The problem here is the same problem that plagues the rest of the Internet, and before the public Internet, dialup bulletin-board systems (BBSs): It's much easier to be a complete ass to someone when you don't have to do it in person to their face. People can and will say anything when it's just text on a screen, because there are few if any consequences. When you're able to be completely anonymous as well (no alias, just literally anonymous) it's even worse, because there are literally no consequences. Of course there's no help for it, as requiring everyone on the Internet to use their real name would destroy a large and very important part of what the Internet is all about. Civility and courtesy can't be legislated, they are qualities that an individual has to willingly adopt, and in my opinion the choice whether to do that or not is a great indicator of the character of the individual in question: Can you observe and respect the implied social contract that exists when you interact with people face-to-face, when you're interacting with them over the Internet?
You know what keeps a system like this from working? PEOPLE, that's what. Nobody takes into account the most basic of truths: People ruin everything; it never takes into account basic human traits like greed and lust for power. The one-percenters will find ways to hold on to their wealth, and putting the entire burden of this 'universal welfare' (since that's what it is) system squarely on the backs of the working middle class, and make no mistake: nobody would be allowed to quit their jobs. The rich would get richer, the poor and the middle class would get poorer, and politicians would just keep telling us how much better everything is for everyone under this wonderful new system! Then they trot out the welfare mothers with 16 kids that tell the news crews how much better their lives are now, blah blah blah, and we're supposed to get tears in our eyes at this 'proof' that the new system works. Meanwhile working middle class families struggle because they're getting taxed into oblivion so what they earn can be 'redistributed' to people who can't be bothered, and quitting their jobs and going on the dole would mean they'd lose everything they'd worked their whole lives for. No. Fucking. Way. Until someone creates Federation-style matter replicators, and we can all create everything we'll ever need from the power of sunlight for free, There Is No Free Lunch.
When this came up the last time, I asked the same question I'm asking right now, and never got an answer to: Where is the money going to come from? To date I've never got any sort of explanation that made any sort of rational sense. So now YOU get to take a stab at explaning where the trillions of dollars every year would come from so that nobody has to work anymore if they don't want to.
I got news for you, friend: I already live somewhere where there is a 'redistribution of wealth', it's called the United States and the so-called 'Affordable Care Act' (or 'Obamacare' as some like to call it), and it sucks ass. I don't make 6 figures, yet I get a gun held to my head forcing me to purchase overpriced shit-tier health insurance that I don't need and that doesn't benefit me enough to justify there being a few hundred dollars less in my pocket every month, so that fatasses who can't be bothered to take care of themselves can get bariatric surgery, diabetes treatment, and heart bypass surgery for FREE. Meanwhile I literally worked my ASS off and am legitimately an athlete in addition to working 40 hours a week, and I have to pay? Fuck that. I'd almost be tempted to vote Republican, if it meant they'd get rid of this stupid ACA crap and stop dictating to me how I live my life. Meanwhile the same lazy fatasses who can't be bothered to take care of themselves or better themselves in any substantial way, are the same people who want this 'redistribution of wealth', meaning 'take what little money I have and give it to lazy fucks so they can buy drugs and alcohol with it'. Also fuck that shit. The only way that works for me? Is if I don't have to work anymore, can maintain my current standard of living and otherwise do what I really want to do with my life instead of having to put up with going to some job or other every day. But guess what? Ain't gonna happen. They'll make guys like me work my ass off, take most of what I earn and 'redistribute' it to people who can't be bothered to do anything with their lives other than be lazy fucks. Meanwhile the one-percenters will find loopholes or tricky ways out of giving up their money, and stay rich, effectively putting all the burden of this so-called 'redistribution of wealth' squarely on the backs of the Middle Class. No. Fucking. Way. I'd sooner see the whole country blown to oblivion and me along with it than put up with that shit.
The population of the United States is about 58 times that of Finland, so before anyone starts saying it again: It won't work here. I also doubt it'll work there, either, but it's got a better chance of working there, in a tiny, sparsely-populated country, than it does in the U.S..
Uh... Have you tried doing research with it? It's a free 24/7 tutor on any subject if you know how to parse the questions.
..well, to be fair, I do research with it all the time.. but even then you have to be careful, taking everything you find with a certain amount of skepticism.
More and more lately I'm becoming convinced that the Internet, which at one time showed such great promise, has just become utterly useless for anything other than paying your bills and shopping -- and there are plenty of criminals out there who would ruin it for that, too.
