The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch / @TenaciousRanch / Steampunk Penny / Penellope Logue / Phillip Matthew Logue - Don't cry because it ended, laugh because it's still getting worse.

[Henry of Skalitz]

That deck looks worse than the piece of shit wood heap me and my dad threw together in half a day just so he'd have somewhere to put his grill. I don't know anything about construction but those planks don't look right. Also, did they spray paint them silver? Looks terrible.

Position wise yes, Picture 4 shows that. as for the planks composition...Composite decking is the bomb, lasts long is hardy...and if you got the money, the company can form hearts and stars and custom shapes. Composite is good shit and comes in way more colors and is strong...depending how you build it.

It’s true the more you look at it the worse it gets. I’m not familiar with plastic decking, is that really a thing? The trampoline wouldn’t be an issue with wooden planks, other than possibly marking it.
The sleepers around the edge of the bed are a joke though, don’t appear to be anchored down at all, just lying there unevenly with weed matting sticking out of the edge. Uhh.

Look, I'm not here to brow beat you with whatever, look at Photo 3 and Photo 4. The way the decking goes on photo 3 is how it should go, the decking is supported. The deckings run a DIFFERENT way on Photo 4, but NOT the joists except for the middle deck. BTW Composite is the Bomb (Check comment above). The connections AKA Fasteners between the composite decking will break eventually if they aren't supported with Bridges(little planks of wood between the joists); and especially if they all Humpty-Dumpty's all gather together on the same weak decking. They've already shown in photo 3 that they don't use Bridges between the joist's gaps, I apply the same logic to the decking laid over on PHOTO 4. To add insult to injury, LITERALLY, the decking is held by Fasteners, that need something underneath them.

And regardless if it's wood or not, i think you'd have the same problem.

When I was a young lad I worked on a farm in Puerto Rico for a few weeks. School shenanigans. Anyway we were setting up a fence for a field and this being the kind of place where drunk drivers got stoned to death we didn't have any cement. And these fences had to stand up to cows. So I took part in this autistic chainsaw/whittling/soaking process for sticks we literally sliced off of trees, and when I asked why the fuck we were planting green, untreated wood in the ground, expecting the third world stare, the farm owner grabbed me by the scruff and dragged me to a nearby field and showed me this incredible line of trees with barb wire actually absorbed into it an said "You can carry cement across the island or you can do things right and have them look good"

Anyway, my point is, this third world, literally 0 education cow milker whose missing half his teeth and whose lightbulbs were held in places by forks and who's entire wealth could be measured in the number of cows he had, could Tranch better than the Tranch.

I think we are splitting hairs here, the fencing in PHOTO 2 is meant to be for a house and Privacy/Protection from foreign invaders...people. Cows...not so much. We're talking pens that are more meant to keep an animal in, than fencing which is meant to keep others out, and yes some things in too. Also those barbed or wire fences usually have decent posts (not 2x4's, Jesus) that may be treated or sometimes Cedar, and that shit is hard and termite resistant.

Nah I thought that for a second but what you’re seeing are noggins between two joists. If you look along the gap in the boards, you can see there are indeed joists running perpendicular to the boarding.

But everything is just slightly fucked and off-true once you zoom in. That’s why it looks like the first two boards are sagging into the gap - they’re not, it’s just the first one is kicked up because the joists are set slightly lower than the surround.

As usual, good, expensive materials have been bodged together - depressing to look at.

There are NO "Bridges (little planks of wood between the joists)" between the Joists. I look at PHOTO 3's joists excluding "Bridges" and apply the same Logic to Photo 4, the only thing holding the composite decking together are Fasteners...which BTW, connect to nothing. Gibby probably wouldn't need bridges had HE not switched the direction of the decking from PHOTO 3 to PHOTO 4

Fasteners are supposed to connect to something underneath it, while providing some spacing between the deck.

Looking at it again I agree with you Oxyjen. It‘s hard to give the tranch the benefit of the doubt! But those aren’t joists but support for the trim pieces.

