DIlbert’s Seppuku Moment

As I like Dilbert I have included http://dilbert.com/ in my morning reads for many years.

Well Dilbert died by its own hands – well its cartoonist Scott Adams hands, as it now resolves to https://linktr.ee/scottadams with little explanation.

Seems you can go view Dilbert if you Subscribe to a website by clicking on yet another redirect.

I’ve always been an anonymous sort of viewer – while realizing I was not truly anonymous I also never explicitly gave my information in the ritual of reading the daily Dilbert strip.

For a while I read the related blog.

When Scott Adams moved his daily blog from text to video, I stopped following.

I was neither interested in the personal time-sink transitioning from a minute or two read (I read fairly fast and often with several things happening) to a headsetted watch-the-screen for as long as I say video experience.

Nor was I wanting to add my name to any curated list.

We will have to see what happens with Dilbert. The strip is fun and I hope it becomes unencumbered again.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Common Sense on Education….

First a personal disclaimer – I earned several undergraduate degrees at an overseas extension of a USA University in (West) Germany that I have actually never visited the home campus of, all during a single overseas deployment, and then did my masters in England.  So in about 6 months longer than what a by-the-book 4 year undergraduate should have taken, I knocked off two AAs (needed to keep my employers happy), a BA, a DipBA on paper which I never did understand and an MBA.  Squeezed in about 3 to 3-1/2 years of full time employment during the process as well as finding a way to visit about 15-16 countries in my “spare time!”

So I have never been a fan of being ensconced in a classroom being lectured at as a serious form of education.

I’ve collected some articles that cast different lights on the reality that you need an education but that you don’t have to squander your time and money in a lockstep educational system:

Common Sense on Education….

http://takimag.com/article/notes_on_the_pussification_of_america_fred_reed/

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north988.html

http://www.garynorth.com/public/department99.cfm

http://www.garynorth.com/public/department89.cfm

https://freopp.org/we-calculated-return-on-investment-for-30-000-bachelors-degrees-find-yours-1f2f3c5e6dac

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/02/is_it_always_financially_worthwhile_to_obtain_a_college_degree.html

You can take away a couple things from the readings:

• Not all degrees are worth the money and the time
• There are ways to get degrees that use less time and less money
• Alternatives may be career-appropriate at an individual level
• Always look at the ROI (Return on Investment)
• Don’t forget to consider the Personal Joy into the equation.
• Peer pressure preys on your weaknesses and will not help you make sound decisions.

My personal take is education fills two roles:

• Adding to your Life Tool Box of skills and knowledge
• Opening career doors earlier for you

Beyond that I suppose you can consider it a good shopping expedition into the “mating market” as many meet their life companions during education.  That makes a lot of sense as the people in your education social circle have all prequalified as similarly minded people by being there.

There are alternatives – investigate and grab the ones that fit well for you.

I worked indirectly for a fellow who sent off to study something he had a passion about and to get his doctorate, starting when he retired.  Since that day PhD programs have become commoditized and have a huge amount of low value in-classroom time requirements – all to enforce conformity and as quality control.  I don’t think I could do what my old boss did under that sort of conditions.

Thinking I should write more about that “Life Tool Box of skills and knowledge” angle, as it is the most important part of all of this.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Non-Radio – A Small Town Thing – Local Symphony

Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra – 04 Feb 2023

The small town where I work and live nearby, is pretty fortunate to have a viable community Symphony, three Community Wind Ensemble/Bands, a community Jazz Band/Stage Band, numerous long running vocal groups (chamber and barbershop mostly) and very long running small bands (mainly polka).

I’ve not been to many performances since before we all started hiding from the virus in 2020, and have only played once on stage in the last 3-4 years.

Early February 2023 we decided to attend the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and had a fabulous time out.

Mozart and Haydn, well explained and played well!

Truth be known I really enjoy local live music. I know many of the players, and also a large cross section of the audience.

We have box seats purchased with the hope that the new elevator might allow one of both of my elderly parents to occasionally attend with us.