You know what? I apologize, and propose we just forget this 'conversation' ever occurred in the first place. 'Conversation' in quotes because I'm coming to the realization that I can't have a 'proper' conversation on the Internet simply because I don't have the time to sit here and write a War and Peace-sized comment, or to sit here for an hour and do research to back up what I want to say. It's no use, I really don't have enough time to do anything other than sound like I'm just ranting, which comes off little better than the trolls I've grown to hate so damned much. I just don't have time for this. It's not like anything anyone says here is going to change anything anywhere, anyway.
Yeah sure thing buddy.. only the western world matters in this equation, doesn't it? Until everyone on the planet has a safe place to live, enough food to eat every day, clean water to drink, and not having to worry about some local warlord's troops kicking their door in and killing everyone, then it doesn't matter that you living in your San Francisco condo heading down to Whole Foods to do your macrobiotic grocery shopping and having shit delivered to you from Amazon that you ordered from your iPhone is working so well for you. Yes, hyperbole. But have you ever been hungry, with nothing you can do about it? In fear of being homeless? In fear for your life? I think not. Neither have I, but at least I try to understand what it must be like for people living halfway around the world.
You pretend as if those are equally valid options, when they're not. One side (mine) has facts, figures, and centuries of history backing it up. The other side is based on a complete ignorance of human behavior and the science and mechanisms at work
You're just arrogant as hell, aren't you? You think you have all the answers, don't you? You know Jack Shit about me or anything else. If the Human race has got everything so well figured out, then why is there a global warming problem? Why are people hungry, right now? Why is there a gigantic patch of scrap plastic in the middle of the ocean? Why are there assholes running around in the Middle East, cutting off people's heads on YouTube? I could go on and and on and on, but go right ahead and keep your head stuck in the sand, buddy. We got a couple thousand years to go before we're anything like what I'd consider 'civilized', assuming we don't exterminate ourselves, and until then we're just playing dress-up, pretending like this thin patina of 'civilization' is who we really are underneath. I don't care what some small groups of people are doing that's so great; nice for them, *golf clap*; when I see that the vast majority of the seven billion people on this planet have got their collective act together, then I'll ease up. In the meantime we've got a damned long way to go.
And your rose-colored-glasses view of the world would be adorable if it wasn't so horribly unrealistic, misguided, and potentially tragic. There is nothing wrong with planning for the worst and hoping for the best. People who refuse to see how bad things could get very often get bit, HARD, in the ass by those things. I'd much rather be considered a doom-sayer than a doe-eyed fool who never even considered what might go wrong. All that being said: I think you're wrong. We tamper with things about this planet we barely understand, then scratch our heads in confusion when everything gets fouled up. We make decisions based only on looking forward a handful of years, not hundreds of years, because most people are more interested in power and money right now, and who cares about future generations? That's 'future generations' problem, not ours, right?
colonizing other planets
LOL, get your head out of the clouds (literally!) already. We aren't fit to colonize another planet until we learn to take care of this one! While we're at it, we're not fit to leave this planet until we can learn to stop treating our own kind like dog shit! I really don't think you know what the hell you're talking about. Luckily for us you're in no position to be deciding anything for anyone, anywhere, so it's just more useless words posted on the Internet.
It's as simple as that. If you don't know someone all that well, or someone has proven themselves to be unreliable or flat-out untrustworthy with your books, then don't loan them out to that person again. Nothing you do to your books is going to get around someone who just doesn't care about returning your property, and using some device that costs you a few bucks will just mean you're out that much more money if/when your book isn't returned to you.
Why not, if you're going somewhere that you're afraid border agents will pull this sort of bullshit, just have your laptop shipped separately via something like FedEx? Then there's nothing for them to search. Don't keep anything important on your phone, or don't take your phone with you, or take a disposable phone that has exactly nothing on it anyway.
So far as these stories that I hear about being detained and told you're not leaving until you provide passwords? If I'm in a foreign country then I start demanding to see or be taken to the U.S. Embassy, immediately, long and loud until they either give up or kill me. Under no circumstances do I provide passwords of any kind for anything to anyone, ever.
Really. So how long do you think that'll remain true, if the population of humans on the planet keeps increasing? More to the point: how much more can the Earth stand of having forests and other wild lands cleared to grow crops, before we totally fuck the entire ecosphere? It has to stop somewhere.
