I've been in a few of these "career changing event" over the years. If I make a mistake, I step forward, take responsibility and fix the problem (if I can).
As an IT Manager/Director, THANK YOU. Everyone screws up at some point, it's what you do after that really matters.
Once those subsidies run out, his product becomes stacked a little lower compared to the incumbent manufacturers who aren't all electric. Musk is merely looking for an angle, and if he can make life difficult for his competitors that works to his benefit. Think about it - keep Obama's crazy fuel economy regs in play, and what chance does a gasoline or diesel engine have against Tesla at any cost? Performance would by necessity be severely crippled, and Tesla can thumb their nose even more by showing how even their cheapest models outperform everyone else. Also think about who owns the electric car space through battery contracts, battery production, and power delivery technology. Becomes pretty clear the Paris nonsense works to benefit Musk in a bigly way.
Better yet, make it wireless with the charge port on the bottom.
I was "WTF?" about that too, until I got one with my new computer and realized the battery lasts for MONTHS between charges, and a couple minutes plugged in nets enough power to get well past a day's use. Makes it pretty easy to ignore the 'problem.'
Says a bunch of people who never owned one and obviously jealous...
As a multiple Surface Pro owner, they are fantastic machines if you can afford them... Really hoping to get the new Pro before the year is out if I can score a deal similarly to what I paid for my SP3...
ROFL !!!!
Nice try at shamevertising. This isn't Reddit, many here (myself included) can afford as many tech widgets as they desire to have, but choose to spend money on better gear than Surface. Nobody is at all jealous of those. Please try again.
Hardly obsolete, and being one of those who saw the likelihood of a mid-year refresh I bought a 2016rMBP+TB anyway. When I look at the MBP I handed down and realize its age, I don't quite see this refresh as a problem. It's not like the "old" model suddenly stops working, or the new model is expected to come with some magical powers.
The only people who will be wringing their hands are those who care more about "ooh, new and shiny!" than getting actual work done.
I don't have many (couple IP cams, outlets, etc.) but I put them all on a separate VLAN with no access to the outside world. I allow ridiculously restricted access to the inside host(s), although I haven't had any instances of them trying anything funny there - yet. But, EVERY Chinese IoT widget I've bought immediately attempts to phone home. EVERY Chinese IoT widget I've bought will also continue the attempts after the related (e.g. "cloud") features are turned off. Kinda like Windows 10.
I was born into a pretty upper middle class family, and understood what earned luxuries were. Small business ownership, busted gender barriers and writing your own ticket, splitting your life between a beachfront home and the yacht, etc. Then I lost my father very young at under 5yo. Saw my mother pick up the pieces and move forward, but never actually recovering. She made it work but was always without a huge part of her being at her side. Through this I learned many things, including love, sacrifice, tenacity, drive, and sheer will power. Less than 7 years later I lose my mom, and go to live with unloving "family" who ultimately decide within three years they needn't be bothered with the responsibility but would be plenty happy to keep collecting the check. So yes, I was out on the streets while my "guardians" cashed Soc.Sec. checks. I started working at 13, finished high school and graduated, put a roof over my own head, and learned quite succinctly the reality of not merely accepting that which is given. No, I didn't rely on the government for assistance either.
If there was one lesson I could share with the masses, it is exactly this - DO NOT merely accept what is handed to you. You will never rise to your potential with that mindset. You can only achieve what YOU push YOURSELF to achieve.
So am I smug? Perhaps I am. But do I blame people for whatever situation they're in? Sometimes, but not as often as you might imagine. Ignorance is not something to blame someone for, so I do my best to share this simple message. But, If you make bad choices and stick with them, well that's on you. It's such an important lesson to learn, no matter how you learn it, to fail and fail fast. You don't learn from success. You learn from screwing up. Embrace it, learn from it, and build upon it.
To say in some fiction I'd be on the verge of catastrophe points to the blinders people choose to put on themselves to avoid dealing with the harsh truths. It's often uncomfortable and scary to put ourselves in a position to jump out of the situation we're in. Learning to proactively CHOOSE to risk things we can afford to risk is a lesson not often taught.