It is not every small community that has so many long running musical groups – here are some of ours (* are groups I have performed with):

• Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra (founded 1951) – https://manitowocsymphony.org/
• * Lakeshore Wind Ensemble (founded 1983) – https://www.uwgb.edu/lakeshore-wind-ensemble/
• * Lakeshore Big Band (founded 1990) – https://www.uwgb.edu/lakeshore-wind-ensemble/lakeshore-big-band/
• * Manitowoc Marine Band (founded 1898) – https://www.manitowocmarineband.org/
• * Two Rivers Hamilton Community Band (founded 1920) – no website
• Newtonburg Brass Band (originally founded 1904, reformed 1999) – https://www.newtonburgbrassband.com/
• * Mystic Moods (current name for about 30 years, evolved from a 1930/40’s group) – no website
• Clipper City Chordsmen (founded 1945) – https://clippercitychordsmen.org/
• * Manitowoc Community Chorale – (founded around 1980 – might be older and definitely evolved) – https://cccshows.org/learn-more/capitol-community-chorale/

Theatrical and sometimes includes music:

• * Peter Quince Performing Company (founded 1969) – https://www.pqpc.org/ (a true youth theater group, as you have to be 12 years old to join, and you are graduated out when you turn 23)

There area lot more!

Quite a variety and much longevity for a community of 30 thousand (catchment area maybe twice that).

Not a bad place to be at all!

73

Steve
K9ZW

Hey I Won a Book – Goodreads Giveaways “In Defense of the Second Amendment!”

With 100 copies available, and 3142 people registered for the drawing, I stood a 3.2% chance of be awarded a book copy.

Written by Larry Correia, and released January 24th 2023 the book is pretty hot off the press.

The promo starts:

What Part of the Second Amendment Don’t You Understand? That’s the question posed by award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Larry Correia.
What part of the Second Amendment don’t you understand?

 

Here is a link to the book and reviews at Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61485867-in-defense-of-the-second-amendment

You always can follow what I have read (I am fairly lazy bout posting much about books I am in the process of reading) at:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2272032?ref=nav_mybooks

73

Steve
K9ZW

Non-Radio – Riding Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads

Why a picture of a parked motorcycle on an empty rustic road?

K9ZW’s Turbo VRod Night Rod on a Rustic Road stop

Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads program has a motorcycle feature where you can earn a Certificate if you get yourself photographed at 25 of the roads.  You can earn the Motorcycle Rustic Roads Patch with 10 confirmed Rustic Roads.

The need to be included in the picture is waived if you are a solo rider.

So mine are lonely looking pictures of my Harley-Davidson Turbo VRod Night Rod or Harley-Davidson Pan America Special with that particular Rustic Road’s numbered sign, as I usually ride alone.

The Motorcycle Program:  https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/rustic-roads/motorcycle.aspx

About Wisconsin Rustic Roads: https://wisconsindot.gov/pages/travel/road/rustic-roads/default.aspx

A nice writeup:  https://www.travelwisconsin.com/tours/rustic-roads-motorcycle-tour-200210

73

Steve
K9ZW

Watch your Online Subscriptions – Apple TV Jumps 40%

The latest Apple TV subscription jump is non-starter for K9ZW.

I’d originally taken out a subscription to watch a single Apple TV series on Motorcycling – The Long Way Up https://www.longwayup.com/ – which featured the Harley-Davidson Livewire Electric Motorcycle and the Rivian BEV Pickup.

Link: https://www.longwayup.com/

Once I had binged that it was my intention to drop the subscription, but when the XYL found there were Apple TV only shows she wanted to watch that got delayed and truthfully forgotten about.

(One sentence review of Long Way Up – The early episodes are great then the later episodes progressively got weaker and weaker, until I resented wasting time watching the last ones.)

I think my first month of Apple TV was free and each month after was Five-Bucks (okay only $4.99 before tax).

Well guess who has decided to jump the free to subscribe by 40%? –  Apple TV at its greediest.

Apple TV’s monthly goes from that $4.99 to $6.99 starting beginning of December 2022.

It isn’t that the extra $2.00/month is a budget breaker, and if I actually watched TV maybe might be a good deal, but it smacks an awful lot like opportunism.

The email I received made no mention of anything extra now being included that would drive the high percentage increase.

Neither did it speak to needing the extra funding to maintain what they offer now.

Putting the jump into perspective Apple was basically demanding I pay for 17 months (16.8 months to be exact) to get 12 months of service because “they would like some extra money for the same old stuff.”

That makes me crabby enough that I have canceled my Apple TV subscription.

This time instead of redirecting the money to a charity like I did when I dropped the Well https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2022/09/04/once-a-deep-oracle-the-well-today-is-pretty-shallow/ – a donation that Painting Pathways has already received, I have put the Apple TV fees towards buying a subscription to  Backwoods Home Magazine with their archive USB included.

Link:  https://backwoodshome.com

I know the whole thing is small potatoes, but as the Apple TV product has no underlying cost escalation drivers (no food products, petroleum products, metals or other tangible materials)  a little push back is more than warranted!

73

Steve
K9ZW