Huh. I found it just after they 'updated' it, then. Frankly I would have been OK with either form of it. I don't have that much of a problem with the way it is now, with one notable exception: It's bloated as hell, functionally speaking. It takes what seems like an inordinate amount of time for the page to load and finish executing, probably because of the Flash and Java content used to run it. Otherwise I'm more or less OK with the way the data is presented. I'm not a big fan of animations-for-the-sake-of-animations, though; the graph feature is an efficient way to present temp/wind/humidity/precipitation information, but the amount of perceived effort it takes for it to animate the expansion of a particular day is, in my opinion, pointless window-dressing that serves no functional purpose. I do agree with you about the WunderMap, though, currently if I want to see NEXRAD, I'll go to the NWS page instead and look at it there instead of at WU.
They've still got their hands in things they have no business being in.
While I do not in any way, shape, or form, agree with the Communist Chinese government in oh so many ways, I will say that humans, as an entire global race of beings, does need to learn to manage their population growth. We are running out of resources. Most immediately, we are running out of ways to keep everyone fed. If we, as a race, don't evolve to overcome and control our primary urge to reproduce, we will produce our own extinction-level event, probably in the form of a World War to end all World Wars, and it'll be over resources and arable land with which to grow food. The fun part is that it's far enough off in the future that most people can conveniently ignore it.
You've still changed your phone habits to a whitelist - so will miss any calls, potentially important or emergency ones.
What are you talking about? If it's important or an emergency then they'd damned well better leave a message, or it's obviously not important. If it's someone you know and it's important or an emergency, then they're being somewhere between rude and violently stupid if they're not leaving a message, and if it's someone you know and they're not in the phonebook on your phone (so the number shows up as their name) then you're not being very smart, either. So which is it? Also again as previously stated, if it's something important or an emergency call from someone you don't know, they'll leave a message, or it's obviously not important. Also if glancing at your phone when it rings and not reaching over to hit 'answer' is such an inconvenience for you then again I'd have to wonder about you. Sorry if the world isn't all hearts and unicorns, Sunshine, and it all doesn't always go your way, but just like trolls on the Internet the best tactic to handle these types is usually just to ignore them, they'll eventually stop using their own resources to harass you and go look for lower-hanging fruit somewhere else (i.e. someone not smart enough to ignore harassing phone calls).
Just don't answer your phone for any number that you don't recognize; if it's really important they'll leave a voicemail message. Debt collectors and scumbags don't leave messages, typically; there, problem solved.
Vehicle dealerships' business model needs to change with the times, but it wouldn't be a good thing for them to just go the way of the dinosaurs. If you're purchasing something that expensive, don't you want to see it before you commit to the purchase? Test drive it? If you have a problem, wouldn't having a manufacturers' authorized representative physically available to you to handle any problems make much more sense than having to do it over the phone? Think in terms of having to call somewhere like Comcast or AT&T if you have a technical problem; how does that typically work for you? If nothing else it's tougher for people to treat you like you don't matter at all if you're right there in front of them, and they can't just hang up the phone and forget about you. Also, again, service: there has to be a physical location where you can take the vehicle you've spent $35000 or more on, if it needs certain things done to it; I'm my own mechanic, have worked with many mechanics, and I don't trust 99% of them; factory mechanics at a dealership are at least slightly more trustworthy, and by the way if you have a recall item that needs to be corrected, isn't the manufacturer the only one who is supposed to provide that service? You can't just box up your car and have FedEx come pick it up and ship it back to the manufacturer like you can a laptop or a smartphone if it needs to be repaired. Dealerships need to not be contractually limited in what brands of vehicles they deal in, for starters, and companies like Tesla need to not be blocked from doing business like they are right now, it's standing in the way of progress.
While I agree with you up to a point, I think the salient point is that WHO is bringing this to public attention so that consumers can make informed decisions
I think you're giving the average consumer way too much credit for their level of intelligence and education in thinking that they can actually make an 'informed decision' about anything like this; what passes for an 'informed decision' in their case amounts to 'asking someone they think is credible (whether they are or not) and blindly accepting what they're told', without any cross-checking or independent research. Yes, I'm cynical as hell, what's your point?
No one is saying you are no longer allowed to eat bacon, sausages, or red meat.
I never said anyone was preventing me
They have merely pointed out the allegedhealth consequences of your dietary choices.
