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[kkt]

To raise a minor annoyance aside from sagging jeans and employment:

Political ads on TV. I’m at the point where I just hit "mute" when they cut to commercial at this time of year.

It's especially annoying when all the ad intends to do is make you hate the opponent.  There's a political ad that airs multiple times during every episode of Burn Notice my wife and I watch on Hulu—and I still have no idea who they want me to vote for.  All they do is bad-mouth their opponent, which might make a lot more sense if I already knew who was in the race.

My response to anyone bad-mouthing the opponent:  I'm not interested in why the other person/party is wrong for the job; I want to hear specifics on why YOUR person/party is RIGHT for the job.  Every time I have used that line on a campaigner, I have been met with a blank stare and silence as apparently his/her 8-track slips off the spools.

It's usually easier to persuade voters that the opponent is a rotten scounderel than that the campaigner is a great leader.

[webny99]

Of course, this is why many employers offer severance pay when terminating an employee, so they have an income while they search for a new job.

I wouldn't say many employers. Quite few in fact.

It's probably more situation-dependent than company-dependent. I'd guess most companies do at least sometimes, as it helps prevent the termination from ending on a bad note... and the higher the position the more likely that would be.

[kphoger]

It's usually easier to persuade voters that the opponent is a rotten scounderel than that the campaigner is a great leader.

Because the former is bound to be somewhat true, while the latter is bound to be somewhat false.

[webny99]

It's usually easier to persuade voters that the opponent is a rotten scounderel than that the campaigner is a great leader.

Because the former is bound to be somewhat true, while the latter is bound to be somewhat false.

You could also take a glass-half-full approach and say that the former is bound to be somewhat false, while the latter is bound to be somewhat true... ... but it's a little harder to convince oneself of each of those cases, isn't it?

[J N Winkler]

I basically don't watch TV that has commercials anymore, but I am so done with emotionally manipulative political postcards.

[wanderer2575]

Of course, this is why many employers offer severance pay when terminating an employee, so they have an income while they search for a new job.

I wouldn't say many employers. Quite few in fact.

It's probably more situation-dependent than company-dependent. I'd guess most companies do at least sometimes, as it helps prevent the termination from ending on a bad note... and the higher the position the more likely that would be.

It's also because -- maybe primarily because -- the employee signs a release of any claims in exchange for the severance pay.  Potential future lawsuits for wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, etc.?  Pay the employee a wad of money in exchange for the employee's promise to never pursue any such claims of which the employer is not already aware (except for unemployment compensation, over which the employer has no control).

[1995hoo]

To raise a minor annoyance aside from sagging jeans and employment:

Political ads on TV. I’m at the point where I just hit "mute" when they cut to commercial at this time of year.

It's especially annoying when all the ad intends to do is make you hate the opponent.  There's a political ad that airs multiple times during every episode of Burn Notice my wife and I watch on Hulu—and I still have no idea who they want me to vote for.  All they do is bad-mouth their opponent, which might make a lot more sense if I already knew who was in the race.

My response to anyone bad-mouthing the opponent:  I'm not interested in why the other person/party is wrong for the job; I want to hear specifics on why YOUR person/party is RIGHT for the job.  Every time I have used that line on a campaigner, I have been met with a blank stare and silence as apparently his/her 8-track slips off the spools.

What makes it all the more annoying is that the ads that are blanketing the airwaves here are for a different congressional district from ours, so the ads are basically irrelevant to us. This past Saturday we met up with some friends who live in Maryland. They get all the same ads and I think they find them more irritating than we do (oddly, there haven’t been any ads for the Maryland gubernatorial candidates so far).

[wanderer2575]

Back to medical TV ads:

The nonstop Medicare "helpline" commercials (although I'm amused they assume everyone still recognizes Joe Namath but they surround Jimmie Walker with Good Times memorabilia to jog everyone's recall).

