After civil war, he’s a fugitive on the run, so presumably flat broke. I’d asume he gets his pension returened to him after the snap.

He’s also just gone from the 40’s to the present day, so 70 years of inflation probably makes buying things very confusing for him: everything would seem insanely expensive at first. He’d also not know what the correct prices are for anything invented after 45. You might get used to how much more expensive food and coffee is, but how much is a smart-phone worth? $200? $2000 $20000? Who knows? I bet the others have to facepalm a lot when he either refuses to pay for what he sees as clear price-gouging, and at the same time regularly pays insane amounts of money for goods and services because he doesn’t know better. He also has no known assets other than his pay: he rents an apartment making him one of the few American males in his age-group who isn’t a home-owner

Thor: Does Asgard even have currency? It’s depicted like a “Crystal spires and toga” type utopia with no poverty: even working class Asgardian’s like Scourge seem to be pretty well-off and want for nothing, so he’s from a post-scarcity society where actual magic is a thing. His “Another” coffee cup smashing and the fact he doesn’t have a computer of phone in Ragnarök might indicate that, no, he just doesn’t have, need or understand money. Splitting a bar tab with him must be a nightmare. His breakdown post snap indicates he’s got some cash, but not a huge amount, and is probably skiving of Valkyrie and the other Asgardians.

Banner: Okay, so a PhD could make you a lot of money from patents… in pharmacology or engineering. Theoretical physics? Not so good. And if Banner did have any patents, they’ve probably been seized under eminent domain by the US military. At the start of The Hulk film, he’s working a entry-level factory job at a botteling plant in Brazil. The minimum wage in Brazil is 1069.62 Real per month, that’s 12,835.44 Real per year, or around $2437.79 US per year, before everything goes wrong for him! He then runs off to India, works for Tony for a bit and then gets shot into space. Spidey may actually make more in allowance than Banner does, and Banner is a gown ass man with bills to pay: I’d imagine he loses a lot in ripped clothing.

Natasha and Barton: Pre Civil-war, both are government spooks, so how well does that pay? The salaries of CIA Intelligence Analysts based in the US range from $25,838 to $685,701 , with a median salary of $125,340, so let’s assume that Shield pays in a similar range: $685,701 per year for Director Fury, around 125,000 for Natasha and Cliff, which explains Cliff’s nice, middle-class mid-western home. Post civil war, presumably not great: we know that Natasha spends a lot of her savings running and hiding all across the world, and Cliff takes a deal and presumably lives of his savings, pension and his wife’s income.

Rhodes: Full USAF colonel with over 10 years service? $105,562.80 per year, plus $293.23 drill pay per drill and $175 per month hazard pay, and because he’s team Stark and not Team Cap in Civil War, he’d not lose any of that. He presumably also gets an injury pay-out after his accident. After T’challa and Stark, he might be the best paid avenger.

Dr Strange: spends all his money he made as a surgeon on trying to cure his hands: spends literally his last dollars heading to Nepal to train. Wong even jokes with him about their lack of worldly money when asking for a tuna-melt. But, can use illusion to make people think he has money, and his home and clothes etc. come with the job, so in the same boat as Thor in that he has no money, but needs none AKA, he’s a bastard to try and split a restaurant bill with.

Wanda and Vision: No know source of income, just sort of live in Tony’s hose and eat his food, and on top of that Wanda goes on the run after civil war… yet they can stay in fancy hotels in Edinburgh, a relatively expensive city, and Vison apparently bought them a house to retire in, so one of them has some source of money. Maybe Tony gave Vision years of back-pay form when he was still Jarvis, or maybe the vison has a day job, which is, frankly, hilarious. Could you imagine him as a barista? I can, and it makes me very happy.

Scott Lang: I’d assumed he’d be super, super broke, but apparently the average pay for a private security consultant in the Bay area is $85,430 per year. Not bad. Pity he gets sucked into the quantum realm just as his business is taking off, so presumably, flat broke again.

Bucky: no known income, and I doubt Hydra paid him for being the Winter Soldier so he probably has no savings, but he should, technically, qualify for a military pension. As a single veteran, he’d be eligible for federal tax-free pension of up to $1732 per month, or $20,784 tax free per year. Not much for someone who lives in NYC. He may also be eligible for medical benefits over the loss of his arm. Whether or not he got to see any of that money given how confused his life has been over the past 10 years is unclear, but on paper he’s eligible.

T’challa: He is, quite possibly, richer than Stark, and as an absolute monarch pays no tax and has access to his Nation’s vast wealth in vibanium. It’s good to be the king!

Captain Marvel: USAF captain, and a test pilot; the test pilot school only accepts applicants with a service length of less than 9 years 6 months (10 years six moths of helicopters) as they don’t want older applicants. With 8 years service, $79,538.40, plus drill pay and hazard. However, no know (human) pay since 1990. Flat broke.

Guardians of the Galaxy: no data, but I’m assuming “Cowboy Bebop” levels of perpetual never-ending poverty given the way they choose to live. I’d also assume Rocket has taken all their cash into some sort of Ponzi scheme of his own creation, because just look at him, of course he has.

Spidey: he’s got about $10 of his aunts’ money at any given time, so he can buy lunch… which may in fact be more than Banner or Lang, and we know it’s more that Strange or Thor.

So, here the big one: how rich or how broke is Sam?

Sam Wilson: annoyingly, we’re not directly told what rank Sam held in any MCU film. USAF pararescue “Maroon berets” are generally NCO’s (but there’ are officer-ranked pararescue) , and he’s seen working on his wings at one point, where as officers don’t generally work on or maintain airframes. He’s shown wearing a Nation Air guard grey while jogging at one point to confuse the matter further. The general consensus on redit is he’s a former USAF tech sergeant (E-6). But how long was he in the air force? With six years service (the minimum sensible time he could have served to work in pararescue based on his age), that would be $41,464.80 per year, plus drill pay and hazard. As Anthony Mackie, the actor that plays him, was 36 as of Civil War, and assuming the character is the same age, and assuming he retired from the air force that year, and he joined the USAF at 17, the youngest you can join, he’d have served 19 years, giving him a pay of $51,566.40, the maximum pay you can get at this rank before promotion to Master Sergent, but meaning he left just before he’d qualify for the 50% final salary pension you’d qualify for after 20 years. Which seems weird. So let’s assume the character is one year older than the actor that plays him and served 20 years (ages 17-37), that means Sam has a military pension of $25,783.20 per year (20,784 of it tax-free), plus any injury benefits. He councils other veterans, but doesn’t get paid for that. He also chooses Team Cap in Civil War, so would become a wanted criminal, and so lose his income between 2016 and 2018, and then gets snapped and has no income for 5 years, which would destroy his credit rating. Like the rest of Team Cap, he presumably gets his post snap pardon, and goes to work for the US government at his former pay and rank. However, given how Captain John Walker treats him as an equal, it’s possible he’s been promoted to a captain when the hired back, giving him a pay of between $54,176.40 to $88,142.40 (with 20 years experience, depending on if they take into account his prior service or not, and how much prior service he has), but either way, he’s just starting this as a new job after being legally dead for 5 years: no savings, and no credit.