Seriously.
I've worked INCREDIBLY hard, and voluntarily submitted myself to WAY more stress than my peers through my earlier years. My friends thought I was nuts. But where are they now compared to where I am? You can likely figure that out on your own. The stress should be your driving force to move up. You're constantly presented with challenges that you need to accept in order to get to where want to be. What's that old saying? Ain't nothing in life free.
I continue to work very hard, although now I work on different and more broad projects than those under my direction. My stress level is indeed lower than it was in past years, my salary is much higher, my debt to income is very low, and my retirement accounts are looking pretty nice. I worked really hard to get here, and I make no apologies for those who merely "come to work and do their job." You have to go above and beyond, you have to look forward and look upward in order to succeed. If your idea of a promotion is doing the minimum to not get fired long enough to "deserve" a raise, you will be stuck forever as one of the people bitching about "those rich people." Money opportunities are astoundingly abundant in America (and many other countries). But you have to put forth the effort to go out there and get it. I'm now, and have been for quite a while, at the point in my life where I have the flexibility to relax more. I built my home closer to work, both are in an area where I'm not wasting my time in traffic or spending a fortune to merely exist. I'm 15 minutes door to door and earned the ability to take time off to be with my family pretty much any time I wish. That is worth more than money at this point in my life, and I built that by not partying my ass off and blowing off work during my 20's. Life is what you make it. If you make it about doing nothing, you'll have nothing. If you make it about setting and achieving goals, you'll have success. It's a simple concept that has always and will always work.
Further, if you read this and made a mental excuse for my success, you just answered every question about not being where you "deserve" to be.
.. and that is exactly what is happening, and why collectively the 'old market' providers are scrambling. Why do you think buying your cable service ala carte is lobbied against so heavily? Gotta protect those old ideas and old revenue streams somehow. Some smart people have taken notice and are pouring money into effectively replacing Hollywood by creating their own movies and TV series that you can watch individually, and it's working. Game of Thrones, House of Cards, The Grand Tour, etc.
Would have been nice to send a bunch of "writers" packing. They don't so much write today as they do recycle anyway. No wonder people are moving their eyes away to new venues.
By "he got paid" you mean money was donated to the Clinton Foundation, which is a humanitarian nonprofit.
You forgot a couple pieces of punctuation. Allow me to help: By "he got paid" you mean money was donated to the Clinton Foundation, which is a "humanitarian nonprofit".
Spot on, this. If this advice were followed on the road, the whole cell phone while driving thing (or any other distraction) would be a non-issue.
I honestly believe this is why investing in self-driving sheep movers will be highly profitable in the coming years. People don't want to have to think or do for themselves anymore. They want to be carted around like the mindless sheep they are.
Better than ruining the lives of anyone living within earshot of an intersection (except, perhaps, the deaf) how about an ignition interlock system? If your car detects the driver using their phone in conjunction with unsafe driving practices (e.g. drifting out of your lane, failure to stop in time, etc.), after the next ignition cycle the car becomes immobilized until the driver can remove their head from their ass.
I feel you're missing the point here. Existing Apple users would very likely know an iPad is made by Apple. They may or may not be aware who makes which competing product. However, people new to tablets, or not as well versed in 'computer' hardware to begin with, more often will know nothing about who makes what. Many people don't even know who Microsoft or Apple are, but they would immediately recognize the Windows desktop as "what my computer at work looks like."
I see this first hand with our sales staff. These are guys and gals interested only in having the tools they need to get their job done, a new one of which is an iPad. I have had MANY folks ask me who makes the iPad, and where they buy one. A couple have called and asked if a non Apple brand tablet would work, because "it looks just like the ones you guys showed us at the sales meeting, but this one is cheaper." Guess which tablet it was? Samsung Galaxy. THAT is what this patent fight is about.