Drug ads where the patient talks about "my moderate to severe" whatever-itis.  Nobody talks like that.  Yours is either moderate or it's severe.  I know the whole thing is scripted snake oil, but that one line drives me nuts.

[Scott5114]

It's usually easier to persuade voters that the opponent is a rotten scounderel than that the campaigner is a great leader.

Because the former is bound to be somewhat true, while the latter is bound to be somewhat false.

You could also take a glass-half-full approach and say that the former is bound to be somewhat false, while the latter is bound to be somewhat true... ... but it's a little harder to convince oneself of each of those cases, isn't it?

This is overlooking one of the more fundamental issues with political advertisements, which is that it's pretty damn hard to put out a positive ad that's only 30 seconds long.

Candidate Albert Foonly (J-GC) is going to balance the budget by increasing the taxes on boat nectar and reducing subsidies for airport farmers. That's all well and good, but now you need to convince people that is the right course of action, which means explaining 1) why the budget needs to be balanced, 2) why we should increase the taxes on boat nectar, and 3) why we should eliminate airport farmer subsidies. That's hard to do in 30 seconds. This then invites criticism from people who buy lots of boat nectar, and from people worried about increasing the costs of airports by no longer subsidizing the people who farm them. And of course you've also immediately lost people who are against any tax increase in any situation.

It's much easier and more effective for Foonly to just run ads saying that his opponent, Tyler Prongbottom (M), has suspicious ties to fish whisperers and is known to have illegally employed a yak shearer.

Of course, this all assumes the efficacy of political advertising to begin with. Since 2016, American political parties are disparate enough that most actual voters cannot be persuaded to vote for the other side. Most people who claim to be independents or politically open-minded actually vote for the same party time after time. About the best you can hope for is to demoralize the other side's voters to the point that they don't bother to vote (and energize your voters enough that they'll show up in droves).

[J N Winkler]

Candidate Albert Foonly (J-GC) is going to balance the budget by increasing the taxes on boat nectar and reducing subsidies for airport farmers. That's all well and good, but now you need to convince people that is the right course of action, which means explaining 1) why the budget needs to be balanced, 2) why we should increase the taxes on boat nectar, and 3) why we should eliminate airport farmer subsidies. That's hard to do in 30 seconds. This then invites criticism from people who buy lots of boat nectar, and from people worried about increasing the costs of airports by no longer subsidizing the people who farm them. And of course you've also immediately lost people who are against any tax increase in any situation.

It's much easier and more effective for Foonly to just run ads saying that his opponent, Tyler Prongbottom (M), has suspicious ties to fish whisperers and is known to have illegally employed a yak shearer.

First go at a script for the commercial:  "Alanlanders expect their government to spend wisely and live within its means.  This is why I support freedom to airport-farm and will ask the boat nectar gatherers to pay their fair share.  My opponent's record of ties to the fish-whispering industry and [load picture of head of yak-shearers' union] yaks speaks for itself."

[Amaury]

Not sure if everyone is aware of the original genesis of sagging is/was, but it basically stems from guys in prison not being allowed to have belts and so their pants would always fall down a bit. So when it became mainstream, it was during the rise of the gangsta rap era where showing (at the time) your boxer band made you look tougher as if you had been in prison. As with most things with urban culture during that age, it crossed over to the suburbs due to kids wanting to emulate the rappers and also with things like the Mark Walhberg Calvin Klein ads.

I've heard a few theories now on the origins of this. The one you mentioned is new to me. I already know about the no belt part, but otherwise this is new to me, with regard to the "mainstream gangsta" stuff.

The other two I heard before ever even coming across this forum were:

• It was simply a fashion trend that started.
• It started in prison, where men were lonely because they didn't have their wives or girlfriends and didn't care if they did it with other men, and sagging was the signal to go ahead and do it. Then it just became a fashion trend and it was no longer a signal for that, but that is still mentioned since, even though it's just a fashion trend now and nothing else, that's where it originated from and what it originally meant.

