I only use online mail, but via Thunderbird so I can ignore the asstastic web pages and don't have to view ads.
Online mail is fine, but better in a conventional format with a portable archive.
Thunderbird Portable rocks for this, and you can copy the whole program folder to DVD for read-only archiving which won't be changed by sync'ing online.
Everything you do and say on the internet is subject to monitoring, for right or wrong or good or ill by commercial, government, and possibly criminals (other than "commercial" and "government").
Passenger trains in the US have visible dollar input per passenger mile. That doesn't make them a "disaster". That metric IGNORES their wide economic benefits. It's like calling the Post Office a "disaster" while ignoring its enormous national benefit.
Trains can BTW be considered part of the web of AUTOMOBILE subsidies because they draw off millions of commuters from the road net!
In the Northeast Corridor, they have been an economic necessity long before automobiles were available. Trains, more than autos, make dense urban areas practical. Trains made CHEAP commutes from suburbs practical since the late 1800s!
"I know lots of people do that, but I think it crosses the ethics boundary."
I have no ethical obligation to Walmart.
Walmart are wealthy enough to compete with Amazon in the same way, and could even do better by using their local stores (or areas they own but vacated to upsize their stores) as shipping hubs.
There will ALWAYS be plenty of fucked up people. Crazy isn't curable, but if you keep the loons baked enough you can at least get some of them to behave themselves.
We can't afford to lock 'em all up in asylums (any more) however desirable that might be. (Their being dumped on the social welfare system is another issue...)
Basing our laws on them instead of the vast majority who are not crazy is absurd.
It's FAR better they smoke weed instead of drink. Violent behaviour among drunks is extremely common, while among those who (only) smoke weed it's rare.
Removing a fuse works well too. My buds lost several Chevy truck steering columns on their wrecker over the years, but the CHUDs never stole the truck because they put all their work into cracking the column and gave up when that didn't work.
he Middle East is so violent because the locals for some (literally) insane reason think society doesn't need to evolve beyond ancient tribal nonsense.
Faith is not supported by evidence and poses as truth. That makes "faith" nothing more than a lie.
Superstition is the worship of lies to the end of exalting believers over those not exactly like them. It is unworthy of respect because it is dishonest.
Prove/deity exists and I'll recant and kiss his/her/its Noodly Appendage. Any answer which is not proof is no answer at all.
"Why did we go intervene in Lybia and haven't done much yet in Syria? One's an oil producing nation, the other isn't."
Libya was weak and isolated logistically. Syria is well-armed and has Russian support.
Libya has a tiny population of about six million, Syria more than three times that.
Libya didn't pose a serious spillover risk. Syria does.
Libya doesn't have neighbors who can handle intervention. Syria has Turkey, which is very well-equipped.
War in Syria could be costly, and as we learned in Iraq and A-stan if you stick your nose in civil wars everyone you can't buy off tries to kill you.
Syria isn't worth fucking with. The US should slash its military budget to "permit" NATO and the UN to do its OWN global love enforcement with its OWN resources.
Germany, the UK, and France are the leading world arms exporters after the US and Russia. If they think this shit's worth doing, let them man what they make and do it themselves..
"Now, many of the road ways that will transport military troops and provisions are un-usable for that purpose because the temperature of the road-surface is too hot."
NO. Military vehicles are designed to have fairly low ground pressure so they can be used on unimproved roads. Tires were much narrower and had higher ground pressure when the Interstates were built.
Much love on my part for concrete, but craptastic roads don't pose a military mobility problem.
Slashdot Mirror
Adblock doesn't download for offline viewing and backup, or replace the whole web page interface.
Thunderbird gets rid of the webmail UI and other bullshit quite nicely.
Portable works great on Windows and backing up the whole program folder to DVD for portable archive love is easy.
If I switch ISPs, no problem.
Cross-platform too.
Pics or it didn't happen.
Airline crashes are easy to clean up and don't interrupt airline service in most cases.
Buy the right-of-way and trains can work as well as they do in the suburbs rail travel made possible in the first place.
Rail is a very long term investment, but areas with good rail nets benefit greatly from them.
Trains work very well in certain areas of the US, and they SUBSIDIZE auto travel by taking many autos off the roads for commuting.
I only use online mail, but via Thunderbird so I can ignore the asstastic web pages and don't have to view ads.
Online mail is fine, but better in a conventional format with a portable archive.
Thunderbird Portable rocks for this, and you can copy the whole program folder to DVD for read-only archiving which won't be changed by sync'ing online.
"Why are MOST women attracted to violent, uncaring men?"
Evolution, like it or not.