Commercial fishing vessels cost about 10% of their total value per year in maintenance alone. I can’t identify what sort of boat the Wilson’s have, but some quick googling indicates that the cheapest 15m long wooden in-shore shrimp trawler costs around $140,000, so that’s $14,000 per year in maintenance costs alone, minimum. And that’s a lower estimate, assuming the rest of the business is sound, which we know it isn’t.

So, in concussion, yes, Sam is in some serious financial trouble until he can re-build his savings and credit, but the scary bit is he’s not alone in that: he’s probably better off than Lang, Banner, Danvers, Strange, Thor, Bucky, Wanda and Parker. Only Clint (if he gets a full pardon and gets his full pension), Rhodes, Stark and T’challa aren’t in some sort of potential financial problems. That asshole bank teller was right: despite the fact it seems to pay well on paper, with a few exceptions, the Avengers financials are probibaly a mess. EDIT: Rocket is running the Ponzi scheme, if that’s not clear from context. The others know they have money somewhere, but not where it’s gone. And It’s been pointed out to me that as he’s technically a POW while he’s the Winter Soldier, Bucky is owed over 70 years back-pay, equal to over 3 million dollars, details in the notes.

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lowerdomain · 2 years

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tbh this is my opinion (feel free to disagree ofc no hate) ive seen sui baiting on both exclus and inclus sides (plus both sides have been homo/transphobic to me so :|.) and i dont id as either because of that. its one thing to have ur own beliefs but why is (esp at u/crew) personally dming people trying to "change" them ok??? why was that person so pressed. 1/2

YEAH that's true, we don't identify as either one either, but our gf is very strictly inclus and got in a fight with Jericho over our neutrality (which admittedly was for our own safety but he could never articulate that to her). So we tend to lean more to her side, especially since so many exclus folks just outright fucking demonize systems for the crime of each alter being their own person.

And that's what I don't get. Jeri had laid out our beliefs nice and plain and even said he didn't want to talk about it, and this person DMed us... While we were at a WORK PICNIC. We were literally an hour away from fundraising to people on pension for disabled people in a province that's in a country where disabled people are offered assisted suicide as an alternative when they can't afford housing, while being disabled ourselves and heavily impacted by the knowledge that we're lucky we can afford to live, and you want to bitch to us about bi lesbians? Suck my fucking dick, seriously, you petty little child.

#vani.dat

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aegon · 4 years

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I never understand when people say Bernie is some revolutionary. It’s usually non Americans that say that because of his very successful ad campaigns and loud supporters. He’s the definition of establishment. He’s worked in the government for soooo long and literally done nothing but rename a post office. That’s it. Why do people think he’d do anything as president, when he didn’t do anything when he was a politician with power for decades? Sucks that even the left obsess over mediocre men

I mean...Google is free. It literally took me half a minute to find a list of Bernie’s numerous accomplishments over his decades-long career but sure, let the non-American tell you what your own politicians are up to.

And because my own country fell a few days ago to the ignorance the masses, I even found other sources to back-up the facts of (some of) Bernie’s most remarkable feats:

Bernie is one of the hardest working politicians in the States, being dubbed “the amendment king” for passing more roll-call amendments than anyone else.

I like how you mentioned the post office naming and totally ignored the fact he introduced and passed a bill that increased veterans’ disability compensations

“The definition of establishment,” you say. When more than half of the States and most of your politicians wanted your army to invade Iraq, Bernie said no. He didn’t need to wait seventeen years and a million innocent casualties to make his mind up. Actually, Bernie’s been consistently anti-war throughout his life and again, that’s fucking impressive when more than half of America, at one point, wanted people like me to be blown up. A good egg.

“The definition of establishment,” you say. The American government has systematically supported the Israeli oppression of Palestinians from the very beginning. Anyone who dare say anything against it is deemed anti-Semitic. Bernie, a Jewish man, is one of the only politicians I’ve seen from your side that has enough of a spine to say something about it. Now you might not think it’s much, but an American politician that isn’t Netanyahu’s bitch should be celebrated. It’s that rare.

“The definition of establishment,” you say. Bernie’s been protesting for civil rights and standing up for justice for fifty goddamn years. Damn, what kind of rose-tinged glasses are you wearing that you think someone like that is the fucking establishment???

He couldn’t get nearly as much as he wanted done because you have such rotten shits in office. Like remember when he actively wanted to protect your privacy rights post-9/11 because he didn’t want your basic freedoms to be exploited by the NSA who wanted to read all your emails and listen to your calls without your consent? Wow what a mediocre shit wanting you to not be watched by the state like it’s 1984 lmao

The free credit report you’re entitled to every year? That was Bernie.

Actually reached across the aisle to work with Republican Charles Grassley to introduce the ‘Employ America act’ that stopped major firms firing American employees and hiring cheap foreign workers. That’s called bi-partisanship and y’all need that in your government. Mediocre men don’t negotiate with the opposition for the rights of people.

The first ever audit of the Federal Reserve that revealed how trillions were paid (with no interest) to big banks and businesses? Bernie.

He fought to get community health centres into the ACA

His very first bill that became law was the National Program of Cancer Registries that helps researchers gain valuable information in their fight against cancer. Called “the cancer weapon American needs most.”

Bernie also passed an amendment to prevent the Bush administration from working to overturn a federal district court ruling that IBM’s pension cuts violated age discrimination laws. This amendment helped 130,000 IBM workers regain $320 million in pension benefits that had been taken away from them.

In the late 1990s, dairy farmers were being forced to sell off their lands to big corporations. Due to an amendment by Bernie, a law passed that provided $350 million to help struggling dairy farmers survive.