Again, like my reasoning before this quote. The Joists can hold the decking up, BUT without Bridges (little planks of wood between the joists) between the Joists as NOT SEEN seen in PHOTO 3 (and with good logic, I presume they don't exist under PHOTO 4's Joists) the decking will collapse without Fasteners to lock into a joist or bridge. Also Dumb Ass Gibs decided to switch the direction of the decking from PHOTO 3, the best direction.

Fasteners have NOTHING to be screwed under and with enough time and weight, they will cause an injury.

 

[Ghostse]

Are there different rules if u have committed a crime? Is there a chance Penny is secretly a felon or something and we just don't know about it?

Unless the crime was committed while you were in the military, no. I don't believe felonies exclude you from tugboats either.

That being said I’m wondering what is keeping him from applying for a medical tugboat because poor. I’m guessing he has some income from somewhere that puts him out of the Medicaid (American medical social safety net for poor and disabled people) bracket.

For most cash-out social services, if you have too much in savings you are either inelligible or get reduced rates. Sometimes if you home is too nice, you can't qualify. Cars are one of the few things excluded from valuation, so if you wonder why all the welfare queens drive blinged out caddies that's why.

He wasn't in long enough to get Mil retirement or disability, so I doubt that's it. My random guess is he owns some investment account.

Eh, like was mentioned prior, you have to go through a process to prove X disability is related to service. It's not necessarily hard to do, it's actually abused to hell and back in a lot of cases. You just have to weather the bureaucratic VA disability rating process to begin the beaurocratic VA medical process.

It's one of the reasons that most people who aren't braindead and do something with their lives avoid it all together if possible. The US military is such a unique beast with all kinds of tropes, tbh. My favorites are "When I get out, I'm gonna use my secret clearance and Security+ to make 6 figures" and the people who don't even make it through initial training fighting for VA benefits (like the home loan).

This is very true. Just didn't want to muddy the waters with how those with patience and time can get nearly anything declared service-related. Since I'm going to assume that Phil doesn't try to use the VA - because if he did he'd be bitching non-stop about it. And the VA doesn't cover dick-flipping or titty skittles so why would he bother?

 

[Henry of Skalitz]

Forgive my lack of knowledge of the US (though I am landing there to find work at the end of Jan) but why would Penny not be covered? I mean if nothing else he is a veteran is he not? He may not have served well or been a hero but he did serve in the army so would he not be able to access some form of medical care/welfare as a result of his veteran status?

I served in my country's military once upon a time (I was in the navy) and I can certainly call myself a veteran and get at least some help if I need it (its crappy but it is there).

I think Penny might be eligible to get treated by the VA, but probably doesn't do it for the reasons some of us don't. For me, the VA is a giant fricken disease trap. A few years back they had HIV tainted Blood and Legionnaires disease spreading. I'll go there for check ups and blood work (WHICH THEY STILL FUCK UP, THE DONT KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY TAKE BLOOD!), I go anywhere from once to twice a year.

Oh my sweet summer child. Let me tell you about the hell that is the Veterans Administration.

So let's first divide the sheep and the goats. There are lifers and there is everyone else.
For lifers, that is guys who put in 20 years and retired with an Honorable, of those who got out with a 100% disability, they get full coverage (kind of. I'll get into caveats below)

For people who did less than 20, that is one tour through 19 years, the VA only covers service-related injuries. That is, to get covered you need to link what's wrong with you to your time in service, you need to have that reviewed by VA doctors, and then and only then can you enter the hellish labyrinth that is the VA system.

The VA only covers medically necessary procedures. Anything cosmetic, like dentistry, you are on your own (there is limited allowance for being disfigured in IEDs, but good luck). You must first get an appoint with a VA doctor to review what is wrong with you. The doctor makes a determination of if they'll treat you, and how (and if you aren't fully covered, if the thing they are treating is related to your service). This decision is then reviewed by a panel of other VA doctors to make sure they agree with the assessment. IF they don't, you need to get examined again by a different doctor. This review takes time to schedule, and the board to meet. IT might be a couple weeks before they crack your folder.
So its a few weeks, the board says you're covered! hurray!
Now you need to book your procedure. Be prepared for a wait of upto a year, and often even longer. Because they can't fully book doctors incase there is an emergency so there needs to be free slots in the schedule to handle life-threatening treatments.