J N Winkler alluded to the second one in his post.

Wikipedia has articles on both sagging and buttock cleavage.  The version of the prison origin story for sagging I have heard (not mentioned in the Wikipedia article) is that it is deliberate sexual display, as was also true of its use in several of the Marky Mark underwear ads from the 1990's.

In either case, I don't think intentional sagging is really that common anymore, but it's possible I may be missing something. I don't count unintentional sagging toward this, because sometimes pants are just too big (or small), and even a belt doesn't help much sometimes. This is in addition to the other things I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

[ZLoth]

I think that was the point: it's bothersome that an employee has to give two weeks notice, while the employer does not.

That is exactly my point.

Of course, this is why many employers offer severance pay when terminating an employee, so they have an income while they search for a new job.

It all depends on the position. I was lucky. In late 2018, I had a choice when my entire department was eliminated... a nice severance package with a retention bonus (not to mention over 200 hours accumulated PTO time that must be paid out upon separation per California labor law), or job relocation to the new team in Texas. Under my circumstances, I elected to escape from California, and am very happy in Texas.

Oh, I thought he was talking about the situation where an employee gives two weeks' notice, and then the employer terms him immediately, rather than letting him work another two weeks.

That too. Unfortunately, in this day and age, employers have to be very security conscious and protect internal confidential information requiring such measures.

There's a political ad that airs multiple times during every episode of Burn Notice my wife and I watch on Hulu—and I still have no idea who they want me to vote for.

FWIW... if you want Hulu with no advertising, that's another $6 per month. I get Hulu (with ads) for free as part of my wireless plan, but watch it so rarely that I haven't added the add-free feature to my plan.

Also, I checked, and Just Watch, and all seven seasons of Burn Notice is Hulu, Pluto TV, and FreeVue.

Since 2016, American political parties are disparate enough that most actual voters cannot be persuaded to vote for the other side. Most people who claim to be independents or politically open-minded actually vote for the same party time after time.

Sorry, I disagree with your 2016 assertion, and put it on a earlier year. Which year? Depends on your political viewpoint. All that I can say is that politics is a crassy profession, not a classy profession, and every time I think the profession has hit rock bottom, someone finds a way to hit a new low. Sometimes, it feels like the politicos live in another plane of reality.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who votes for a particular political party. Part of it is that many of the viewpoints align with my own. But, I also put it as the results of the policies that have been pushed through by the dominant party of the state that have caused the state to have one of the highest cost of living, yet one of the worst quality-of-life, especially in the urban areas. This has caused both people and major businesses to flee to other, more affordable and business-friendly states. The irony: The immediate previous homeowners of my home moved to Southern California, while I escaped from Northern California.

Look, I vote in every election to maintain my right to whine and complain about the current situation. I just feel sorry for those folks who based their decisions on just a 30-second political blipvert. And, for several decades, I stopped relying on the broadcast media (television AND radio) because of the political biases resulting in the story selection, how much precious airtime is spent (or not spent), and what points to emphasize or gloss over, all to appeal to a particular audience for the advertising dollars. I'm not saying that the print (ok, the online versions) isn't free of bias (far from it), but that there is more detail than I can uncover and further research than from a audio story.

[1]

have caused the state to have one of the highest cost of living, yet one of the worst quality-of-life, especially in the urban areas

Did you even check?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_Human_Development_Index

California: tied for 15th
Texas: 32nd

[roadman65]

I once experience a person get suspended at a job.  The suspension was for three days, but it was pending investigation. That meant really his return was depending on what the boss decided to do at anytime and not just a simple punishment and return.

Well needless to say the three days were over, he was not yet allowed to return. On day four the boss wanted to speak with him in person. He drove all the way to work.  The boss, supervisor, and shop steward met with him for ten minutes where he was officially terminated.

To me that was cat and mouse. Why not fire the guy right away?  Or call him up on the phone to say he was fired instead of calling him in to the office?