There, fixed that for you. There is a completely rational agenda the U.N., and by extension the W.H.O., have for promoting vegetarianism, they're overstating the so-called 'health risks' of eating meat in the first place, and I'm not accepting any of it, and before you say it: you have to read their website, it goes out of it's way to promote vegetarianism by attempting to debunk every question someone might have about why not eating meat will actually damage your health in the long run, and it's all the same arguments you hear from any zealous vegetarian, naturally sans any of the actual problems you'd have trying to get enough high-quality protein without getting too many carbs and too much fiber, every day.
Why should anyone object to giving the public basic knowledge about diet and health so they can make more informed decisions?
There you go assuming the average jackoff can make 'informed decisions', silly you.
I personally don't think that being a better informed consumer is a waste of my time.
..and there you go, assuming that YOU can make an 'informed decision', when it's apparent you're swallowing what the W.H.O. saying, hook, line, and sinker. My analysis of you, based on just your comments here? You're either a troll, or you're very, very average, and as such are not qualified to make pronouncements on this subject, or to make 'informed decisions' about your own dietary choices and health in general.
I'm actually mocking the whole stupid thing because none of this is going to change anything. People like and eat meat, people like and eat sweet things. People who want to be healthier and people who don't give a damn will act accordingly, regardless of what anyone says; nobody is getting scared into or out of anything. It's all just a rediculous waste of time.
You guys (including the POS AC's) know what? I can almost certainly guarantee my diet is better than any of yours is. Aside from my day job I'm a semi-pro athlete on a road racing team. Want to know what the vast majority of my diet consists of? Boneless skinless chicken breast, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and damned little sugar and alcohol. Yes, there's lunch meat, because what the hell am I going to have for lunch? My bodyfat percentage is somewhere between 9 and 12 percent (depending on the time of year), I have tons of lean muscle (especially compared to the average schmuck) and endurance through the roof. I'm 50 and don't even come close to looking it. Know what else? I used to be over 300 pounds with ruined knees, weak, sickly, and ruined knees. No obesity, no diabetes, no heart disease, no chronic illnesses or conditions of any kind other than allergies (which are not my fault, thanks mom). Do I occasionally like steak or a hamburger or barbecue? Hell, yes. Not giving it up, no matter what these jackoffs at the W.H.O. say, because I don't think the so-called 'risks' are anywhere near as dire and they're making them out to be.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem here is the same problem that plagues the rest of the Internet, and before the public Internet, dialup bulletin-board systems (BBSs): It's much easier to be a complete ass to someone when you don't have to do it in person to their face. People can and will say anything when it's just text on a screen, because there are few if any consequences. When you're able to be completely anonymous as well (no alias, just literally anonymous) it's even worse, because there are literally no consequences. Of course there's no help for it, as requiring everyone on the Internet to use their real name would destroy a large and very important part of what the Internet is all about. Civility and courtesy can't be legislated, they are qualities that an individual has to willingly adopt, and in my opinion the choice whether to do that or not is a great indicator of the character of the individual in question: Can you observe and respect the implied social contract that exists when you interact with people face-to-face, when you're interacting with them over the Internet?
*sigh*
You know what keeps a system like this from working? PEOPLE, that's what. Nobody takes into account the most basic of truths: People ruin everything; it never takes into account basic human traits like greed and lust for power. The one-percenters will find ways to hold on to their wealth, and putting the entire burden of this 'universal welfare' (since that's what it is) system squarely on the backs of the working middle class, and make no mistake: nobody would be allowed to quit their jobs. The rich would get richer, the poor and the middle class would get poorer, and politicians would just keep telling us how much better everything is for everyone under this wonderful new system! Then they trot out the welfare mothers with 16 kids that tell the news crews how much better their lives are now, blah blah blah, and we're supposed to get tears in our eyes at this 'proof' that the new system works. Meanwhile working middle class families struggle because they're getting taxed into oblivion so what they earn can be 'redistributed' to people who can't be bothered, and quitting their jobs and going on the dole would mean they'd lose everything they'd worked their whole lives for. No. Fucking. Way. Until someone creates Federation-style matter replicators, and we can all create everything we'll ever need from the power of sunlight for free, There Is No Free Lunch.
When this came up the last time, I asked the same question I'm asking right now, and never got an answer to: Where is the money going to come from? To date I've never got any sort of explanation that made any sort of rational sense. So now YOU get to take a stab at explaning where the trillions of dollars every year would come from so that nobody has to work anymore if they don't want to.