In summary, if was relying on the VA for dentistry, I'd start trying to learn the art of porcelain making since I'm likely to have learned how to cast and fire my own dentures before I got an appoint to actually fix my teeth.

I think that full coverage includes Tricare Prime if I'm not mistaken, for the Lifers. and if they have any sense they'll get seen in the civilian sector.

Some of my guys were telling me you could get a refferal and have your tooth paid for by the VA in the civilian sector. If it's after a number of days and they cannot see you.

I honestly had no idea. Apologies if its offensive to anyone but that is an absolute disgrace. Shit military pay and then when u get out a big fuck you? Why would anyone who was not either a complete idiot, had a crazy military fetish or insanely nationalistic serve at all?

Pay's decent, Women like the uniforms, kids like the uniforms if you were an inspired little crayon eater, sure National Pride (but that kind of goes out the window when Biden gives 85 Billion in weapons to the Goat-Fuckers), They could have been a homeless kid with no where else to go.

It's not all to bad though, for those of us who got out from the war, if you have a disability claim that gets a high enough percent you can make like 3.3k or more per month and it's tax free cheddar (almost the equivalent of getting 21 bucks an hour for sitting on your ass, typing on Kiwifarms). If you're permanent and total, you can even go look for another job.

Lifers get a decent retirement, 50% of they're ranked pay after 20 years (75% for 30 years), tax free till they die and with the Disability Check from the VA even more. TriCare Prime which I've heard great things about. ummm...oh and there's the VA Home loan which allows for 0% down on a house and a 30 year mortgage. Also if you're 100% disabled you can get, in some states, a waiver not to pay property taxes for your lived in house.

My Grampa used to call this Entitlement spending and I can agree, some of us had to sacrifice a lot to qualify for it. It's not like Fat Becky with 15 kids collecting Gubment Money and child support from 3 different baby daddies, who are probably in prison for being unable to pay. gettin HUD and shit.

 

[Ghostse]

@Henry of Skalitz
You got quoted bugged.

TriCare Prime is about as good as TriCare. Which is you still get stuck in giant lines, doctors get a flat rate from the government so will try to short-shrift you.
One guy I read on the internet talking about it was saying you have Prime to get the most out of it, you have to play a risky game. If you don't want to get treated by the VA cretins, you need to live in an area with no VA and they'll give a treatment voucher for your local provider. But you can't be too far away, because if some bureaucrat decides that it is cheaper for the VA to voucher you per-mile to a VA hospital for treatment, your ass will be driving however long it takes to get there. (because if you don't show up for your appointment, they will flag you for "refusing treatment" and try to drop you)

Anyone I know who well enough to talk about these things is doing enough with their lives that they have work insurance that is agood or better and doesn't need to involve VA hell.
Because like your tooth story, you will hear two people talk about roughly the same symptoms, same needed treatment, but end up with wildly different outcomes based on which bureaucrat read (or failed to read) their file and what local VA system is processing them. Once you actually get an appointment the service is good (just you only get what you're on the docket for). The wait times for VA dental were just insane, I never heard anything about dental vouchers but maybe that's a newer thing.

 

[AnOminous]

Unless the crime was committed while you were in the military, no. I don't believe felonies exclude you from tugboats either.

Sometimes even if it was it doesn't. For instance, if you get VA benefits from an honorable discharge, but then have a separate term of service in which you are dishonorably discharged, while you are not entitled to benefits from the second term, it doesn't disqualify you from any benefits you earned in the first, whatever those might be.

There are also even more ambiguous situations such as discharges under other than honorable circumstances but which are not an actual dishonorable discharge after a court-martial. BCD would be one but so would administrative separations that aren't strictly speaking analogous to committing a crime.

So far as we know Penny doesn't have any of this.

 

[Henry of Skalitz]

@Henry of Skalitz
You got quoted bugged.

