- Panama hat: I have to wear it because my painfully strict upbringing requires it.

Any Jerry Pournelle fans here? One thing he said was that to become a proficient writer, you needed to write enough to fill a steamer trunk and his view was that the trunk full of writing was not fit to publish and the biggest sin in writing was selling anything in that trunk after you became recognized as a writer because it was only accepted because of its provenance and not its quality.

I have ZERO online bidding experience but have gone to a few in person (equipment, tools, livestock).

Some advice I received from a general contractor applies to auctions: You never lose money on a contract you don't win.

I've seen FOMO and pissing matches run up bids when simply putting a value on each lot you're after and sticking to it seems best.

Leaving an auction empty handed only feels bad for a few minutes and is easier the next time.

Once upon a time, at least in person, the auction house took there share out of the sale price (the buyer's share) but everyone where I am has charged it as a fee to the buyer for at least 15 years, so consider that when setting your number.

Anecdotes:

I've been in a bidding war, hit my number and stopped, had the exasperated Auctioneer try to goad me, and lost.

I've witnessed unbridled enthusiasm make equipment sell for 80% of the cost to buy new.

Once a bidding frenzy at a fur auction meant the price of squirrel pelts doubled and my colleague made $16K snaring squirrels that year. BTW: At least in the 90's, the People's Liberation Army was the biggest buyer of squirrel fur; I was told they were used to fringe hoods on winter jackets. That may have been as case of get the pelts no matter what.

> At least in the 90's, the People's Liberation Army was the biggest buyer of squirrel fur; I was told they were used to dr hoods on winter jackets. That may have been as case of get the pelts no matter what.

If Mao hadn't gone on his retarded crusade against squirrels, they wouldn't have had to do that lol.

You made the sale.

What's in a name? An earlier association could be The Pirates of Penzance.

The absence of things can be as profound as their presence.

It was also probably too expensive for most people to buy and consume enough to be noticeably harmful.

Having said that, a European of the 1500's would know what smoke did to kippers.

When you're going through it, it can make perfect sense.

If you bring someone for support, make sure they're taking the same precautions as you.

Absolutely speak with your vote.

I didn't notice a simple, practical piece of advice: Leave your phone at home.

It would be inconvenient but if I did something I wanted to keep very private, I would leave my phone on my desk while I did it. A change in my activity or its absence reveals something possibly happened, but at least doesn't spell it out.

The state can build their own case.