I got news for you, friend: I already live somewhere where there is a 'redistribution of wealth', it's called the United States and the so-called 'Affordable Care Act' (or 'Obamacare' as some like to call it), and it sucks ass. I don't make 6 figures, yet I get a gun held to my head forcing me to purchase overpriced shit-tier health insurance that I don't need and that doesn't benefit me enough to justify there being a few hundred dollars less in my pocket every month, so that fatasses who can't be bothered to take care of themselves can get bariatric surgery, diabetes treatment, and heart bypass surgery for FREE. Meanwhile I literally worked my ASS off and am legitimately an athlete in addition to working 40 hours a week, and I have to pay? Fuck that. I'd almost be tempted to vote Republican, if it meant they'd get rid of this stupid ACA crap and stop dictating to me how I live my life. Meanwhile the same lazy fatasses who can't be bothered to take care of themselves or better themselves in any substantial way, are the same people who want this 'redistribution of wealth', meaning 'take what little money I have and give it to lazy fucks so they can buy drugs and alcohol with it'. Also fuck that shit. The only way that works for me? Is if I don't have to work anymore, can maintain my current standard of living and otherwise do what I really want to do with my life instead of having to put up with going to some job or other every day. But guess what? Ain't gonna happen. They'll make guys like me work my ass off, take most of what I earn and 'redistribute' it to people who can't be bothered to do anything with their lives other than be lazy fucks. Meanwhile the one-percenters will find loopholes or tricky ways out of giving up their money, and stay rich, effectively putting all the burden of this so-called 'redistribution of wealth' squarely on the backs of the Middle Class. No. Fucking. Way. I'd sooner see the whole country blown to oblivion and me along with it than put up with that shit.
The population of the United States is about 58 times that of Finland, so before anyone starts saying it again: It won't work here. I also doubt it'll work there, either, but it's got a better chance of working there, in a tiny, sparsely-populated country, than it does in the U.S..
Uh... Have you tried doing research with it? It's a free 24/7 tutor on any subject if you know how to parse the questions.
..well, to be fair, I do research with it all the time.. but even then you have to be careful, taking everything you find with a certain amount of skepticism.
More and more lately I'm becoming convinced that the Internet, which at one time showed such great promise, has just become utterly useless for anything other than paying your bills and shopping -- and there are plenty of criminals out there who would ruin it for that, too.
You know what? I apologize, and propose we just forget this 'conversation' ever occurred in the first place. 'Conversation' in quotes because I'm coming to the realization that I can't have a 'proper' conversation on the Internet simply because I don't have the time to sit here and write a War and Peace-sized comment, or to sit here for an hour and do research to back up what I want to say. It's no use, I really don't have enough time to do anything other than sound like I'm just ranting, which comes off little better than the trolls I've grown to hate so damned much. I just don't have time for this. It's not like anything anyone says here is going to change anything anywhere, anyway.
You pretend as if those are equally valid options, when they're not. One side (mine) has facts, figures, and centuries of history backing it up. The other side is based on a complete ignorance of human behavior and the science and mechanisms at work
You're just arrogant as hell, aren't you? You think you have all the answers, don't you? You know Jack Shit about me or anything else. If the Human race has got everything so well figured out, then why is there a global warming problem? Why are people hungry, right now? Why is there a gigantic patch of scrap plastic in the middle of the ocean? Why are there assholes running around in the Middle East, cutting off people's heads on YouTube? I could go on and and on and on, but go right ahead and keep your head stuck in the sand, buddy. We got a couple thousand years to go before we're anything like what I'd consider 'civilized', assuming we don't exterminate ourselves, and until then we're just playing dress-up, pretending like this thin patina of 'civilization' is who we really are underneath. I don't care what some small groups of people are doing that's so great; nice for them, *golf clap*; when I see that the vast majority of the seven billion people on this planet have got their collective act together, then I'll ease up. In the meantime we've got a damned long way to go.
