Public services under the purview of partisan appointees carry their own perils, of course.
Hope that blood money from Big Ambulance is coming in handy, Sifu.
I'm just saying neither private ambulance companies nor Chris Christie apparatchiks are what you want if you're, say, a heart patient.
In the future, patients will be airlifted to hospitals by Amazon drones.
Our city ambulance refused to go get a guy during a snow storm. The guy died after many hours of pain. The guy driving the ambulance got fired. Then maybe unfired. The arguments of EMT people made during arbitration were not helping boost peoples' perceptions of the utility of public sector unions.
In the future, patients will be airlifted to hospitals by Amazon drones.
Manic pixie dreamgirl drones wouldn't have the upper body strength to lift them.
It really is awful. The guy in the OP, not drones. I would guess that there is some sort of criminal activity behind this, but I can't figure out what kind.
The part that I can't figure out is that the CEO was just hired in August. If he was just a bit player in a longer-running drama, I guess I'll feel a little bad about maligning him. A little.
Jesus. Sometimes I think, as with the case of that Colorado town turning off streetlights, that people who make stupid shortsighted decisions and don't appreciate the value of public goods get what they deserve, and having public goods be unavailable may illustrate a few lessons. But even with my cold dark heart, I wouldn't want ambulances to suddenly vanish.
See, if people would just collectivize, you wouldn't have assholes shutting down essential aspects of society. Unless somebody blocked at the collective meeting. But what are the chances of that happening?
My friend's brother used to be an EMT in Ohio, I wonder if he worked for them.
So what ended up happening with that Colorado town that shut down?
It could be worse. Apparently, somebody forgot to shut Morecambe down.
||
Here's a problem the Mineshaft might be able to help with.
I have to buy a present for a baby's first birthday. The present will go into a time capsule, which she will open in 2030, on her 18th birthday. What should I bring?
Details:
The party is on Saturday so it has to be something I can obtain quickly.
I'd rather not bring something someone else will probably bring, like a newspaper or copy of Time magazine.
I thought about what would have been around in the first year of my life that would have been cool to find in a time capsule when I was 18. Kodak exited the instant camera business in 1986, and it would have been awesome to get an old Kodak instant camera to use in my freshman year of college.
So were any iconic products discontinued in the past year that I should consider?
|>
So were any iconic products discontinued in the past year that I should consider?
How big is the time capsule? The Ford Boss 302 Mustang was discontinued this year. Those are great cars. (And NOT driven by robots--good luck finding that in 2030!)
How big is the time capsule?
If it's that big, may as well go with a First Med ambulance.
The last telegram was sent this year, but for some time telegrams had only been used in India.
An old, chipped ceramic knife?
An 18 year old time capsule is lame. All that shit will still be around and on ebay in 18 years and probably only barely retro-cool. Just get a nice bottle of wine that will age well over 18 years, the capsule will probably be kept someplace cool and underground (or, more likely, everyone forgets about it). Or, a sealed letter telling the kid that you are his real father.
People opened a 100 year old time capsule at this school in my neighborhood recently and it was pretty meh. Oh hey a newspaper from 1913. The aqueduct just opened. Whoo.
An 18 year old time capsule is lame. All that shit will still be around and on ebay in 18 years
One thing that might not be easy to find in 18 years is VHS tapes and VCRs. (Look at 8-track tapes by comparison. They were all over thrift stores and flea markets in the 90s, but now people have given up on even carting them around and hoping for ten cents each)
Check out the local thrift stores and if there's any movies you think the kid should watch in 18 years, throw them in, in VHS format.
But definitely don't include a VHS player.
Treat it like a white elephant gift -- go to the drug store and pick up the funniest "As Seen On TV" product. It will definitely look appropriately dated in 18 years.
Yes, that too. Those should be at the thrift store as well.
Hmmm, I wonder if you could easily save an archive copy of unfogged on a USB . . . (though that might also fall into the "white elephant" gift category).
More seriously than 17: I recommend a revolver.
The timing is almost perfect for a 17-year cicada nymph, but that's still a bad idea.
Thanks, great ideas so far, some probably outside of my budget. (Anything over about $100 is a bit much for the occasion.)
I've inquired about the size of the time capsule.
One idea I'm toying with is something that seems simultaneously timeless and of-the-moment, such as an Arduino starter kit, or a Moleskine notebook. Either will still be interesting & useful in 18 years, but they're both also fads.
Another possibility is recursion: give her another time capsule, with a later opening date. Specific ideas for that would be helpful too.
One idea I'm toying with is something that seems simultaneously timeless and of-the-moment, such as an Arduino starter kit, or a Moleskine notebook. Either will still be interesting & useful in 18 years, but they're both also fads.
Ah, here's what you're looking for.
33: Holy shit that's it.
It's well under $100, though, so there's room for more like it.
Some nice car porn. Or dinosaur. Or Roy.
A 23andMe sample submission kit. You choose which fluid you want to include.
Allow me to be the first to recommend a pigeon mask.
The only possible downside I can see to 37 is the strong likelihood that 18 years from now, people will wear pigeon masks daily.
Or, possibly, it will be the only thing that allows the kid to pass as a member of the new pigeon overlord class.
new pigeon overlord class
I hear they round up dissidents using squab cars.
For recursion? A smaller time capsule dated 3 years hence. Put the booze in there.
An artisanal hand-rolled joint. When she's 18, they will no longer exist, replaced by the products of brand name companies that advertise on the 2030 equivalent of TV. "Hey, where's the ingredients list and the canniboid content disclosure?"
Time capsules are the new Russian dolls.
Oh, obviously put a turducken in there.
Just popping in from RSS to weave time capsules and the original post together to point out it immediately made me think of the last "Secretaries" sketch on Kids in the Hall.