Bernie’s tried passing so many climate change bills and sadly, most have been blocked by shit stains in your government but he did manage to pass an energy bill that secured $3.2 billion to fund the grants that reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The program to date has funded upgrades for more than 86,000 buildings, installed more than 9,500 solar energy systems and, in the process, created or saved thousands of good-paying jobs.

He has campaigned NON-STOP to give y’all the right not to die from student debt or to pay thousands for like breaking a finger, but ok yes not a revolutionary at all lmao

It’s nice of you to demean him to just naming a post office when he’s been fighting to save thousands of jobs in the postal service, despite the Republicans shutting him down whenever he tries.

So I could go on and on because it turns out, this Bernie fella has done a lot in his time as a politician. He’s introduced over 300 bills whose sole purpose is to help the average American like yourself. It’s so easy to sit on your sofa and call him mediocre when you haven’t fought a percent of the battles that he has to make your life easier.

You don’t have to like Bernie. You don’t have to support his policies. But to trivialise a man who has worked hard and dedicated his life to serving his people speaks volumes of your own ignorance.

Who becomes your President isn’t really my concern. Quite frankly, I’m not affected by whether you can afford to see a doctor or if you’re forcibly drafted into your next war.

However - you are. I suggest getting off your high-horse and spending more than half a minute to learn about who your politicians are and what they’ve been doing in their careers. You can’t always rely on a Brit across the pond to do your damn work for you.

#anonymous #answered #bernie sanders #us politics #thank u next #bernie is a damn inspiration #thank u and good night

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timeagainreviews · 4 years

Text

Sifting through the Dregs

For series twelve of Doctor Who, I have opted to take a casual approach. I've avoided spoilers as much as possible. Although I caught the trailers, and the odd press photo, I've managed to stay away from things as simple as episode descriptions, writers, or even episode titles. I want to come into each story with as little expectation as possible. This is so that I might avoid hype, both of the negative and positive varieties. So when I read the words "Part One," after "Spyfall," it was genuinely a surprise. And when I read the words "Orphan 55 by Ed Hime," I was suddenly very hopeful.

If you remember from series eleven, I was a big fan of Ed Hime's episode "It Takes You Away." I praised its brazen absurdity, likening it to something Douglas Adams may have done. The episode is rather divisive in the fandom, as some might call it one of the worst episodes ever. Obviously, I disagree. Ed Hime stands out to me as exactly the kind of writer Doctor Who needs. Someone with a bit of a taste for the absurd, while still managing to capture human moments. Ironic then, that despite my best efforts to approach the episode without expectation, the hype I would most contest with would be my own. Does "Orphan 55," live up to my expectations? Let's get into it!

As I said, Ed Hime lends a sort of mad weirdness to Doctor Who that I feel a certain section of writers possess. Think your Lawrence Mileses, your James Gosses, or even the occasional Steven Moffat. These are writers, who for better or worse understand one thing about Doctor Who- it's weird. Strangely, one of the common most aspects ignored by Doctor Who writers is the absurdity. A blue police box wrapped around an impossible machine, piloted by an ancient trickster somehow becomes mundane. Doctor Who's weirdness is an integral element that has been around since its inception. That's why when the gang gets teleported by a contest cube Graham has assembled, and the first person we meet is a furry, I feel we're already onto a good start. Especially when they just finished cleaning up the biggest calamari ever from the TARDIS floor. (Anyone else think of the Nestine Consciousness?)

Characters like "Hyphen with a 3" or "Hyph3n," remind me of some of the '80s era's odder characters. I could easily see her and her tail living in "Paradise Towers," or perhaps riding a bus in "Delta and the Bannermen." But another reason I love her is that she's not just a furry, it's part of her identity. You don't get the idea that she's an outlier like real-life Trekkie, Barbara Adams, who famously wore her Star Trek uniform to jury duty and her place of work. Instead, you get the feeling that in the future, people respect identities. To use Star Trek again, I remember watching an episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise," where the character Trip has a crisis over whether or not a girl "was a man." When you compare this to the dialogue we're having about transgender rights in 2020, you're automatically reminded that Enterprise came out in 2001. By today's standards, furries are still seeking acceptance. Seeing Hyp3n in a partial fursuit may seem absurd now, but in its own way, it's futuristic. How very Doctor Who.

Things in this future, however, aren't all progressive acceptance of our fine furry friends, there seems to be trouble in paradise. As I said, the gang is greeted by Hyp3n, a sort of porter for a relaxation destination called "Tranquility Spa." The companions immediately take to the spirit of things, as they settle in for a bit of rest and relaxation. The Doctor, of course, starts snooping around. Meanwhile, a security team of two, Kane and Vorm are responding to "another security breach." Whatever it is requires machine guns, which seems like quite a lot. And if you're like me you'll spend the next half hour trying to figure out where you've seen Kane before. I'll help you out- it was Lydia from Breaking Bad. You're welcome. I just saved you a trip to IMDb.

The next scene introduces us to a concept that will run strong within this episode- Yaz as a gooseberry. We see a couple of pensioners, Benni and Vilma, enjoying their spa getaway. Just as Benni is about to ask Vilma to marry him, Yaz stands right between them. I mean, I know the pool is for everyone, but read the vibe, Yaz. Jeez. Meanwhile, Ryan is checking out the interior of Tranquility Spa. The bar looks like the kind of place art vampires go to get lemongrass enemas. It reminded me a lot of "The Leisure Hive," with a budget, or even a more modern twist on the Centre of Leisure from "Time and the Rani. So much of this episode reminded me of classic Doctor Who.

Ryan notices a vending machine, but as he's retrieving his food is infected by a hopper virus. The Doctor explains the virus is capable of jumping from computers to humans. After expelling it from his system, the Doctor bags it to take to whoever is in charge. While Ryan is sucking his thumb to reduce the hallucinogenic side effects of the virus, he sees a cutie in a similar situation, a young woman by the name of Belle. It's pretty obvious at this point that Belle is to be a sort of romantic interest for Ryan, and who can blame him? She lives up to her namesake!

Everyone is rounded up for a "tranquillity drill," to a safe location while Kane and Vorm run through the lobby with their guns in tow. As with most companions, travelling with the Doctor embeds a deeper curiosity. Much like the Doctor would, Ryan questions what type of drill requires guns. This question entices Belle to follow him as they investigate. I really liked this pairing of the two of them as their chemistry was natural, despite Ryan's repeated failures at chatting her up. It only added to their charm.