[JayhawkCO]

I once experience a person get suspended at a job.  The suspension was for three days, but it was pending investigation. That meant really his return was depending on what the boss decided to do at anytime and not just a simple punishment and return.

Well needless to say the three days were over, he was not yet allowed to return. On day four the boss wanted to speak with him in person. He drove all the way to work.  The boss, supervisor, and shop steward met with him for ten minutes where he was officially terminated.

To me that was cat and mouse. Why not fire the guy right away?  Or call him up on the phone to say he was fired instead of calling him in to the office?

I'm sure they probably needed some time to talk to HR or whatever. Or, if not, it's better to fire someone in person so they can sign a form (or attempt to) saying they were fired so that, if it's for cause, they can't claim unemployment.

[formulanone]

Candidate Albert Foonly (J-GC) is going to balance the budget by increasing the taxes on boat nectar and reducing subsidies for airport farmers. That's all well and good, but now you need to convince people that is the right course of action, which means explaining 1) why the budget needs to be balanced, 2) why we should increase the taxes on boat nectar, and 3) why we should eliminate airport farmer subsidies. That's hard to do in 30 seconds. This then invites criticism from people who buy lots of boat nectar, and from people worried about increasing the costs of airports by no longer subsidizing the people who farm them. And of course you've also immediately lost people who are against any tax increase in any situation.

It's much easier and more effective for Foonly to just run ads saying that his opponent, Tyler Prongbottom (M), has suspicious ties to fish whisperers and is known to have illegally employed a yak shearer.

First go at a script for the commercial:  "Alanlanders expect their government to spend wisely and live within its means.  This is why I support freedom to airport-farm and will ask the boat nectar gatherers to pay their fair share.  My opponent's record of ties to the fish-whispering industry and [load picture of head of yak-shearers' union] yaks speaks for itself."

If I'm going to be forced to hear political ads this morning...

[kkt]

I once experience a person get suspended at a job.  The suspension was for three days, but it was pending investigation. That meant really his return was depending on what the boss decided to do at anytime and not just a simple punishment and return.

Well needless to say the three days were over, he was not yet allowed to return. On day four the boss wanted to speak with him in person. He drove all the way to work.  The boss, supervisor, and shop steward met with him for ten minutes where he was officially terminated.

To me that was cat and mouse. Why not fire the guy right away?  Or call him up on the phone to say he was fired instead of calling him in to the office?

It's speculation, but maybe his boss really was making sure he talked to all the people who knew anything about the incident before he decided to terminate the employee?

Maybe the employee had personal possessions at work and they wanted both the employee and the boss to be present as they sorted out what belonged to the company and what belonged to the employee?  And they probably had other paperwork they were required to present to the employee - how to keep your insurance through Cobra etc.

[hbelkins]

Re: saggy pants -- how can they be comfortable? I'm one to prefer comfort over style. I'm losing weight again, after having lost about 100 pounds over the years and then gained 60 of it back due to a thyroid issue. When I lost the weight the first time, I'd often find that my pants would start slipping down, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. I'm beginning to notice it again.

Re: two-week notices -- I think this has become somewhat of a cultural norm, much like 15 percent tipping. It's not a requirement for most jobs. My present job requires a two-week notice to be paid accrued leave time. I have always given more than two weeks notice as a matter of courtesy for my employers, including one who had requested when I was first hired that I give him "a hell of a lot more than two weeks notice" because it was a small business with few overlapping duties. I was able to give him about 3-1/2 weeks and he was good with that.

Re: political ads -- most challengers to incumbents base their campaigns on the need to change. So they will market themselves as "the incumbent is wrong for this job, and you need to change." Similarly, incumbents say there's no need to change, so they say "my challenger is trying to change things that don't need to be changed." There seems to be a playbook now that you start off positive by introducing yourself to the electorate, then in the middle of the campaign you attack your opponent, then as the campaign closes, you go positive again.

