Land management agency impact stories...

I haven't run into a good one yet and most of the rural folks who I know who have it don't indicate starlink has been any better--at least having to call them for help seems to be an issue.

There's a small local provider with good rep that we keep hoping will hit our neighborhood, but it's zoned for large lots and isn't and won't be fully developed for years so not holding our breath. Century link--real pain at times but frankly it's been much better than Charter Spectrum. Every one we've had has been the same...local techs are wonderful and very helpful but they don't route you to them right away if ever when you call. Kinda feel sorry for them they routinely are very open about all the problems and fixes their bosses ignore and clearly take a lot of undeserved crap from customers who are upset by the time they get dispatched.
 
Had Starlink for three years. Excellent product - in all those years it never once went down. I’d recommend it to anyone.

They laid fiber in my neighborhood last year. Half the price for faster Internet. Not sure how much of that is subsidy, but dumped Starlink.
I almost considered granting them the easement they wanted so they could run the service to the house, but they insist on putting it right where I want to put a garage so they could just keep it out there in the PUE along the road.
How fast is your fiber?
 
I almost considered granting them the easement they wanted so they could run the service to the house, but they insist on putting it right where I want to put a garage so they could just keep it out there in the PUE along the road.
How fast is your fiber?
The left is Starlink, the right is Spectrum. I kept both for a couple months because I work from home part of the time and wanted to make sure. GIS work hammers bandwidth.

I used a few different speed test products because I do find some disparity in their results, but Spectrum was consistently faster. Perhaps others get faster speeds on their Starlink. Starlink was $120/mo. Spectrum is $60, and the upfront cost of equipment was a third of the sunk cost of my Starlink stuff. I'll keep the Starlink equipment, if I ever feel the need to go back, as it has only been 6 months. As I mentioned, I don't have bad things to say about the 3 years I used Starlink, it was just a bit pricey - like 4 really good Chicken Fried Steaks a month more.

1748611198547.png
 
The left is Starlink, the right is Spectrum. I kept both for a couple months because I work from home part of the time and wanted to make sure. GIS work hammers bandwidth.

I used a few different speed test products because I do find some disparity in their results, but Spectrum was consistently faster. Perhaps others get faster speeds on their Starlink. Starlink was $120/mo. Spectrum is $60, and the upfront cost of equipment was a third of the sunk cost of my Starlink stuff. I'll keep the Starlink equipment, if I ever feel the need to go back, as it has only been 6 months. As I mentioned, I don't have bad things to say about the 3 years I used Starlink, it was just a bit pricey - like 4 really good Chicken Fried Steaks a month more.

View attachment 373259
Is the Starlink speed test that you do through their app in
accurate?
I’ve never ran an independent one or probably even know how but the ones through the app are usually in the mid 200s.
 
Is the Starlink speed test that you do through their app in
accurate?
I’ve never ran an independent one or probably even know how but the ones through the app are usually in the mid 200s.
I would assume it is. The in-app test had similar results for me. I just used a third-party one so I could test both one right after the other. Mid 200s is pretty dang good. I think as more people in an area congest any resource, be it starlink or fiber, speeds will slow. Until fiber was in the ground everyone from Jefferson City to Wickes basically only had Starlink, so that could be why my speeds were slower.
 
Starlink is by far the best in our area. Tried dish, century link, and a small local company and they are nowhere close to Starlink. I’m at 289 with Starlink. The fastest I had with the others was sub 100.
 
I imagine this is going on all over the country.

Some folks that took the federal buy out are being begged to come back to help with wildfire staffing.

Remember when the administration said no fire staff were being let go?

Surprise....they didnt have a clue what they were doing.

Will be an interesting summer fire season.
 
I imagine this is going on all over the country.

Some folks that took the federal buy out are being begged to come back to help with wildfire staffing.

Remember when the administration said no fire staff were being let go?

Surprise....they didnt have a clue what they were doing.

Will be an interesting summer fire season.
So if the people who took the buyout go back would their buyout money just end up being a vacation bonus? Free money?
 
So if the people who took the buyout go back would their buyout money just end up being a vacation bonus? Free money?
Well really it depends on what they took and what agreements they signed probably. Our agency has had two VERA's and I think three DRP's since spring to shed almost 500 bodies 10%.
But very likely if people do come back it will be more of that waste and abuse the administration keeps bragging about cutting. I've never seen such a mess in my life.
 
I imagine this is going on all over the country.

Some folks that took the federal buy out are being begged to come back to help with wildfire staffing.

Remember when the administration said no fire staff were being let go?

Surprise....they didnt have a clue what they were doing.

Will be an interesting summer fire season.
Begging people to come back, while sitting at the ready to implement large-scale RIFs at DOI and USDA as soon as the Supreme Court gives them the green light, jettisoning a bunch more people with fire quals.

You can’t make this shit up.
 
Begging people to come back, while sitting at the ready to implement large-scale RIFs at DOI and USDA as soon as the Supreme Court gives them the green light, jettisoning a bunch more people with fire quals.

You can’t make this shit up.
All while championing a budget that sells public lands and somehow still raises the deficit by Trillions.
 
Ironically, I received an email from our fire staff today about national wildfire preparedness. It was sobering. They told us that 1602 individuals with fire quals have left USFS (two rounds of DRP, VERA, probies, and regular attrition). They still don’t know total for DOI, but about 200 staff with fire quals went out the door in just the first DRP.

Also hearing that the consolidation of fire staff into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service is likely going to mean the end of our prescribed fire program. Yay for habitat management.
 

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