The Doctor confronts Hyp3n who seems just about as confused and nervous as many of the guests. Whatever she's hiding is only because she's been instructed to by her superiors. Considering the hopper virus and drill, the Doctor deduces that the spa is under attack, and demands to know what they're hiding. Who would want to harm a spa? The spa has been using an ionic membrane to keep out unwanted visitors, visitors which appear to have breached the membrane. Now under a full-on attack by a group of monstrous beings, guests become casualties. Not only is the base under attack, but the viruses have also handicapped the systems, disabling the emergency teleportation devices. With everyone trapped the Doctor has to work fast to stop the killing, as well as survive.

Graham finds a pair of green haired servicemen in the form of Nevi and his son Sylas. Their entire character design once again had me thinking of classic Doctor Who characters such as the Swampies from "The Power of Kroll," or the Karfelon androids from "Timelash." I liked wondering if they were a kind of species that has naturally green hair, or if they had father/son hair dying nights. In this brief interaction, you learn that Sylas is the better mechanic between the two of them, but that Nevi does a bad job of acknowledging this. Graham gathers them and others to evacuate while Ryan and Belle hideaway in a sauna of sorts. While there, they confide in each other that neither of them is nearly as impressive as they initially led on, and the truth strengthens their bond.

Sadly, as Graham is rounding people up, Benni gets separated after backtracking to pick up Vilma's hat. As life signs extinguish across a computer screen, highlighting the trail of carnage, the Doctor finds a way to push back the onslaught. By repairing the ionic membrane, the creatures, known as Dregs, are physically pushed out of the spa by a force field. The crisis averted, the survivors search for the bodies of their loved ones. Much to Graham's relief, Ryan and Belle have both narrowly avoided the claws and teeth of an angry Dreg. Benni, however, is nowhere to be found.

After discovering a hole, which looks like a tear in reality, our heroes discover that Tranquility Spa is actually an illusion. A dome separates the spa from a hostile planet far too polluted to inhabit. This abandoned, or "orphan," planet is designated "Orphan 55." This is the reason guests are teleported to the spa- to cover up its seedy location. However, it would appear that whatever the Dregs are, they seem to be apex predators, able to survive the hostile environment of Orphan 55. And they want the spa and its inhabitants gone.

The Doctor makes Kane drive them out into the wasteland to find Benni, as his oxygen tank would allow him to survive outside of the dome for some time. It was a thin chance, but it might be enough to save at least one person among the carnage. I was really hoping for some silly "Moonbase," style helmets, but instead, we got these minimalist blue breath right strips across the bridge of the nose that linked to small wrist canisters as supplied by Nevi and Sylas.

The trip out onto the surface reminded me a lot of the great Russell T Davies episode "Midnight." And much like Midnight, the confined space of a vehicle traversing harsh conditions offers plenty opportunity to explore the people within. Remember how I said Yaz is a gooseberry? She wastes no time getting right between Ryan and Belle. I honestly can't tell what's going on between Yaz and Ryan at the moment. Last season, there was a bit of a "Will they or won't they?" vibe between them. But series twelve seems less interested in coupling them off. First, we had the Master and Yaz getting weirdly touchy-feely, which surprisingly never comes up again. And now we've got Yaz teasing Ryan in front of Belle like a jealous school girl. We learn that along with sucking their thumbs, Ryan and Belle also share having a dead parent in common, so that's something.

The vehicle picks up a bit of barbed wiring leaving it, as the Doctor put it- completely knackered. Keeping with the Midnight vibe, the surface of the planet is too dangerous due to monsters and killer sunlight. Afraid for her own self-interest, Kane wants to abandon the search mission, but a pleading Vilma begs her to continue looking for Benni. After callously accepting Vilma's necklace as payment, Kane agrees to continue with the rescue mission. The crew abandon their vehicle and run for the safety of an underground service tunnel, but Dregs attack from every direction causing them to return to the safety of the vehicle. But that safety won't last long.

It's then that they hear Benni calling for Vilma. He asks her to marry him and then asks them to shoot him as well. It's a morbid moment as you realise the only reason the Dregs have kept Benni alive is to taunt the survivors and prolong his suffering. I don't really understand what the point of having them run back into the vehicle actually was. They basically run back out a moment later with the new plan of Kane and Vorm covering with gunfire. I don't understand why it was so important that they leave one location just to return moments later.

As Kane and Vorm blast Dregs, the rest of the crew run to the safety of the service tunnel. In the scuffle, Vorm dies, but Kane catches up just in time to open the tunnel. The entrance to this tunnel had me thinking of the opening of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." I kept waiting for Rita Repulsa to pop out and say "Ah! After 10,000 years I'm free! It's time to conquer Earth!" They make it down into the tunnel where there is a short-range teleporter nearby. Vilma asks Kane if she saw what happened to Benni, and Kane coldly tells her not to worry, that she shot Benni as he requested. It's at this time that Belle steals Kane's gun. She reveals that Kane is her mother and that she's here for revenge for abandoning her and her father. Belle teleports back to the spa taking Ryan with her. Seeing as the teleporter only had enough juice for one go, the rest of the crew must go deeper into the tunnel to find their way back.

Back at the spa, Belle reveals a huge bomb she plans to use to blow up the spa. Poor Ryan, he just met this girl and already he's dealing with her baggage with her mum. I kid, but damn girl, take a guy to a movie first. It's lucky for the Doctor that this adventure isn't actually from the '80s. Had it been Ace in this position, she would have seen the bomb and said "Wicked!" while offering up Nitro 9 to add to the destruction. Instead, Ryan pleads with her not to blow up the spa, dooming everyone involved.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and crew discover a plaque written in Russian, cluing them in to the fact that not only is the planet abandoned, but it was also abandoned by humanity. Orphan 55 is in fact, Earth. This revelation hits Graham and Yaz hard, as they never imagined the fate of the world to be so ugly. Their grieving is cut short by the appearance of Dregs, who Vilma bravely sacrifices herself to, to save the others. The Doctor, at this time also appears to be running out of air. It appears that the ability to be the loudest talker isn't always helpful when oxygen preservation is to be considered.

The sole reason for her running out of oxygen serves only to discover the Dregs breathe out oxygen. She discovers this when she finds a Dreg conveniently hibernating within the tunnel. Why this is important is that it gives a bit of insight into the Dregs' motivation. Kane's big plan was to make a spa that slowly terraforms the planet, which would harm the Dregs. It also explains the trees seen on the surface of the planet. That or these trees are also apex predators able to adapt to anything. Using her Time Lord brain magic, the Doctor looks into the mind of the Dregs and affirms what she feared most- they evolved from humans.