Election season hasn't really heated up in Kentucky. I'm in the Lexington TV market, which covers at least four of Kentucky's six congressional districts, so we should expect to see lots of ads, but none of the House races are really competitive. None of the incumbents will be seriously challenged, and the challengers in the 5th and 6th districts are fringe candidates who aren't well-financed or well-known. We do have a statewide Senate race, but no one here expects it to be close or even competitive. Some people from other states think the challenger has a real opportunity to defeat Rand Paul, but they're delusional.

I expect the state legislative races to pick up steam next month, as there are a number of contested ones.

There are also local elections this year, but most of those won't be played out on the airwaves. A few candidates may purchase ads on WYMT-TV in Hazard but since most of those market area counties are small and rural, the message gets diluted, especially for the cost involved. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a county judge-executive candidate in Pike County to buy an ad on a broadcast outlet that reaches distant counties like Pulaski and Laurel.

[J N Winkler]

Also, I checked, and Just Watch, and all seven seasons of Burn Notice is Hulu, Pluto TV, and FreeVue.

I'd just add that the public library local to Kphoger and me has all seven seasons of Burn Notice available on DVD.

have caused the state to have one of the highest cost of living, yet one of the worst quality-of-life, especially in the urban areas

Did you even check?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_Human_Development_Index

California: tied for 15th

Texas: 32nd

He isn't really talking about HDI, which is based on population indicators for life expectancy, education, and per-capita income, with (since 2010) an adjustment for inequality.  California can do quite well on the three primary variables while still struggling with high cost of living (which is only imperfectly accounted for through a purchasing power parity adjustment) and significant income inequality.  Moreover, HDI explicitly does not account for quality-of-life detriments such as climate, traffic, etc.  I can totally understand wanting to get out of California despite its relatively high HDI rank among US states, though Texas isn't necessarily where I would go.

I love it!

Re: saggy pants -- how can they be comfortable? I'm one to prefer comfort over style. I'm losing weight again, after having lost about 100 pounds over the years and then gained 60 of it back due to a thyroid issue. When I lost the weight the first time, I'd often find that my pants would start slipping down, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. I'm beginning to notice it again.

Comfort is not the point so much as display, so il faut souffrir pour ętre belle applies.  The Wikipedia article on sagging includes several pictures of rappers who (IMO) pull off the style successfully, though it is not one I would ever choose for myself.  (In terms of fashion that is so unusual for my local area as to be almost unknown, I'd probably go for a kilt.)

[TheHighwayMan394]

One problem with political ads, debates, etc. is they're fundamentally useless to 85-90% of voters. These things are entirely geared toward that 10% of undecided voters - and usually the candidate with more money wins because they're able to get their message out there more.

[ZLoth]

have caused the state to have one of the highest cost of living, yet one of the worst quality-of-life, especially in the urban areas

Did you even check?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_Human_Development_Index

California: tied for 15th

Texas: 32nd

He isn't really talking about HDI, which is based on population indicators for life expectancy, education, and per-capita income, with (since 2010) an adjustment for inequality.  California can do quite well on the three primary variables while still struggling with high cost of living (which is only imperfectly accounted for through a purchasing power parity adjustment) and significant income inequality.  Moreover, HDI explicitly does not account for quality-of-life detriments such as climate, traffic, etc.  I can totally understand wanting to get out of California despite its relatively high HDI rank among US states, though Texas isn't necessarily where I would go.

There are plenty of statistics and rankings available that you can construct your ranking and apply the appropriate weighting to make any state look like paradise and hell as appropriate. Furthermore, the states of Texas and California are the first and second largest states in the continental United States in terms of land area, occupying 8.61% and 5.25% of the total land area accordingly, and more than double the average continental state size of 65,007 square miles. With the exception of Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, and Wisconsin are, all of the states above the average continental state size lie on or west of the 98th East-West parallel, while 80% of the United States population lives East of that same 98th East-West parallel. The large state sizes mean that there can be big differences between areas. Living in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, or Austin will be much different than living in El Paso, Lubbock, Amarillo, Tyler, Texarkana, or Wichita Falls. Likewise, in California, there are folks who live in Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Roseville, or Auburn, but super-commute to the San Francisco bay area because of the housing prices.

