Posts by karlauerbach@sfba.social
(DIR) Post #Ayc0U7EUzTD388uLdw by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-09-25T21:57:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@dlakelan If you want to merge the UBI into "tax terminology" you could call it a "refundable tax credit" - as a refundable credit it still gets paid to every person, whether they pay taxes or not. Putting UBI into that context may fit better with the existing gears and levers of our tax collection/payment system.The UBI component makes your "flat tax" into a mildly progressive tax. I don't mind that, but I do think we ought to have a heavier, or "more progressive" tax load on high incomes (or for that matter on high collections of wealth [whether that wealth is directly owned or farmed out via a mesh of US and foreign corporations and trusts.)
(DIR) Post #Ayc0U8dhlExxUbhzZQ by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-09-25T22:07:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@dlakelan Measuring "accumulated wealth" can be really hard.Or rather, not hard when counting the wealth of most of us, but really hard when counting the wealth of a person who can afford a pile of expensive accountants and lawyers to create a worldwide mesh of trusts and corporations - perhaps with some "mixers" where the wealth of multiple people is aggregated but who has what amounts is masked - with those mixers having their own sub-trees. (Basically I am describing trump org.)I had to fill out some of the US Financial Crimes agency's Beneficial Ownership Information Report (BOIE) forms. I thought it was a good idea to help penetrate these corporate/trust webs. But El Cheeto cancelled that data gathering.
(DIR) Post #Ayfu4FBYygsLAneeAa by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-09-28T19:37:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@scathach Desert camo helmet and jungle camo clothing. I wonder what he/she has on her feet? Pink Crocs?
(DIR) Post #AywcYGdHfOhurS6djE by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-06T21:14:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@detondev We get some big waves around here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkfwYDh2Uy4
(DIR) Post #AyyNVmR9qtavdTi5fk by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-07T17:07:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex Kinda wondering: How can the president's salary be continued absent an appropriation for that purpose be made by Congress?It would seem that the appropriations clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 7) might be in conflict with the presidential compensation clause (Article II, Section 1, Clause 7)(Or as my tax accountant might put it - is the president paid on a cash basis or an accrual basis?)
(DIR) Post #AzHHivbs9RPe7yqY76 by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-16T20:29:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Oh, have we reverted to 2008 and the system of bundling and rebundling and securitizing bundles of bad loans that brought down so many firms and banks and cost many people their homes?
(DIR) Post #AzHI2aPGh6dg9tKCCu by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-16T20:33:05Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird On the other hand Tuscon and Tonopah are perfectly nice places (although the latter is kinda small.)
(DIR) Post #AzHUKmLIFq9Dq6uHmy by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-16T22:50:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@foone Have you subdivided your cables by power rating?I've also had to subdivide my usb-C devices into those that support power delivery and those that go "huh" and can only work if the other end is an ancient power-delivery protocol unaware USB-A socket.(I get to have even more fun as I've got USB-4 devices and Thunderbolt 3/4 devices.)My USB cable organizer is starting to look worse and more complicated then my old RS232 widget and cable toolkit.
(DIR) Post #AzSVGg2JzlgVogCT3I by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-10-22T06:23:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex Congress could refuse to issue commissions to senior military officers. But that gives no leverage over officers who have already been commissioned.10 U.S. Code ยง 531https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/531
(DIR) Post #AzsrIBnGkpj6paOjD6 by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-11-03T23:32:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@detondev Are those sailors really only 1.5meters tall (as is suggested by the hull markings near the group)?
(DIR) Post #B0OAz3ym7WtC4HFSrY by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-11-18T23:05:51Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@whitequark Back around year 2000 when I first came onto the ICANN board of directors I made a proposal that ICANN establish a worldwide mesh of DNS monitoring stations to check DNS availability, response times, and response accuracy. I even had buy in from a major, worldwide website monitoring company to host those DNS monitoring stations. ICANN didn't want to hear this then, nor does it seem to want to hear it now.Our internet is extremely brittle and is becoming even more so. And that weakness is made worse by increasing tall and thick security barriers that make it ever harder to monitor for failures, diagnose and isolate what is happening, and to deploy repairs.Little, if any, attention is being paid to this increasing risk. A few years back I wrote the following note about this problem:https://www.cavebear.com/cavebear-blog/netsecurity/
(DIR) Post #B0TtROjwA8KP0gbvUW by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-11-21T20:20:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@detondev Yikes, that a scary looking building for a performing arts space.I once had to work on shows in a theatre complex designed by "an architect" - one who clearly was dyslexic and read Louis Sullivan's advice that "form follows function" as "form! Who cares about function". It was a horrible space for mounting shows, and also dangerous for the crew. (Things like stage-wing ladders up to the catwalks that had 90 degree bends that required a crew person using that ladder to make a 90 turn in the dark and step over a long drop.)Over the years I have too much contact with other abominations by "architects" such as F. Gehry. (If I remember correctly we once shared office space with him in Santa Monica around 1980.)