Certainly some sedans, but not all. Our family sedan (driven primarily by my wife) is quite stable at 100mph and much faster (SRT8 Charger). I would beg to differ with the opinion there's no issue with an unsafe-at-100mph turd bucket traveling 80mph. Well, I would agree IF there were never a reason to do anything but float down the freeway. But, that isn't always the case now is it? Things happen, that an aware and attentive driver must respond and react to. Would you rather be piloting a vehicle capable of safely and predictably executing an evasive maneuver, or one that... can't, and becomes part of the wreck?
Cars that feel sketchy at a mere 100mph / 160kph have NO BUSINESS on today's freeways - in the USA or anywhere else in the modern world. People who feel uncomfortable or uncertain driving at those speeds also have no business on the freeway. 100mph/160kph is NOT THAT FAST, especially when in many areas of the country the average traffic flows between 70 and 80 mph.
There is a significant amount of kinetic energy a driver responsible for controlling - a vehicle that reaches its limitations at 80mph in my mind is still unsafe at 70, and still unsafe at 60. A sketchy driver is unsafe at any speed, and this is really the biggest problem and a whole other argument (too many people have driving privileges when they shouldn't).
I've been as high as 175mph in my American-built sports car on regular DOT street tires, and have absolutely no problem confidently placing the car exactly where I want it on the road. I'd crush any car that floats at a mere 100 mph.
I bought a brand new Pontiac G8 GT a couple years back. Not only did I leave the dealer lot without activating OnStar (much to the dismay of the salesman), I removed the module from the car as soon as I got home. Very easy to do, simply unplugged the antenna and electrical harnesses, and unclipped it from the rear deck. No tools needed, no side effects, and the only "feature" I lost was bluetooth integration (which I don't use) and obviously the OnStar "features" which I didn't want. When I traded the car in, I popped the module back in the car. No harm, no foul.
I suspect not all GM vehicles make it this easy - especially from an accessibility standpoint. IMHO it would be welcomed, though. I have heard some vehicles pass the CAN bus THROUGH the module, rather than adding it as another module ON the bus. In this case, you'd have to jumper the harness, but still easy enough for any/.'er to accomplish I imagine.
I took that as "I'm trying to cover my butt, and my lawyers told me I can't win this one. Further, I understand it could be even more damaging to admit any guilt." Admittedly a bit of reading between the lines, but human nature isn't to come out and say "I goofed up, so I paid the guy." Look at how other entities handle cases that settle out of court. NOBODY ever offers an admission of guilt after the fact, and anything in print firmly states just that. A suit could probably offer a better explanation of the "why" on that one, perhaps it opens the door for future legal problems.
IANAL, but as others have mentioned, he's attempting to profit from a work he didn't create. That does not seem like it could ever fall under fair use. Just because one can make a 5 second tweak to an image in Photoshop, using the original work someone else created, doesn't make it a new piece of work. He should have contacted the photo copyright holder up front just like he did with the music copyright holders. There is a direct correlation between the modification of works, but for whatever reason he feels the images are free, but the music is not? Perhaps that is only because we have the MAFIAA/RIAA to "thank" by putting the punishments for such actions prominently in our minds with all their deplorable legal shotgun tactics.
Reading the article, he more or less lays out why he settled - he figured out he was indeed in the wrong. The Doors album cover recreated with Rubix cubes on a street is (to me) plainly a new work, while based on an existing work. Simply reducing the resolution of a work and using it for the same purpose (a commercial album cover), is (to me) obviously not a new work. The other examples given could be argued separately, and no info is given on whether rights or permission were sought in each case, etc.
Looking at my own life as a parent, I have yet to feel like I'm coping. Rather, I find myself looking forward to the next opportunity to spend with my family. Judging by their reactions when I walk through that door, they apparently suffer the same coping strategy as I do.
Sure, if you only look at the positive moments. The net balance swings towards the negative. Parents don't see it because of choice supportive bias.
The "negative" moments are no more troubling than those elsewhere in life. Heck, a lot of those negatives are a great source of amusement for my wife and I, and they make for some absolutely adorable photos. Work issues have been much more of a chore than child rearing, and I feel my job is quite productive, in a nice laid back atmosphere. The net balance is FAR greater in the positive, than the negative for both work and family life. Maybe I'm coping... But damn if I don't have fun doing it.