Population density? The most population-dense of the 48 continental states are New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. New York is ranked number 7, but most of that is in the New York City area. California is ranked number 11 with 33.6% of the total population being in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) while another 12.0% of the total population being in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA. Texas, by it's huge size, is the number 23 most densely populated continental state, yet some areas of the state are sparsely populated (Loving County, anyone?)

I'm not going to sit here and say that Texas is "total paradise" while California is a "hell hole". I will admit that I miss the scenery and weather of northern California, but not the high gas prices, high electric prices, and the worsening of quality of life due to the decisions made by the California leadership to the point where I'm stating "The California my family moved to in 1977 is not the same California I escaped from at the end of 2018." Furthermore, I will state that Texas has changed since I moved to the DFW area at the beginning of 2019 where the housing prices have jumped over 50% since I purchased my home. They are correcting now, but many of the folks who purchased in the past five years are now rate-locked at those historic low rates, and they won't sell. (As an example, I refinanced in 2019 to a 15 year fixed at 3.25%. While they dropped as low as 2.16% in January 2021 per Freddie Mac, they are now at 5.44% as of September 22nd, and expected to go higher.) Mind you, I love it here in DFW, including the better career, entertainment, and travel opportunities in comparison to Sacramento and traveling two hours each way to the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose Bay Area. And, I have no intention of moving again. Moving is a traumatic experience. Furthermore, there are other states that are worthy considerations, and people from California have moved to Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, and other states as well.

[Scott5114]

Of course, much like Oklahoma, if you're anything other than a straight white male Christian that likes bad weather, living in Texas has major downsides that can't be compensated for, no matter how nice the financial incentives are.

If someone gave me land in Texas for free, my first inclination would be to sell it as fast as possible, not go live on it.

[interstatefan990]

I once experience a person get suspended at a job.  The suspension was for three days, but it was pending investigation. That meant really his return was depending on what the boss decided to do at anytime and not just a simple punishment and return.

Well needless to say the three days were over, he was not yet allowed to return. On day four the boss wanted to speak with him in person. He drove all the way to work.  The boss, supervisor, and shop steward met with him for ten minutes where he was officially terminated.

To me that was cat and mouse. Why not fire the guy right away?  Or call him up on the phone to say he was fired instead of calling him in to the office?

Yeah, I don't like when businesses aren't upfront about letting someone go. One time when I worked a crappy retail job, they called me in the back at the end of my shift and said they would be giving me a two-week "break" because their schedule was full already and had me sign a resignation form. I asked what would happen at the end of the two weeks and they said they would "assess their needs" and call me then. I knew they were full of sh*t in that moment, but needless to say, I never received a call from them.

[J N Winkler]

I'm not going to sit here and say that Texas is "total paradise" while California is a "hell hole". I will admit that I miss the scenery and weather of northern California, but not the high gas prices, high electric prices, and the worsening of quality of life due to the decisions made by the California leadership to the point where I'm stating "The California my family moved to in 1977 is not the same California I escaped from at the end of 2018." Furthermore, I will state that Texas has changed since I moved to the DFW area at the beginning of 2019 where the housing prices have jumped over 50% since I purchased my home. They are correcting now, but many of the folks who purchased in the past five years are now rate-locked at those historic low rates, and they won't sell. (As an example, I refinanced in 2019 to a 15 year fixed at 3.25%. While they dropped as low as 2.16% in January 2021 per Freddie Mac, they are now at 5.44% as of September 22nd, and expected to go higher.) Mind you, I love it here in DFW, including the better career, entertainment, and travel opportunities in comparison to Sacramento and traveling two hours each way to the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose Bay Area. And, I have no intention of moving again. Moving is a traumatic experience. Furthermore, there are other states that are worthy considerations, and people from California have moved to Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, and other states as well.