Everything you do and say on the internet is subject to monitoring, for right or wrong or good or ill by commercial, government, and possibly criminals (other than "commercial" and "government").
Be smart about what you say and do.
Passenger trains in the US have visible dollar input per passenger mile. That doesn't make them a "disaster". That metric IGNORES their wide economic benefits. It's like calling the Post Office a "disaster" while ignoring its enormous national benefit.
Trains can BTW be considered part of the web of AUTOMOBILE subsidies because they draw off millions of commuters from the road net!
In the Northeast Corridor, they have been an economic necessity long before automobiles were available. Trains, more than autos, make dense urban areas practical. Trains made CHEAP commutes from suburbs practical since the late 1800s!
I've had stellar results shopping online, but I do the SAME THING I do before local shopping which is RESEARCH what I'm buying on the Internet.
I just want a good Newegg-style RMA policy and don't care about anything else very much.
I don't care if the local brick-and-mortar electronics stores or tool stores are swallowed by the earth tomorrow.
"You seem oblivious that Sears used to be the retail giant with stores everywhere that couldn't be topped."
Not to mention Montgomery Ward, who owned the mailorder space before the Internet. They still exist in name, but no one cares.
IF they can pull off "efficient rapid replenishment", no, but it would be expensive.
"I know lots of people do that, but I think it crosses the ethics boundary."
I have no ethical obligation to Walmart.
Walmart are wealthy enough to compete with Amazon in the same way, and could even do better by using their local stores (or areas they own but vacated to upsize their stores) as shipping hubs.
Driving to brick-and-mortar stores is an expensive time-waster. The more online choices I have the better.
"People lease cars for 3 years and move on to a new one, it's commonly accepted practice."
I preferred to pay off my houses. I still drive older vehicles but dry my tears with the deeds to my land.
You don't need to be well-off to have disposable income if you don't piss away what you have.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple
It's far LESS harmful than tobacco or alcohol. No contest.
There will ALWAYS be plenty of fucked up people. Crazy isn't curable, but if you keep the loons baked enough you can at least get some of them to behave themselves.
We can't afford to lock 'em all up in asylums (any more) however desirable that might be. (Their being dumped on the social welfare system is another issue...)
Basing our laws on them instead of the vast majority who are not crazy is absurd.
It's FAR better they smoke weed instead of drink. Violent behaviour among drunks is extremely common, while among those who (only) smoke weed it's rare.
Mod up.
Removing a fuse works well too. My buds lost several Chevy truck steering columns on their wrecker over the years, but the CHUDs never stole the truck because they put all their work into cracking the column and gave up when that didn't work.
Maybe this will help:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/atheism
Faith is a poison, period.
he Middle East is so violent because the locals for some (literally) insane reason think society doesn't need to evolve beyond ancient tribal nonsense.
Faith is not supported by evidence and poses as truth. That makes "faith" nothing more than a lie.
Superstition is the worship of lies to the end of exalting believers over those not exactly like them. It is unworthy of respect because it is dishonest.
Prove /deity exists and I'll recant and kiss his/her/its Noodly Appendage. Any answer which is not proof is no answer at all.
"Why did we go intervene in Lybia and haven't done much yet in Syria? One's an oil producing nation, the other isn't."
Libya was weak and isolated logistically. Syria is well-armed and has Russian support.
Libya has a tiny population of about six million, Syria more than three times that.
Libya didn't pose a serious spillover risk. Syria does.
Libya doesn't have neighbors who can handle intervention. Syria has Turkey, which is very well-equipped.
War in Syria could be costly, and as we learned in Iraq and A-stan if you stick your nose in civil wars everyone you can't buy off tries to kill you.
Syria isn't worth fucking with. The US should slash its military budget to "permit" NATO and the UN to do its OWN global love enforcement with its OWN resources.
Germany, the UK, and France are the leading world arms exporters after the US and Russia. If they think this shit's worth doing, let them man what they make and do it themselves..
"The "religion of peace" also spawned the Arab Spring."
Its adherents fought and fight in the Arab Spring, against other adherents of the same superstition.
There being very few protagonists in the Arab Spring who are not Muslim, it's a wash.
"Now, many of the road ways that will transport military troops and provisions are un-usable for that purpose because the temperature of the road-surface is too hot."
NO. Military vehicles are designed to have fairly low ground pressure so they can be used on unimproved roads. Tires were much narrower and had higher ground pressure when the Interstates were built.
Much love on my part for concrete, but craptastic roads don't pose a military mobility problem.
The areas at Sky Harbor which take heavy loads are CONCRETE including the aircraft parking ramps.
This is easily verified by Google Earth or Bing.