Some free time and a good nights sleep.
The kids sleep fine, so I sleep as much as I want. I have plenty of free time, I just choose to spend it with friends AND family. Our children are active participants in our daily lives, not burdensome tethers. That may be the key for folks who think like you though, and again refers back to my original comment - if you're not ready, you're not ready. For those "adult" things you don't take your kids to (loud concerts, romantic evenings, etc) the kids LOVE spending the night/weekend with the grandparents.
Put simply, if you feel you screwed up your life and regret your choices, it doesn't mean everyone else did.
All I can say, is "they're doing it wrong." If a child doesn't increase your happiness, you either had the child at the wrong point in your life, you weren't prepared for the supposed negative aspects, you have spousal issues, etc. Sure, there's a lot of things that can drag a parent down that aren't the direct effect of the child him/herself. I've read the studies, they say parents THINK they're happier when in fact they're not? Sounds like the incoherent ramblings of someone with some pretty hefty baggage from their own youth.
Take one look at any proud parent beaming when their child marks another achievement.
Take one look at any parent boasting about how their child is so smart because they accomplished some task at an early age.
Take one look at any parent when they arrive home from work, and walk through the door to be greeting with tiny feet and open arms.
Take a look at all the videos parents post on YouTube!
If anyone could think those parents aren't happy, I can't imagine what those folks think would improve a parent's happiness.
I certainly hope you're being facetious. Adding a toll system adds unnecessary infrastructure and maintenance costs, adds travel delay, burns more fuel for no good reason, and a ton of other problems. The public gets poorer, a ton of money gets burned up into thin air, and the few extra dollars off the top go everywhere but the original intent. See it all the time, down here we call it "the Harris County Toll Road Authority."
Slashdot Mirror
I've been in a few of these "career changing event" over the years. If I make a mistake, I step forward, take responsibility and fix the problem (if I can).
As an IT Manager/Director, THANK YOU. Everyone screws up at some point, it's what you do after that really matters.
Once those subsidies run out, his product becomes stacked a little lower compared to the incumbent manufacturers who aren't all electric. Musk is merely looking for an angle, and if he can make life difficult for his competitors that works to his benefit. Think about it - keep Obama's crazy fuel economy regs in play, and what chance does a gasoline or diesel engine have against Tesla at any cost? Performance would by necessity be severely crippled, and Tesla can thumb their nose even more by showing how even their cheapest models outperform everyone else. Also think about who owns the electric car space through battery contracts, battery production, and power delivery technology. Becomes pretty clear the Paris nonsense works to benefit Musk in a bigly way.
Better yet, make it wireless with the charge port on the bottom.
I was "WTF?" about that too, until I got one with my new computer and realized the battery lasts for MONTHS between charges, and a couple minutes plugged in nets enough power to get well past a day's use. Makes it pretty easy to ignore the 'problem.'
Says a bunch of people who never owned one and obviously jealous...
As a multiple Surface Pro owner, they are fantastic machines if you can afford them... Really hoping to get the new Pro before the year is out if I can score a deal similarly to what I paid for my SP3...
ROFL !!!!
Nice try at shamevertising. This isn't Reddit, many here (myself included) can afford as many tech widgets as they desire to have, but choose to spend money on better gear than Surface. Nobody is at all jealous of those. Please try again.
Hardly obsolete, and being one of those who saw the likelihood of a mid-year refresh I bought a 2016rMBP+TB anyway. When I look at the MBP I handed down and realize its age, I don't quite see this refresh as a problem. It's not like the "old" model suddenly stops working, or the new model is expected to come with some magical powers.
The only people who will be wringing their hands are those who care more about "ooh, new and shiny!" than getting actual work done.