(DIR) Post #B0lOpBJlPEk0goNyWe by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-11-29T18:36:54Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
To my eyes, this is an act of war by the US upon the nation of Venezuela. (Not to mention the blurring of GPS and the sinking of boats by the US.)If indeed a state of war now exists (to borrow a phrase from FDR's speech to Congress after Pearl Harbor) then Venezuela could be anticipated to wage war against the US - endangering US people (including tourists) everywhere in the world.El Cheato and Whiskey Pete are getting the US in Vietnam Part II."Trump says airspace above and around Venezuela should be considered closed"https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-says-airspace-above-surrounding-venezuela-be-closed-its-entirety-2025-11-29/
(DIR) Post #B17lpMizZGW2UUMSNE by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-12-11T01:21:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Oh, the oil tanker that the US seized near Venezuela appears to be one of Russia's "Shadow" fleet.That fleet seems to be a major source of revenue for Russia, so seizing it may tick off one of the asses that El Cheato likes to kiss.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/
(DIR) Post #B19kFyNWNqJzCznX3w by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-12-12T00:55:47Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex The executive order is quite vague, it does not even attempt to define "Artificial Intelligence".The order also presumes it can preempt state "police" powers to combat fraud and misrepresentation.Were I a state I would argue that my state's laws about fraud cover *all* endevours, not just something that is called "AI".And if I were a company trying to do bad things I'd slap a dab of AI juice into my products just so that I could claim protection derived from this order.Of course this is legislation, but Congress has cut off its organs of power and fed them to El Cheato on a golden plate.
(DIR) Post #B1VuIk2pfoIF6qx9Yu by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-12-22T17:31:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex Perhaps Denmark could send a Special Envoy to California?And Somalia could send a Special Envoy to Texas.
(DIR) Post #B1fPqYGonozhRIjhRo by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2025-12-27T07:36:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex There are some points to be made:1. Grenell's letter, should it reach an actual legal complaint, could be answered by an anti-SLAPP motion (DC has an anti-SLAPP statute.)2. If Redd gets part of the ticket sales then he can counterclaim that the name change is a material breach of the the contract in that it repels potential ticket buyers and thus hurts Redd.3. Both anti-slapp and counterclaim open the door to discovery into Grenell's actions and also may block Grenell's ability to simply drop the action and walk away.
(DIR) Post #B2GwKUc61kgzDiqJKS by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2026-01-13T22:47:26Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
It is pretty clear that ICE/DHS are intentionally trying to elicit a violent, possibly armed, response to these violent acts.The ICE-gang is desiring this because then el cheato will invoke the insurrection act. That will, in turn, open the gates for the goons to really start breaking heads and for blood to flow in the streets.My guess is that some ICE goon, somewhere, is going to get shot by a sniper or protester within a month, if not sooner.I expect February to begin a true rain of maga terror.(And, of course, we will see Noem posing on an advancing armored troop carrier - wearing a tight t-shirt, bullet-resistant vest, and maga-face - with an M16 or M4.)"Anti-ICE protester blinded by federal agent during demonstration in Santa Ana, family says"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-13/socal-protester-permanently-blinded-by-dhs-agent-family-says
(DIR) Post #B2MMx2qukFFj0tcK2q by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2026-01-17T00:20:48Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@catsalad Decades upon decades ago - in the 1970s I think - Mark Kampe at UCLA set up a Unix system to swap onto DECtape.The poor tape drive looked like it was suffering from an epileptic fit, but it all worked, albeit somewhat slowly.We once built an iSCSI based RAID 5 array using USB flash drives.
(DIR) Post #B2pqsODrvzFv6ez5YO by karlauerbach@sfba.social
2026-01-31T06:19:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Nonilex I am awaiting the discovery of an email from Melanoma that reads like this:"Oh, Donald, Ghislaine and I tried so very hard to convince Jeffrey to sell you some of his boys."