Everyone has now made their way back to the spa. The Dregs are closing in and they need to fix the teleporter. We're treated to a series of people once again leaving and returning to the same location for the sake of upping the tension. Kane appears to sacrifice herself and Sylas gets in an argument with Nevi once more over being told he's not a mechanic causing him to run away. But both of them are ok, as they both return unscathed. Yaz and Ryan wheel Belle's bomb to try and take out a few of the baddies. It's kind of a clusterfuck if I am honest. Lots of characters get taken in and out of scenes merely to pad time and add to the tension. It's not egregious but could have been edited better.

Sylas appears just in time with a solution to use the hopper virus to convert fuel for the teleporter. I was happy they brought the virus back, even if they don’t make a whole lot of sense. Were the Dregs weaponising the hopper virus? Were the viruses remnants of human civilisation? Regardless, I’m glad they brought it back. Sadly, this entire end sequence acts as evidence that perhaps there are too many companions in the TARDIS at the moment. Graham's job is to stand over Nevi and Sylus saying things like "That's right lads!" Yaz and Ryan are basically running around doing busywork, while the Doctor and Belle are having a stand-off with a Dreg. The Doctor manages to equalise the air in the room so that it is mutually beneficial to keep her and Belle alive. What the Dreg breathes out, they breathe in, and vice versa. This stalemate allows them the ability to leave. With the teleports up and running, the Doctor and her crew are transported back aboard the TARDIS, but not before Belle steals a kiss from Ryan. Are she and her mother going to be okay? We're left to wonder.

The victory celebration is short-lived as the companions remember the fate of the earth. Now, I need to preface what I'm about to say with the following- I fully believe climate change is a thing. I say this because we need to talk about how Doctor Who handles the subject. I've seen a lot of people (see: morons) complain about when Doctor Who gets "too political." They seem to think anything they don't like is political. The Doctor being a woman is political to them. But as I said with episodes like "Rosa," and "Demons of the Punjab," it's not that Doctor Who shouldn't be political, it's that it's simply not very good at it.

I can appreciate that the message of climate change is a real and pressing matter, but the cautionary edutainment way in which they present the information was so cringe. It felt so unnatural and tacked on. In their desire to address the audience directly, they lose a level of reality that makes the dialogue seem fake. These scenes always feel badly acted to me, but it's the fault of the dialogue. There's no good way to break the fourth wall without also sacrificing the characters' voices. It's like one of those adverts where you have two people talking far too candidly about something like their period flow, or constipation. It's a way to disseminate information about a product or ideology, but don't mistake it for dialogue. Nobody talks like this.

All in all, this was your standard "base in peril," episode. While not as transcendent as "It Takes You Away," I believe Ed Hime has given us another solid episode of Doctor Who. It's hard for me to tell if Hime's ability to write action was wanting, or if it is simply the fault of the director, but it definitely suffers at points due to the janky pacing. Pacing has really been an odd sticking point for series 12, and I hope they work it out. Even still, I was hoping that after the two-parter of "Spyfall," we would get something a little more grounded. Having this odd little contained storyline with little homages to classic Who is actually more than I had hoped for. It also gave us a new character in Belle, whom I expect to see return eventually. And despite the heavy-handed and unnatural way in which they dealt with climate change, I understand that it's a family show. In keeping with classic Who, it aimed to be educational, and for that, I cannot fault it.

#doctor who #Thirteenth Doctor #Jodie Whittaker #Bradley Walsh #tosin cole #mandip gill #Graham O'Brien #Ryan Sinclair #yaz #yasmine khan #orphan 55 #ed hime #dregs #series 12 #TARDIS #BBC #Time and Time Again

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prorevenge · 6 years

Text

That time I designed and then disabled an entire inventory system.

This is about 15 years ago. I was pretty down on my luck after getting laid off and so was relieved to score a temp job as a shipping clerk at a large company that paid just above minimum wage even though I was over qualified. My idea was to work as hard as I could to try to score a permanent role with benefits.

My boss there was an old timer who ran the fleet of company owned trucks, my supervisor was a lady that dealt with the administration side of shipping. My main duty was to keep tally of company owned shipping containers on a primitive spreadsheet that was complete crap. I learned that the containers were pricy and that losing them was costing the company a significant amount of money. I decided the perfect way to get offered a full time job was to design a proper system to control these containers and then demonstrate the cost savings to my boss and supervisor, which they agreed was a fantastic idea, and of course my status of temporary would need to be re-visited if I could pull it off.

I happen to be a database designer and so I went above and beyond and implemented a slick system to do just that. I trained users and was promised by boss and supervisor I would be offered a position just after Christmas if everything went well, after being there almost a year. I was really excited because this was a huge company that offered a great benefits and pension package to its employees. But, as you have probably guessed, the promised job did not materialize. Some awkward excuses were offered along with a new promise that I could bet on an offer in the coming year if things continued to go well. I guess my boss was pretty confident that I would stay and just get taken advantage of, it seemed.

So, I looked for a new job and got one paying double with a start time three weeks out. I said nothing to my boss or supervisor but instead played stupid and asked to present my inventory system and the savings - perhaps to some higher ups? In order to "maybe get considered for a job offer in the next year...." My boss and supervisior both agreed - because obviously they could benefit from some credit and I was clearly an idiot and a pushover right? Not so fast. I presented to the VP and the controller. I demonstrated not only several hundred thousand dollars in savings, but also went out of my way to make it clear I had more brains and skill then my boss AND supervisor put together.

Then, I designed Fort Knox security on the database program and added a password since I was the only user most of the time. Then I came in on my last day about two weeks after and quit to my boss and supervisior's face after a year, telling them I was offered a fantastic role that started the next day....they were shocked but congratulated me. I regretted that it was due to extenuating circumstances and not by design that I was quitting at the last minute... And of course I would leave everything on a write up on my desk in order for the next person, including my inventory system that held several million dollars if inventory data, indeed the only existing copy of the inventory. This is because I deleted the back up that they never even knew existed, because they were too stupid to realize that allowing an employee to design a stand-alone system requiring a niche skill set to administrate without a backup or transparency is reckless.

Then I went home. Then I waited. Then the calls came "where is that sheet with the password to the program you wrote that we promised to compensate you for via a full time job?" Of course I told them I left it on my desk.... What? You can't find it?? How can that be? And no... I can't remember the password because it was very secure...you know, like all letters and numbers nonsense...maybe you can hire someone to crack it??? Gee I don't know... yeah that sucks.