Honestly, your fatalism is ridiculously myopic
And your rose-colored-glasses view of the world would be adorable if it wasn't so horribly unrealistic, misguided, and potentially tragic. There is nothing wrong with planning for the worst and hoping for the best. People who refuse to see how bad things could get very often get bit, HARD, in the ass by those things. I'd much rather be considered a doom-sayer than a doe-eyed fool who never even considered what might go wrong. All that being said: I think you're wrong. We tamper with things about this planet we barely understand, then scratch our heads in confusion when everything gets fouled up. We make decisions based only on looking forward a handful of years, not hundreds of years, because most people are more interested in power and money right now, and who cares about future generations? That's 'future generations' problem, not ours, right?
colonizing other planets
LOL, get your head out of the clouds (literally!) already. We aren't fit to colonize another planet until we learn to take care of this one! While we're at it, we're not fit to leave this planet until we can learn to stop treating our own kind like dog shit! I really don't think you know what the hell you're talking about. Luckily for us you're in no position to be deciding anything for anyone, anywhere, so it's just more useless words posted on the Internet.
It's as simple as that. If you don't know someone all that well, or someone has proven themselves to be unreliable or flat-out untrustworthy with your books, then don't loan them out to that person again. Nothing you do to your books is going to get around someone who just doesn't care about returning your property, and using some device that costs you a few bucks will just mean you're out that much more money if/when your book isn't returned to you.
Why not, if you're going somewhere that you're afraid border agents will pull this sort of bullshit, just have your laptop shipped separately via something like FedEx? Then there's nothing for them to search. Don't keep anything important on your phone, or don't take your phone with you, or take a disposable phone that has exactly nothing on it anyway.
So far as these stories that I hear about being detained and told you're not leaving until you provide passwords? If I'm in a foreign country then I start demanding to see or be taken to the U.S. Embassy, immediately, long and loud until they either give up or kill me. Under no circumstances do I provide passwords of any kind for anything to anyone, ever.
Really. So how long do you think that'll remain true, if the population of humans on the planet keeps increasing? More to the point: how much more can the Earth stand of having forests and other wild lands cleared to grow crops, before we totally fuck the entire ecosphere? It has to stop somewhere.
Huh. I found it just after they 'updated' it, then.
Frankly I would have been OK with either form of it. I don't have that much of a problem with the way it is now, with one notable exception: It's bloated as hell, functionally speaking. It takes what seems like an inordinate amount of time for the page to load and finish executing, probably because of the Flash and Java content used to run it. Otherwise I'm more or less OK with the way the data is presented. I'm not a big fan of animations-for-the-sake-of-animations, though; the graph feature is an efficient way to present temp/wind/humidity/precipitation information, but the amount of perceived effort it takes for it to animate the expansion of a particular day is, in my opinion, pointless window-dressing that serves no functional purpose. I do agree with you about the WunderMap, though, currently if I want to see NEXRAD, I'll go to the NWS page instead and look at it there instead of at WU.
They've still got their hands in things they have no business being in.
While I do not in any way, shape, or form, agree with the Communist Chinese government in oh so many ways, I will say that humans, as an entire global race of beings, does need to learn to manage their population growth. We are running out of resources. Most immediately, we are running out of ways to keep everyone fed. If we, as a race, don't evolve to overcome and control our primary urge to reproduce, we will produce our own extinction-level event, probably in the form of a World War to end all World Wars, and it'll be over resources and arable land with which to grow food. The fun part is that it's far enough off in the future that most people can conveniently ignore it.
You've still changed your phone habits to a whitelist - so will miss any calls, potentially important or emergency ones.
What are you talking about? If it's important or an emergency then they'd damned well better leave a message, or it's obviously not important. If it's someone you know and it's important or an emergency, then they're being somewhere between rude and violently stupid if they're not leaving a message, and if it's someone you know and they're not in the phonebook on your phone (so the number shows up as their name) then you're not being very smart, either. So which is it? Also again as previously stated, if it's something important or an emergency call from someone you don't know, they'll leave a message, or it's obviously not important. Also if glancing at your phone when it rings and not reaching over to hit 'answer' is such an inconvenience for you then again I'd have to wonder about you. Sorry if the world isn't all hearts and unicorns, Sunshine, and it all doesn't always go your way, but just like trolls on the Internet the best tactic to handle these types is usually just to ignore them, they'll eventually stop using their own resources to harass you and go look for lower-hanging fruit somewhere else (i.e. someone not smart enough to ignore harassing phone calls).
I only discovered Wunderground about a year ago, what did it used to look/work like?
Sincerely,
Another weather nerd (I spend so much time outside that watching the weather is a routine daily activity)
*shrug* change your phone number, then, and make sure it's unlisted.
Just don't answer your phone for any number that you don't recognize; if it's really important they'll leave a voicemail message. Debt collectors and scumbags don't leave messages, typically; there, problem solved.