TriCare Prime is about as good as TriCare. Which is you still get stuck in giant lines, doctors get a flat rate from the government so will try to short-shrift you.
One guy I read on the internet talking about it was saying you have Prime to get the most out of it, you have to play a risky game. If you don't want to get treated by the VA cretins, you need to live in an area with no VA and they'll give a treatment voucher for your local provider. But you can't be too far away, because if some bureaucrat decides that it is cheaper for the VA to voucher you per-mile to a VA hospital for treatment, your ass will be driving however long it takes to get there. (because if you don't show up for your appointment, they will flag you for "refusing treatment" and try to drop you)

Anyone I know who well enough to talk about these things is doing enough with their lives that they have work insurance that is agood or better and doesn't need to involve VA hell.
Because like your tooth story, you will hear two people talk about roughly the same symptoms, same needed treatment, but end up with wildly different outcomes based on which bureaucrat read (or failed to read) their file and what local VA system is processing them. Once you actually get an appointment the service is good (just you only get what you're on the docket for). The wait times for VA dental were just insane, I never heard anything about dental vouchers but maybe that's a newer thing.

how do I fix that? anyone know? I'll talk to staff.

 

[stupid frog]

how do I fix that? anyone know? I'll talk to staff.

I'm pretty sure it just turns off quoting for long posts, but I never cared enough to look in to it.

You can highlight the text you want, and click quote, and it works OK. Some people also change the URL to circumvent, but I can't remember how, or know if it still works.

 

[AfghanBlue]

..So I took part in this autistic chainsaw/whittling/soaking process for sticks we literally sliced off of trees, and when I asked why the fuck we were planting green, untreated wood in the ground, expecting the third world stare, the farm owner grabbed me by the scruff and dragged me to a nearby field and showed me this incredible line of trees with barb wire actually absorbed into it an said "You can carry cement across the island or you can do things right and have them look good"

Anyway, my point is, this third world, literally 0 education cow milker whose missing half his teeth and whose lightbulbs were held in places by forks and who's entire wealth could be measured in the number of cows he had, could Tranch better than the Tranch.

I want to see a picture of this method/thing you describe. I can’t picture it but it sounds cool and interesting. If the Tranch are sneaking a look they could learn something too

(Also I would like to agree that while it is probably a bit harsh to speculate too ungenerously upon someone’s military time, it does also sound an awful lot like he stayed in Germany lmao.
I feel like with the boring details we got with every other facet of the story, he might have so much as mentioned if he got out of Europe)

 

[PitcherInTheWheat]

I want to see a picture of this method/thing you describe.

Planting live fences: why and how - Pro Eco Azuero

What is a live fence? A live fence is composed of living tree cuttings (madrocas or estacas) that are planted and maintained as fence posts. They are connected with barbed wire and serve the same… More

proecoazuero.org

 

[AfghanBlue]

Planting live fences: why and how - Pro Eco Azuero

What is a live fence? A live fence is composed of living tree cuttings (madrocas or estacas) that are planted and maintained as fence posts. They are connected with barbed wire and serve the same… More

proecoazuero.org

Thanks!
That really is interesting. I’m surprised it’s not more widely used outside of SA.
There goes the idea of the Tranch doing it though- “Live fences”
Nothing lives on that Martian terrain

 

[cuddle striker]

reading his own account of his service is odd. he says he went through basic and then, "everyone knows what the US did". we have really no idea what, or where he went besides Germany. he could have been there the entire time he was in service, and he doesn't even say, as most veterans I know would, "I was active duty". even the most reticent will say that. or "I was in the middle east". they don't describe everything up until 9/11 and then opaquely state that "the country did things, you know, war things". really non-dramatic vets will say the basic info with no detail. he's not even doing that.

it's that lack of simple statement that makes me think he didn't get within 500 miles of the front. the man's never touched sand. he was just in at the right time for it to sound impressive.