I don't have many (couple IP cams, outlets, etc.) but I put them all on a separate VLAN with no access to the outside world. I allow ridiculously restricted access to the inside host(s), although I haven't had any instances of them trying anything funny there - yet. But, EVERY Chinese IoT widget I've bought immediately attempts to phone home. EVERY Chinese IoT widget I've bought will also continue the attempts after the related (e.g. "cloud") features are turned off. Kinda like Windows 10.
Delusional, huh? Not quite
I was born into a pretty upper middle class family, and understood what earned luxuries were. Small business ownership, busted gender barriers and writing your own ticket, splitting your life between a beachfront home and the yacht, etc. Then I lost my father very young at under 5yo. Saw my mother pick up the pieces and move forward, but never actually recovering. She made it work but was always without a huge part of her being at her side. Through this I learned many things, including love, sacrifice, tenacity, drive, and sheer will power. Less than 7 years later I lose my mom, and go to live with unloving "family" who ultimately decide within three years they needn't be bothered with the responsibility but would be plenty happy to keep collecting the check. So yes, I was out on the streets while my "guardians" cashed Soc.Sec. checks. I started working at 13, finished high school and graduated, put a roof over my own head, and learned quite succinctly the reality of not merely accepting that which is given. No, I didn't rely on the government for assistance either.
If there was one lesson I could share with the masses, it is exactly this - DO NOT merely accept what is handed to you. You will never rise to your potential with that mindset. You can only achieve what YOU push YOURSELF to achieve.
So am I smug? Perhaps I am. But do I blame people for whatever situation they're in? Sometimes, but not as often as you might imagine. Ignorance is not something to blame someone for, so I do my best to share this simple message. But, If you make bad choices and stick with them, well that's on you. It's such an important lesson to learn, no matter how you learn it, to fail and fail fast. You don't learn from success. You learn from screwing up. Embrace it, learn from it, and build upon it.
To say in some fiction I'd be on the verge of catastrophe points to the blinders people choose to put on themselves to avoid dealing with the harsh truths. It's often uncomfortable and scary to put ourselves in a position to jump out of the situation we're in. Learning to proactively CHOOSE to risk things we can afford to risk is a lesson not often taught.
Seriously. I've worked INCREDIBLY hard, and voluntarily submitted myself to WAY more stress than my peers through my earlier years. My friends thought I was nuts. But where are they now compared to where I am? You can likely figure that out on your own. The stress should be your driving force to move up. You're constantly presented with challenges that you need to accept in order to get to where want to be. What's that old saying? Ain't nothing in life free. I continue to work very hard, although now I work on different and more broad projects than those under my direction. My stress level is indeed lower than it was in past years, my salary is much higher, my debt to income is very low, and my retirement accounts are looking pretty nice. I worked really hard to get here, and I make no apologies for those who merely "come to work and do their job." You have to go above and beyond, you have to look forward and look upward in order to succeed. If your idea of a promotion is doing the minimum to not get fired long enough to "deserve" a raise, you will be stuck forever as one of the people bitching about "those rich people." Money opportunities are astoundingly abundant in America (and many other countries). But you have to put forth the effort to go out there and get it. I'm now, and have been for quite a while, at the point in my life where I have the flexibility to relax more. I built my home closer to work, both are in an area where I'm not wasting my time in traffic or spending a fortune to merely exist. I'm 15 minutes door to door and earned the ability to take time off to be with my family pretty much any time I wish. That is worth more than money at this point in my life, and I built that by not partying my ass off and blowing off work during my 20's. Life is what you make it. If you make it about doing nothing, you'll have nothing. If you make it about setting and achieving goals, you'll have success. It's a simple concept that has always and will always work. Further, if you read this and made a mental excuse for my success, you just answered every question about not being where you "deserve" to be.
.. and that is exactly what is happening, and why collectively the 'old market' providers are scrambling. Why do you think buying your cable service ala carte is lobbied against so heavily? Gotta protect those old ideas and old revenue streams somehow. Some smart people have taken notice and are pouring money into effectively replacing Hollywood by creating their own movies and TV series that you can watch individually, and it's working. Game of Thrones, House of Cards, The Grand Tour, etc.