I personally think Texas is headed in the same direction as California, only 40-50 years behind, largely for the same reason:  population growth.  I visited Dallas in 2003 and 2018 and on the latter visit was astonished at how congestion had worsened even with much new highway and commuter rail infrastructure in service.

[ZLoth]

Of course, much like Oklahoma, if you're anything other than a straight white male Christian that likes bad weather...

Maybe in the more rural areas of Texas. Where I'm living in North Texas (Richardson/Plano), I'm was surprised at how much more multicultural the area is. This is due to the tech industry. One thing that I noticed in my area is a noticeable Muslim and Indian presence in the community. I was working a community outreach event through work, and the charity person we were working with had a Texas drawl while wearing a head scarf. There are several mosques that are within a 5 mile radius of my home. Outside of that, you are more likely to see a baseball cap around here than someone wearing cowboy hat (and not a Dallas Cowboys-logo cap either!).

In terms of food choice, there is three good German restaurants nearby, a Polish restaurant, a Hawaiian restaurant, a Portuguese restaurant, a Thai/Japanese restaurant, a Syrian restaurant, and several Mediterranean restaurants.

When I take a look at the broadcast radio listings for the DFW market, in addition to the significant English/Spanish language presence, there is also eleven stations that are tagged "Asian". For televsion stations, there is a Vietnamese station KNAV-LD and KLEG-CD which carries KBS World (Korean).

As for "bad weather", that is a subjective term. Having lived in upstate New York and dealing with the blizzards and the lake-effect snow, Texas is better. In comparison to Sacramento, it's slightly worse with the humidity, thunderstorms, and large-sized hail, not to mention the occasional tornado. As a result, the homeowner policies in Texas have a deductible based upon the percentage of the home value rather than a fixed amount, and the real estate listings show when the roof was last replaced. When it comes to the average number of tornadoes for calendar year 2017-2021 and normalized by calculating it over 10k square miles, Mississippi (21.571), Louisiana (17.261), Alabama (15.369), Georgia (11.879), and Illinois (11.404) are the top five states. Kansas (7.797) and Oklahoma (7.426) are #18 and #20 respectively, while Texas (4.857) is #29. Even Florida (7.815) is #17 and slightly higher than Kansas, and we have a hurricane Ian hitting that state at the moment. But, for where I'm living here in Texas, I make sure that I have a S.A.M.E. Weather Radio, have a tornado kit, and pay attention whenever thunderstorms are in the forecast, plus I garage my vehicle.

I personally think Texas is headed in the same direction as California, only 40-50 years behind, largely for the same reason:  population growth.  I visited Dallas in 2003 and 2018 and on the latter visit was astonished at how congestion had worsened even with much new highway and commuter rail infrastructure in service.

Yup, congestion is a major problem in the DFW area, but there are multiple projects to improve the traffic flow in progress. I think that TxDOT is more aggressive in addressing traffic issues compared with CalTrans, especially with money diverted to fund the high-speed choo-choo boondoggle.

In Waco, a major expansion on I-35 has been completed on the Interstate portion, while street portion of the project should be be completed by Christmas. There are also active projects on US-75 in Sherman (completion in 2023), I-635 (completion in late 2024), and I-30 over Lake Ray Hubbard (in progress) that I am aware of. I don't see much of the congestion because I'm either working from home, and my workplace is within walking distance.

As for public transportation, I lucked out by having a DART light rail station within a five minute drive of my home. That station not only has trains that go to downtown Dallas, but a major project called the "Silver Line" is in progress now to go to the DFW airport. Still, overall, the public transportation, like many cities in United States, needs significant improvement.

Keep in mind, in terms of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) population size, Dallas-Fort Worth is the #4 MSA, while Houston is #5. Only New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago MSAs have a higher population. San Francisco-Oakland is #13.