I took no further calls. My new job was better. As for them, I wonder how those big bosses reacted when they had to pay to do a full inventory of all the containers with no visibility to actually audit them, and then to design a whole new system to keep track of them. I imagine it cost more than a couple years wages for the job I was promised and never got.

TLDR: designed inventory system with promise of full time job that magically evaporated once it was done. Then conveniently forgot the password.

Update: Since you asked for my bosses reaction I will do my best to be more specific about the outcome: my supervisor initially emailed me, and I responded that I left the password on my desk. She said NOTHING of the impact of the missing password which spoke volumes... And never responded to me at all...then, the girl I trained as my back up who was the accounting clerk phoned me (I guess my supervisor was too chicken to call me and/or figured I might be moved to help since this girl and I were friendly) she sounded really nervous and asked me several times and then acted incredulous and huffed a bit when I wouldn't budge and then finally gave up and that was it..... Also I recall an overwhelming feeling of arrogant self satisfaction that I positively floated on for days afterward.

(source) (story by bluemavis)

#prorevenge #by bluemavis #pro revenge stories #revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #last10

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mst3kproject · 5 years

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SHORT: The Days of our Years

One might wonder why MST3K felt the need to use both this and Last Clear Chance. The two films are very similar, after all. Both feature depressed narrators telling us melodramatically tragic tales, to drive home three points: trains are very dangerous, humans are very fragile, and railroads don’t like being sued. Did we really need both of them? Maybe we did. After all, if we hadn’t seen The Days of Our Years, how would we ever know how much Union Pacific hated disabled people?

The priest in a small railroad town tells us three stories about how accidents affect the whole community, not just those who were injured or killed. First there’s Joe, who got into a car crash on his way to see his fiancée Helen and is now in a neck brace. Not only did he ruin his own life, he deprived Helen of all her dreams and forced her to marry an unemployed, cantankerous couch potato, instead of the happy, active boyfriend she remembered! Then there’s George, who had a heart attack and ran over his best friend, leaving the man’s son fatherless and his wife pension-less. And finally Charlie, who was handing out cigars to celebrate the birth of his son when he got a blowtorch to the face. Now he’s blind, and can never be a real father. So follow the safety rules, or your friends and family will forever resent having to support your useless, disabled ass!

Days of Our Years is very much the same kind of tragedy porn as Last Clear Chance, as it very carefully builds up its Jenga towers of potential happiness only to yank the bottom piece out at the last minute. It does at least choose a better narrator, though. The cop from Last Clear Chance came across as weird and obsessive, with his practice of ruining people’s dinners with photos of accident victims. The reverend is intimately involved with birth, death, and marriage as part of his job, which also includes providing comfort to people in troubled times. His interest in all these events and his sorrow at the consequences are much more understandable and make him an empathetic individual rather than a creepy neighbor.

While our feature this week may be just as melodramatic as Last Clear Chance, it’s sadly not as funny. I think part of this is because we’re asked to invest in three different stories rather than focusing on one. Another part may be because it is so much more about the consequences of the tragedy rather than the tragedy itself. Watching Mrs. Fletcher lie on the floor crying, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” is funny. Watching her go through physio after her hip replacement, while her son wonders how they’re ever going to pay for it, is not.

The bit where they tell the disabled that their loved ones would have better lives without them doesn’t help, either. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Days of Our Years is packed with good intentions. It wants to remind us that we don’t live in a vacuum, that our friends and families will suffer too if we get hurt, and so forth – and that’s all true. Those good intentions lead it straight into a particularly pernicious level of hell in which disability as literally a fate worse than death.

Consider Charlie. He has just become a father, which ought to be an occasion for great joy, and yet when we see him interacting with his child a year or so later, he’s miserable. Rather than enjoying what he can have – the experience of holding and playing with this adorable toddler – he is dwelling on what he cannot – seeing him. We’re probably meant to think about how Charlie will never play baseball with the kid and so forth, and see that as terribly tragic… but what about playing with that toy train, or telling him a bedtime story, or any of the other things Charlie can still do? If you think about it too hard, Days of Our Years seems to suggest that the only reason the blind can take any pleasure in their lives is because they don’t know any better!

What’s even worse is when the short presents dealing with a disabled person as being even more of a nightmare than being disabled yourself. There’s a hint of this in Charlie’s story, as I think we’re supposed to mourn for this child who has to grow up with a blind father, but it’s really driven home in the first story, the one about Helen and Joe. We see Helen dreaming of a fairytale wedding, a beautiful house and a family, only to have it all snatched away by Joe’s accident. Joe himself, in a fit of self-pity, apparently told her she didn’t need to marry him if she didn’t want to, but Helen stuck with him – not because she still loves him, but out of a sense of duty! Now it seems we’re meant to think that instead of overcoming adversity and living happily ever after anyway, they’re both sad and resentful over being stuck with each other.

(Of course this is also misogynistic because why wouldn’t it be? Helen dreams of idyllic 50’s domestic home life, but Joe’s accident takes that away and forces her to work to support her husband instead of the cooking and scrubbing and diapering that god ordained for her.)

I’m not saying what happened to Charlie and Joe wasn’t unfortunate or avoidable, because it was, and I’m sure stuff like this does happen in the real world. There must be people who were badly injured and dwell on their loss forever rather than moving on and enjoying life, and others who just can’t cope with a partner’s life-changing injuries. The problem is that Days of Our Years makes it look like a foregone conclusion. This seems to be a world in which an acquired disability is the absolute end of a person’s happy, meaningful life and the lives of all those who love them, and that’s disgusting.

The only story of the three that says what it wants to say without being really, really unfortunate is the one about George. He continues to blame himself for his friend’s death and the family’s suffering long after everybody else has come to understand that it wasn’t his fault. The accident has long-lasting consequences for everybody without anyone looking like a shallow asshole. It does seem to have left George somewhat disabled, as he was unable to go to the funeral and two years later he ‘still can’t get around’, but the tragedy is not in anybody having to put up with that.

I can't continue without noting at least in passing that these three accidents were caused by the victims being careless, and definitely not by the company being negligent. So yeah, not only will your life and your loved ones’ lives suck forever if you get hurt, it’ll be your own damn fault, too!