 

[White Devil]

reading his own account of his service is odd. he says he went through basic and then, "everyone knows what the US did". we have really no idea what, or where he went besides Germany. he could have been there the entire time he was in service, and he doesn't even say, as most veterans I know would, "I was active duty". even the most reticent will say that. or "I was in the middle east". they don't describe everything up until 9/11 and then opaquely state that "the country did things, you know, war things". really non-dramatic vets will say the basic info with no detail. he's not even doing that.

it's that lack of simple statement that makes me think he didn't get within 500 miles of the front. the man's never touched sand. he was just in at the right time for it to sound impressive.

You could FOIA his service details to see how much bullshit he's peddling.

It's been a couple years now since the Farms has found out about his service, so I'm surprised no one has done it yet.

 

[Ghostse]

You could FOIA his service details to see how much bullshit he's peddling.

It's been a couple years now since the Farms has found out about his service, so I'm surprised no one has done it yet.

For me, he doesn't trade on his military service, other than to hype himself up as qualified to train the 1/41 Dick Inversion Battalition 'The Stink Ditches' so I don't really care. He just says he served and got combat training, and did some usual liberal crywank about Muh Bush when discussing it.

I guess I should say the specifics of his service; If he was "Muh Iraq" this or "Muh Afghanistan" or "Muh combat experience" that, it'd be different and worth a gander. The fact he doesn't makes me assume he probably never deployed besides to Germany. But there's really no lie to catch him in.

I guess the more interesting thing would be to try to find someone he served with, but as I'm guessing he was garrisoned in Germany the whole time you're going to mostly get "Who?" and the best you're going to get "Oh yeah, him. weird dude" as everyone in unit had better things to do than deal with our future tranny.

 

[White Devil]

For me, he doesn't trade on his military service, other than to hype himself up as qualified to train the 1/41 Dick Inversion Battalition 'The Stink Ditches' so I don't really care. He just says he served and got combat training, and did some usual liberal crywank about Muh Bush when discussing it.

I guess I should say the specifics of his service; If he was "Muh Iraq" this or "Muh Afghanistan" or "Muh combat experience" that, it'd be different and worth a gander. The fact he doesn't makes me assume he probably never deployed besides to Germany. But there's really no lie to catch him in.

I guess the more interesting thing would be to try to find someone he served with, but as I'm guessing he was garrisoned in Germany the whole time you're going to mostly get "Who?" and the best you're going to get "Oh yeah, him. weird dude" as everyone in unit had better things to do than deal with our future tranny.

I don't care one way or another, honestly. Anything he tries to train people with is from more than20 years ago and thus more obsolete than what you'd find in your typical bro vet school for concealed carriers.

 

[Ghostse]

I don't care one way or another, honestly. Anything he tries to train people with is from more than20 years ago and thus more obsolete than what you'd find in your typical bro vet school for concealed carriers.

I've sperged about this before, but unless you are trying to raise a squad of full Delta Operators 90% of training especially for soft-bodied & soft-minded is to just get them to not lose their shit or freeze up when the first bullets start flying. It doesn't matter what you're teaching them so long as you getting them to move and shoot and not scream or cry and drop their rifle because its too loud. If you're doing a job, you're also teaching your learners to act as a team - to rely on the guy next to them and also to learn when you need to be relied on.

Phil's training wouldn't be quite as laughable if he wasn't trying to LARP about how he was bringing up a squad of hardened BattleTrannies, because the training he's having them do is all wrong. The only thing the training Phillip is performing is good for is getting people familiar with handling weapons.

But you pretty much nailed exactly what they are doing, which is a Bro Vet running his shooting course and trying to relive the last time he felt useful & like what he did mattered.

 

[AnOminous]

If you're doing a job, you're also teaching your learners to act as a team - to rely on the guy next to them and also to learn when you need to be relied on.

And that's something Phil will never achieve. He's a literal spastic retard who can only completely flip out and fail the instant he's given any kind of challenge. He is a faggot in every sense of the word, a weak loser who can't be trusted to do anything. Even in the most favorable circumstances, he is a retarded nigger who will just accidentally mace his own "comrades."