Would have been nice to send a bunch of "writers" packing. They don't so much write today as they do recycle anyway. No wonder people are moving their eyes away to new venues.
By "he got paid" you mean money was donated to the Clinton Foundation, which is a humanitarian nonprofit.
You forgot a couple pieces of punctuation. Allow me to help: By "he got paid" you mean money was donated to the Clinton Foundation, which is a "humanitarian nonprofit".
Spot on, this. If this advice were followed on the road, the whole cell phone while driving thing (or any other distraction) would be a non-issue. I honestly believe this is why investing in self-driving sheep movers will be highly profitable in the coming years. People don't want to have to think or do for themselves anymore. They want to be carted around like the mindless sheep they are.
Better than ruining the lives of anyone living within earshot of an intersection (except, perhaps, the deaf) how about an ignition interlock system? If your car detects the driver using their phone in conjunction with unsafe driving practices (e.g. drifting out of your lane, failure to stop in time, etc.), after the next ignition cycle the car becomes immobilized until the driver can remove their head from their ass.
I think it means they'll be Running Their Mouth. FUD train leaving the station in 30 days!
I C what you did there.
I feel you're missing the point here. Existing Apple users would very likely know an iPad is made by Apple. They may or may not be aware who makes which competing product. However, people new to tablets, or not as well versed in 'computer' hardware to begin with, more often will know nothing about who makes what. Many people don't even know who Microsoft or Apple are, but they would immediately recognize the Windows desktop as "what my computer at work looks like."
I see this first hand with our sales staff. These are guys and gals interested only in having the tools they need to get their job done, a new one of which is an iPad. I have had MANY folks ask me who makes the iPad, and where they buy one. A couple have called and asked if a non Apple brand tablet would work, because "it looks just like the ones you guys showed us at the sales meeting, but this one is cheaper." Guess which tablet it was? Samsung Galaxy. THAT is what this patent fight is about.
How very true. Anyone who doesn't believe it's true, is obviously not married. =)
Certainly some sedans, but not all. Our family sedan (driven primarily by my wife) is quite stable at 100mph and much faster (SRT8 Charger). I would beg to differ with the opinion there's no issue with an unsafe-at-100mph turd bucket traveling 80mph. Well, I would agree IF there were never a reason to do anything but float down the freeway. But, that isn't always the case now is it? Things happen, that an aware and attentive driver must respond and react to. Would you rather be piloting a vehicle capable of safely and predictably executing an evasive maneuver, or one that ... can't, and becomes part of the wreck?
Cars that feel sketchy at a mere 100mph / 160kph have NO BUSINESS on today's freeways - in the USA or anywhere else in the modern world. People who feel uncomfortable or uncertain driving at those speeds also have no business on the freeway. 100mph/160kph is NOT THAT FAST, especially when in many areas of the country the average traffic flows between 70 and 80 mph.
There is a significant amount of kinetic energy a driver responsible for controlling - a vehicle that reaches its limitations at 80mph in my mind is still unsafe at 70, and still unsafe at 60. A sketchy driver is unsafe at any speed, and this is really the biggest problem and a whole other argument (too many people have driving privileges when they shouldn't).
I've been as high as 175mph in my American-built sports car on regular DOT street tires, and have absolutely no problem confidently placing the car exactly where I want it on the road. I'd crush any car that floats at a mere 100 mph.
I bought a brand new Pontiac G8 GT a couple years back. Not only did I leave the dealer lot without activating OnStar (much to the dismay of the salesman), I removed the module from the car as soon as I got home. Very easy to do, simply unplugged the antenna and electrical harnesses, and unclipped it from the rear deck. No tools needed, no side effects, and the only "feature" I lost was bluetooth integration (which I don't use) and obviously the OnStar "features" which I didn't want. When I traded the car in, I popped the module back in the car. No harm, no foul. I suspect not all GM vehicles make it this easy - especially from an accessibility standpoint. IMHO it would be welcomed, though. I have heard some vehicles pass the CAN bus THROUGH the module, rather than adding it as another module ON the bus. In this case, you'd have to jumper the harness, but still easy enough for any /.'er to accomplish I imagine.