Besides all that, there are a couple of other interesting things going on in this short. Although the narrator is a reverend, religion is surprisingly absent. Events like weddings and funerals take place in a religious context, but that’s very much in the background. The narrator quotes the Bible, noting that a human lifetime is supposed to be threescore and ten (seventy years), but only to emphasize that it needn’t be any less if we’re careful. We see many tragic events but none of them are ever described as ‘divine justice’ or ‘part of god’s plan’, and this in turn says something about the role of the divine in this universe.

There is a sense that these people are being punished, of course – the narrator straight-up says as much as Joe speeds to his accident – but they’re not being punished by god. They are merely crushed by the wheels of chance, and those wheels roll just as hard over their undeserving loved ones as over them. Part of the reverend’s point, indeed, is that this is the opposite of divine justice. God gave us threescore and ten and wants us to live for all of it.

When bad things happen, some Christians who shall remain nameless are fond of saying that it’s all part of god’s plan. The narrator could have gone this route in Days of Our Years but he doesn’t. Instead, he seems to imply that injury and suffering are not part of god’s plan, which would be a long, happy, working-class white life for each of us. God wanted George and his friend to have that retirement, for Charlie to play baseball with his son, for Joe and Helen to get their dream wedding and dream home. This is not a vengeful or arbitrary god, but a loving one who wants his children to be happy and prosperous.

One thing I did not ask in my review of Last Clear Chance was whether it succeeded as a safety film. Did it want to make me be more careful driving? Not really, but maybe that’s because I live in a city, where railway crossings are guarded by those gates that come down when the train goes by. It may also be because I tend to overanalyze media (the whole point of this blog is me trying to do something with that urge) rather than just taking it as it comes. How about Days of Our Years?

While I do understand what the short was going for, I find it hard to think about it as a safety film even when I’m deliberately watching it with that in mind. It pours so much into being a series of stories (with extremely unhappy endings) that the moral of those stories fades into the background – which is where morals belong in stories, but not in safety films. Worse, the stories are so damn depressing that you don’t really want to remember them, which is not at all a good thing in a genre whose goal is to make a lasting impression.

Yet for all that, I’ve always found something to be train-wreck fascinating about Days of Our Years, even more so than Last Clear Chance. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s so much more nihilistic. It makes you wonder what’s the point, when everything you hold dear could be shattered by a brief event you didn’t even witness? It’s definitely more interesting than the rather dull and nonsensical film that follows it, The Amazing Transparent Man… but that’s for next week.

#mst3k #reviews #days of our years #50s

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davidbramsey · 5 years

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Mr. Too nice for my own good

I'm new to tumblr. I have ALOT of stress and need to vent. I got married back in September and started a new job. My old job was the ball cheese of bullshit. I worked for pizza hut for 11 years, became a manager and was only making $10.50/hr. After 11 fucking years. Some shady shit went down while I was ON MY HONEYMOON and I got thrown under the bus. I was done with the shit anyways so fuck them. Got a job as a line cook for IHOP. STARTED at $11/hr went to $11.50 after 30 days. I've been there since November, so about 9 months, and I'm already at $11.75. 2 raises in less than a year and about to hit $12 in 2-3 months. Here comes the venting, I work 35-40 hrs a week, make 750-800 or more every two weeks. As apposed to 350-500 at pizza fuck if I was lucky. Here's the downside to being an IHOP line cook. The one I work at has no air conditioning in the kitchen area. I work 8-10 hrs a day in stagnant heat sometimes more on fridays, drenched in sweat, listening to drunk idiots. I do get to work with some cute af waitresses though. They try to make our jobs a little easier by getting us drinks and some flirt with us. Lol. My wife knows this and doesn't care. Now, my wife is bisexual. And has a girlfriend. Doesn't bother me. I forgot to mention my wife and I have an open relationship/marriage. She doesn't care If i get a girlfriend. But I'm only EVER at work or home. I don't go out for a few reasons. 1) I've always been somewhat shy around new people which fucking sad seeing how I'm 32 fucking years old. 2) When I'm not working I like to sleep and not go anywhere. I want to just relax at home. 3) My wife has my bank card so she can budget bills because I suck at budgeting (at least that's what she says. She doesn't let me do it.) So when I get paid she basically gets it. Even if that weren't the case, all my money goes to bills and food and shit. So I never have money to do shit. And on the rare occasions where there's nothing coming out of one of my checks, it's gone in a fucking day for cigarettes and things outside of needs (basically splurges). That's fine I don't buy much for me anyway. But when I come home from working in pure grill heat and sweat all day I would like to come home get a shower and do something every hardworking man with a woman wants to do AND FUCK! Relieve stress and tension. A blowjob would be fine. Hell, even a handjob. Nope, my wife has no sex drive. At least not for me, the one she's married to. She loves me of that I have no doubt. But, I found out that her and her girlfriend, who lives with us by the way, are having sex. There's six of us in a 3bed/2bath house. Me and my wife, her girlfriend and her (the girlfriend) brother, who is gay has a boyfriend, my mother-in-law, who has a boyfriend, and my wife's grandmother. Literally everyone has someone that's giving them some kind of action. Everyone that is, except me. The ONLY PERSON in the house with a fucking job has to come home and bust his own fucking nut. Because my wife's girlfriend will get upset and jealous if I show affection to MY FUCKING WIFE!!! If I tell my wife I love her, which I still do, she gets jealous. If I give my wife a kiss on the head or the cheek, she gets jealous. I dont even look forward to coming home anymore. I know I should take my bank card and all of my shit and find a place just for me and my dog and cat. But my car is the only mode of transportation to get anywhere, mainly doctors appointments, and I don't want to just up and leave. My checks are the biggest part of the monthly income. About 3500 in total between me, her moms social security, and her grandmothers disability and pension. I just dont know what the fuck to do. Like I said I dont go out. I never have money to. And how would I explain that I'm married but it's an open marriage to a woman without them getting creeped out? I had to vent to someone or something. The point of my rambling vent is I NEED SOME BOMBASS PUSSY THAT WILL SUBMIT TO MY EVERY DESIRE AND FANTASY!

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acklest · 5 years

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Time for a rant

It’s about time we stopped this “you’re not as valid or successful if you didn’t go to college” bullshit. This attitude is practically quaint, and I’m gonna tell you why.

It’s okay to go to a community college.

It’s okay to go to a vocational school.

It’s okay to get into an apprenticeship situation where a professional trains you to work in a specific trade. In fact, we need to get back to that system.

It’s okay to get specific certifications for the field you’re interested in.