 

[FinnSven]

For me, he doesn't trade on his military service, other than to hype himself up as qualified to train the 1/41 Dick Inversion Battalition 'The Stink Ditches' so I don't really care. He just says he served and got combat training, and did some usual liberal crywank about Muh Bush when discussing it.

I guess I should say the specifics of his service; If he was "Muh Iraq" this or "Muh Afghanistan" or "Muh combat experience" that, it'd be different and worth a gander. The fact he doesn't makes me assume he probably never deployed besides to Germany. But there's really no lie to catch him in.

I guess the more interesting thing would be to try to find someone he served with, but as I'm guessing he was garrisoned in Germany the whole time you're going to mostly get "Who?" and the best you're going to get "Oh yeah, him. weird dude" as everyone in unit had better things to do than deal with our future tranny.

Is it possible that he got through basic, but then soon after got discharged with no comment?

I have no idea about the US, but I have heard of this in the British army.
If they don’t hack it, and they know it themselves, they can buy themselves out. But occasionally one or two get a swift discharge because they don’t mesh.
It’s not that they actually do anything, more that the NCOs feel they don’t fit in, and decide it’s best to stop any problem before it happens.

 

[The Elusive Earl]

I LIVE!

 

[Ghostse]

Is it possible that he got through basic, but then soon after got discharged with no comment?

I have no idea about the US, but I have heard of this in the British army.
If they don’t hack it, and they know it themselves, they can buy themselves out. But occasionally one or two get a swift discharge because they don’t mesh.
It’s not that they actually do anything, more that the NCOs feel they don’t fit in, and decide it’s best to stop any problem before it happens.

Possible but very unlikely.
Impossible if he deployed outside of the US.

In the US, you have 6 months from your intake date to decide "Nope. This was terrible idea, I don't know what I was thinking. Send me
home." Depending on what's going on the world (and how much of a fuckstain you are) they may try to hold on to you and convince you to change your mind, or they might send you home immediately.
In the 90s with the coldwar draw down, you said "nope" and they'd have you on the next bus back home as soon they could get you to out processing. During Da Surge, they would make you sit in the washout platoon for almost every day of those six months on the off chance you'd have a change of heart.

Once you are in, oh my good son, you are in until your ETS date. There is no buyout, there is virtually no hardship separation. During Da Surge they had to keep the girls segregated because they would keep trying to get preggers for that sweet sweet medical separation.
Now naturally you can get yourself booted through any number of epic fuckups, but that usually involves criminal charges, so not the wisest ideas.
But the military doesn't always attract the wisest people.

They won't send you outside the US until you hit that date for this reason. Army website says 19D CavScouts all do OSUT (one station unit training - they keep a company together through Basic and usually you have the same trainers for your Job-specific training) and that lasts 16 weeks, so its not very long until you hit your 6-months.
So he very likely did his enlistment as a one-and-done, got his honorable, and went home and trooned out. Again, he probably never left Germany. OTOH I know combat vets who saw some real hairy shit and their description of their service is "I was in the Army/Marines, got out in 2014" so its best to not cast aspersions.
Phillip doesn't seem like the taciturn type though, and I would figure if he so much as flew over Iraq we'd know all about it.


Anyway, wouldn't be a "trying to get out of the army" post with a story about a fuck up.
I knew a guy who during the don't ask, don't tell days tried to get out by claiming to be gay. The CO told him "You are not gay unless I see you sucking a cock in this office" He in fact did suck a cock in the CO's office, but the CO still didn't believe he was gay; CO did believe he needed to be busted back to E-1, get extra duty, and be docked half pay for a month same for the other guy. He then decided that the best way out was to piss hot. I know the MPs came for him, and never heard from/of him again. Wanting to get out was a hell of a drug.

 

[White Devil]

Anyway, wouldn't be a "trying to get out of the army" post with a story about a fuck up.
I knew a guy who during the don't ask, don't tell days tried to get out by claiming to be gay. The CO told him "You are not gay unless I see you sucking a cock in this office" He in fact did suck a cock in the CO's office, but the CO still didn't believe he was gay

I actually admire that tenacity