Vehicle dealerships' business model needs to change with the times, but it wouldn't be a good thing for them to just go the way of the dinosaurs. If you're purchasing something that expensive, don't you want to see it before you commit to the purchase? Test drive it? If you have a problem, wouldn't having a manufacturers' authorized representative physically available to you to handle any problems make much more sense than having to do it over the phone? Think in terms of having to call somewhere like Comcast or AT&T if you have a technical problem; how does that typically work for you? If nothing else it's tougher for people to treat you like you don't matter at all if you're right there in front of them, and they can't just hang up the phone and forget about you. Also, again, service: there has to be a physical location where you can take the vehicle you've spent $35000 or more on, if it needs certain things done to it; I'm my own mechanic, have worked with many mechanics, and I don't trust 99% of them; factory mechanics at a dealership are at least slightly more trustworthy, and by the way if you have a recall item that needs to be corrected, isn't the manufacturer the only one who is supposed to provide that service? You can't just box up your car and have FedEx come pick it up and ship it back to the manufacturer like you can a laptop or a smartphone if it needs to be repaired. Dealerships need to not be contractually limited in what brands of vehicles they deal in, for starters, and companies like Tesla need to not be blocked from doing business like they are right now, it's standing in the way of progress.
While I agree with you up to a point, I think the salient point is that WHO is bringing this to public attention so that consumers can make informed decisions
I think you're giving the average consumer way too much credit for their level of intelligence and education in thinking that they can actually make an 'informed decision' about anything like this; what passes for an 'informed decision' in their case amounts to 'asking someone they think is credible (whether they are or not) and blindly accepting what they're told', without any cross-checking or independent research. Yes, I'm cynical as hell, what's your point?
No one is saying you are no longer allowed to eat bacon, sausages, or red meat.
I never said anyone was preventing me
They have merely pointed out the allegedhealth consequences of your dietary choices.
There, fixed that for you. There is a completely rational agenda the U.N., and by extension the W.H.O., have for promoting vegetarianism, they're overstating the so-called 'health risks' of eating meat in the first place, and I'm not accepting any of it, and before you say it: you have to read their website, it goes out of it's way to promote vegetarianism by attempting to debunk every question someone might have about why not eating meat will actually damage your health in the long run, and it's all the same arguments you hear from any zealous vegetarian, naturally sans any of the actual problems you'd have trying to get enough high-quality protein without getting too many carbs and too much fiber, every day.
Why should anyone object to giving the public basic knowledge about diet and health so they can make more informed decisions?
There you go assuming the average jackoff can make 'informed decisions', silly you.
I personally don't think that being a better informed consumer is a waste of my time.
..and there you go, assuming that YOU can make an 'informed decision', when it's apparent you're swallowing what the W.H.O. saying, hook, line, and sinker. My analysis of you, based on just your comments here? You're either a troll, or you're very, very average, and as such are not qualified to make pronouncements on this subject, or to make 'informed decisions' about your own dietary choices and health in general.
'nuff said. They can all drown in a lake of fire.
I'm actually mocking the whole stupid thing because none of this is going to change anything. People like and eat meat, people like and eat sweet things. People who want to be healthier and people who don't give a damn will act accordingly, regardless of what anyone says; nobody is getting scared into or out of anything. It's all just a rediculous waste of time.
You guys (including the POS AC's) know what? I can almost certainly guarantee my diet is better than any of yours is. Aside from my day job I'm a semi-pro athlete on a road racing team. Want to know what the vast majority of my diet consists of? Boneless skinless chicken breast, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and damned little sugar and alcohol. Yes, there's lunch meat, because what the hell am I going to have for lunch? My bodyfat percentage is somewhere between 9 and 12 percent (depending on the time of year), I have tons of lean muscle (especially compared to the average schmuck) and endurance through the roof. I'm 50 and don't even come close to looking it. Know what else? I used to be over 300 pounds with ruined knees, weak, sickly, and ruined knees. No obesity, no diabetes, no heart disease, no chronic illnesses or conditions of any kind other than allergies (which are not my fault, thanks mom). Do I occasionally like steak or a hamburger or barbecue? Hell, yes. Not giving it up, no matter what these jackoffs at the W.H.O. say, because I don't think the so-called 'risks' are anywhere near as dire and they're making them out to be.
Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks?
No; it's time to unplug everything because everything is being used more and more to spy on us and violate our privacy.