I took that as "I'm trying to cover my butt, and my lawyers told me I can't win this one. Further, I understand it could be even more damaging to admit any guilt." Admittedly a bit of reading between the lines, but human nature isn't to come out and say "I goofed up, so I paid the guy." Look at how other entities handle cases that settle out of court. NOBODY ever offers an admission of guilt after the fact, and anything in print firmly states just that. A suit could probably offer a better explanation of the "why" on that one, perhaps it opens the door for future legal problems.
IANAL, but as others have mentioned, he's attempting to profit from a work he didn't create. That does not seem like it could ever fall under fair use. Just because one can make a 5 second tweak to an image in Photoshop, using the original work someone else created, doesn't make it a new piece of work. He should have contacted the photo copyright holder up front just like he did with the music copyright holders. There is a direct correlation between the modification of works, but for whatever reason he feels the images are free, but the music is not? Perhaps that is only because we have the MAFIAA/RIAA to "thank" by putting the punishments for such actions prominently in our minds with all their deplorable legal shotgun tactics.
Reading the article, he more or less lays out why he settled - he figured out he was indeed in the wrong. The Doors album cover recreated with Rubix cubes on a street is (to me) plainly a new work, while based on an existing work. Simply reducing the resolution of a work and using it for the same purpose (a commercial album cover), is (to me) obviously not a new work. The other examples given could be argued separately, and no info is given on whether rights or permission were sought in each case, etc.
Yes, self deception is a common coping strategy.
Looking at my own life as a parent, I have yet to feel like I'm coping. Rather, I find myself looking forward to the next opportunity to spend with my family. Judging by their reactions when I walk through that door, they apparently suffer the same coping strategy as I do.
Sure, if you only look at the positive moments. The net balance swings towards the negative. Parents don't see it because of choice supportive bias.
The "negative" moments are no more troubling than those elsewhere in life. Heck, a lot of those negatives are a great source of amusement for my wife and I, and they make for some absolutely adorable photos. Work issues have been much more of a chore than child rearing, and I feel my job is quite productive, in a nice laid back atmosphere. The net balance is FAR greater in the positive, than the negative for both work and family life. Maybe I'm coping... But damn if I don't have fun doing it.
Some free time and a good nights sleep.
The kids sleep fine, so I sleep as much as I want. I have plenty of free time, I just choose to spend it with friends AND family. Our children are active participants in our daily lives, not burdensome tethers. That may be the key for folks who think like you though, and again refers back to my original comment - if you're not ready, you're not ready. For those "adult" things you don't take your kids to (loud concerts, romantic evenings, etc) the kids LOVE spending the night/weekend with the grandparents.
Put simply, if you feel you screwed up your life and regret your choices, it doesn't mean everyone else did.
All I can say, is "they're doing it wrong." If a child doesn't increase your happiness, you either had the child at the wrong point in your life, you weren't prepared for the supposed negative aspects, you have spousal issues, etc. Sure, there's a lot of things that can drag a parent down that aren't the direct effect of the child him/herself. I've read the studies, they say parents THINK they're happier when in fact they're not? Sounds like the incoherent ramblings of someone with some pretty hefty baggage from their own youth.
Take one look at any proud parent beaming when their child marks another achievement. Take one look at any parent boasting about how their child is so smart because they accomplished some task at an early age. Take one look at any parent when they arrive home from work, and walk through the door to be greeting with tiny feet and open arms. Take a look at all the videos parents post on YouTube!
If anyone could think those parents aren't happy, I can't imagine what those folks think would improve a parent's happiness.
I certainly hope you're being facetious. Adding a toll system adds unnecessary infrastructure and maintenance costs, adds travel delay, burns more fuel for no good reason, and a ton of other problems. The public gets poorer, a ton of money gets burned up into thin air, and the few extra dollars off the top go everywhere but the original intent. See it all the time, down here we call it "the Harris County Toll Road Authority."