It’s okay to be self-educated. That’s what I had to do. After years of food service, phone banks, retail, clerical work, and various temp assignments, I was able to secure a decent-paying job that put food on the table. But it took me well into my 30s to get there. For the first time in my life, I had health insurance (lolol America). Now my husband is disabled and I support us. I’m extremely privileged to be able to do that.

It’s okay to be someone who dutifully works a job and then just goes home. If you’re happy enough, if you have what you need, who gives a shit? Learn from my bad example: Don’t define yourself solely by your job and how flattering it might be that your manager depends on you. it’s just a job. The days of working somewhere for 20 years and collecting a pension are a thing of the past. A corporation isn’t going to be loyal to you, so don’t be loyal to them. If you see a better opportunity, take it. At the first sign of danger to the bottom line, the corporation will put you up against the wall. They may even feel apologetic about it. But you don’t owe them shit, so be a mercenary.

Here’s how I got my first job: At age 16, as a legally-emancipated minor, I walked into a McDonald’s without an appointment. I was given a paper application. I sat at one of the booths and filled it out, then handed it to a manager, who interviewed me a few minutes later. Because I was able to deal with a human being, I was able to make a personal appeal to prove I was motivated. By the following Monday, I had a job there and was scheduled to work 30 hours a week. Was I anything special? No. I was a traumatized teenage dropout who barely had a GED via a correspondence course who had three roommates in a shitty apartment, where I was about to be kicked out if I couldn’t chip in my share of the rent, groceries and utilities. Were my answers somehow more persuasive than someone else’s would’ve been? I seriously doubt it. It was the human aspect that made it work.

This doesn’t happen anymore.

Here’s how it works now: You see a “now hiring” sign in a company’s window that instructs you to go to their website and submit an application, where countless others will join you. An algorithm scans your resume for a predefined set of keywords that no one bothered to tell you. You may have already lost any chance at the gig, and not only was no human being involved in that decision, but you have no way of knowing if you’re still in consideration. If you make the first cut, you might get a perfunctory interview where a distracted manager asks you some rote questions that they printed out, who only half-listens to your answers unless you drop one of those keywords. This manager will mark you off the list for almost any superficial reason, because they know there are dozens or hundreds of others who are also vying for the same gig. If you make that cut, you’re presented with the job as if it’s an amazing gift. And then you’re expected to give $20/hours’ worth of effort for a $7.25/hour job, or they’ll just go out on the street, throw a stick, and hit a person who’s probably just as desperate for work. On top of that, some of these jobs will expect you to have a bachelors’ degree and immediately exclude you if you don’t.

I lost a receptionist gig because I didn’t have a bachelor’s degree. A receptionist gig. “Thank God I have that Communications degree or I would NOT know how to answer these phones.”

(Don’t even get me started on unpaid internships. If you get some college credits out of it, fine. “It’ll give you something to put on your resumé” is the same as “we’ll pay you in exposure.”)

How can anyone, unless they have grants/scholarships, or a financially-secure family that’s willing to help them out, afford college without going into crippling financial debt? Spoiler alert: Most of them can’t. Back when I was being encouraged to go to college, when it was quite a bit cheaper than it is now, there was never going to be any way I could afford it. The prices have only skyrocketed since then. But here’s the gist of the problem: Millennials are being pressured into getting college degrees, and the college is so prohibitively expensive that most of them are going to be in debt well into their 30s. Oh, by the way, the book for only one of your classes is $150. The one you bought used is the previous edition. It’s all a big shakedown.

If you were able to go to college without working a part- or full-time job on the side, without going into crushing debt, have the decency to admit that you’re one of the privileged few. I’m not saying you didn’t work your ass off to get there and to get your degree. I’m saying that the experience is no longer typical, and for most people in the current generation, not viable.

That’s why I don’t have much tolerance for the whole “lol Millennials/Generation Z haha so dumb” thing that a lot of people in my generation have. AMERICA IS NOT THE SAME CULTURE OR ECONOMY THAT IT WAS, so we can’t judge the current generation by those factors. Technology has changed everything. Corporations have gotten more cold-blooded. Everything is more expensive. The banks are fucking everyone in the ass without even offering to buy dinner first. It sucks and people are out there like “you just need to get a STEM degree.” Are you gonna pay for it, Grandpa?

My son is a millennial. He still lives at home. Most of his friends still live at home. He’s getting a programming certification, and he’s only able to do that because we’re lucky enough to be able to help him pay for the individual courses. All of his friends are in the same boat, working part-time jobs, and in some cases, helping their parents pay the bills. But they’re sneered at by the previous generations because they’re being judged by a standard that’s no long valid. “Where’s your house? Why aren’t you investing in a money market portfolio? Where are your 2.5 kids? You should travel more, see the world. Why are you killing the [blank] industry?” Fuck off.

What we really need is a revolution. This is getting out of hand. We shouldn’t have almost an entire generation that’s struggling this hard. It means things are out of whack. It means there are problems we need to fix.

When I was growing up, a person who worked an entry-level construction gig and another person who worked as a Wal-Mart checker could, in their mid-20s, conceivably buy a small first home and consider starting a family.

Now, we have people who can barely afford to pay rent even though they have three roommates (and the more roommates you have, the more statistically likely it is that you want to bury one of them in the woods), forced to make horrible decisions like “Well, if I eat only one larger meal in the middle of the day, and then go to bed before I start to feel hungry, I can pay rent this month.” I’d move back home, too.

Just because someone is selling you a Big Mac and you have a degree does not make you better than them. Better educated? Sure. But a better person? No. Go fuck yourself.

People have their own baggage, demons, and challenges to get through. They don’t need judgmental fuckery on top of everything else. Assume that everyone you meet is doing the best they can to muddle through. It’s that general “try not to be an asshole” thing.

All I have is a GED and a give ‘em hell attitude and some coding books I read, and through sheer luck, a few years of established work experience that might open the door to some better job down the line. But I still get that little patronizing “oh” when someone finds out I don’t have a degree. I dare anyone, on any day of the week, to tell me I’m stupid because I didn’t go to college.

A good place to store that elitist attitude is directly up your ass.

Get it up there nice and snug, too.

Anyway, I probably went off track several times and it’s after 2AM so it’s entirely possible that parts of this don’t make sense. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. (Do people still say that? I’m old.)

#generation z #millennials #college #rant #this started out being a rant about people thinking dean winchester is stupid #and morphed into this #how does this keep happening to me?

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