The internet has thousands of people who will buy an item before you do an plenty of forums to ask them about their purchase or read their venting when they are pissed off by their purchase.
"Men get the eye candy, but they are also being made fools of."
Speak for yourself. I don't react to sales pitches because they have hotties involved. I certainly enjoy looking at hot women, but it will sell me absolutely nothing.
If advertising works on you, you have personally failed to train yourself not to be a "mark". Every bit of advertising from a garage sale sign to a cereal box is designed to get your money, and it need not have boobs to do that.
I seek products to SERVE me, I know what I want, and know it's all a game since Ogg offered Zog a shiny rock.
I don't care if it's a gay male orgy (I'm straight). They could sell horse trailers with a live "Mr Hands" demo and I could care less.
The less we care about sex roles the freer we are. What turns others on isn't my concern unless I'm trying to SELL them something where that's relevant.
"Would you take your 15 year old daughter who happens to be interested in computers and science to one of these conventions?"
Yes, to show her that she should consider other, more rewarding fields of endeavour such as medicine or law, where in INTEREST in computers and science is COMPLEMENTARY and can give you an edge.
"Go ahead and ask. I guarantee you, 99% of guys would gladly agree, not because they've been trained to seek objectification, but because it sure as fuck beats real work.
You want to pay me to stand there in a skimpy outfit and feign interest in people? Where do I sign up?"
Fuck yeah! I've done plenty of "real work" and if there's a better way to make money NOT doing real work I'm on it.
"Feigning interest" is a vital job and social skill anyway, so learn to do it convincingly!
The reason that people PAY you to work is that you, absent the pay, would rather be doing something else (unless work fortuitously matches your hobby).
I'll venture the fellow who vacuumed the shit slurry out of my septic tank doesn't also do that as a hobby, though after lurking at 4chan I would not be completely surprised.
If you don't want to be a stripper, find another way to make da money. A model or other eye-candy worker is no different.
My statement isn't sexist. If for some bizarre reason I could make bank flaunting my hairy ass and aging fat rolls to drooling onlookers, I'd be all over it.
Of course, it requires motivated, non-dumbfuck parents.
I've had a variety of home-schooled Airmen as subordinates in the Air Force and they did as well or better than the conventionally-schooled folks. They were technically proficient at aircraft maintenance and good learners and workers.
Even religious parents (and if you've seen my other posts you know I despise superstition!) can do a good job challenging their kids and exposing them to (shock, horror) science.
There are some HORRID local public schools from which I agree home schooling can rescue children. It's legit to do that, but in that case the parents should seek tutors to do what they aren't equipped to do.
Contact a local college. There may be students who will work cheap for some extra cash off the books.
"What brick-and-mortar stores make sense where you live?"
None. I learned about PCs without access to worthwhile local stores and now I could care less. I don't even know what local stores offer. I don't need them.
I can find out everything I need to know online before shopping, which also means I don't need to spend the time and fight the traffic and burn expensive fuel to go moon about a brick-and-mortar computer store.
Newegg and other online vendors have been very good to me over the years. For used parts, there's Ebay where bidder feedback is vital to the seller. Brick-and-mortar stores could give a fuck about that.
"Standard of living has elevated yet the wage gap between rich and poor has widened. "
Which means the poor are much better off. Back then, many still worked as sharecroppers and lived in conditions that looked like a Walker Evans photograph. The "gap" doesn't affect the poor, but their actual personal reality does.
"We don't have segregation, yet there are more black males in prison than college."
Medgar Evers and Martin King stopped bullets in the fight for change, but refusal of the masses of black males to take advantage of this is no one's fault but theirs. Meanwhile, black FEMALES are pursuing opportunities and schooling. I've taught both in a local community college. The women are FAR more motivated and better listeners than the men. (This ALSO applies to whites!)
"I imagine that health insurance wasn't common 50 years ago yet it's essential today"
There was almost NO "health care" in the modern sense fifty years ago. See pics of open-bay hospital wards for examples. No expensive treatments means no need for insurance.
"Crime statistics show a drop in crime every year yet Americans are more scared and armed than ever before. My point is, yes things are better but things are worse too."
Which Americans are "more" scared? Being armed back then was common and firearms were widely accepted as just another tool.
Youth marksmanship training etc was common yet "Charlie Whitmans" were more rare (possibly because that wasn't considered cool...).
Fapping to visions of dystopia is delectable, but humans have been breeding selectively by preference as long as we've existed.
BTW if undesirables never make it to term by parental choice than no ones rights are violated or infringed. If you are choosing to produce offspring, why not have more granular control of outcomes?
...ubiquitous as pocket calculators (as was remarked years ago by other Slashdotters) but the drive to change/fuck with their product ensured that would never happen.
"If they'd even take the time read music lyrics that were being sung 50 years ago, they'd easily see that things are even worse now than they were before."
Worse for who and in what ways and please be SPECIFIC.
There is no draft so everyone who goes to war is an eager volunteer with no illusions. (I served as an eager volunteer with no illusions, BTW, and would cheerfully do so again.) The Iraq war is over, A-stan will be shortly.
The economy is recovering (it's just another Recession, we've had MANY Recessions, they are NORMAL parts of the economic cycle!) and there are no serious civil rights problems _compared_to_fifty_years_ago_.
Fifty years ago was 1962. Civil rights workers were in routine danger of being SHOT. Things got worse before they got better:
Now we have a (b)lack President, vastly more civil rights for LGBT folks, legal cannabis in a few areas, greater social mobility, and a much higher standard of living.
"". Commuting by rail is much cheaper than trying to maintain a car, much less hassle than driving a car, " I have never seen this to pan out in any commuting system in the US."
Northern New Jersey to Jersey City and New York City is a breeze by rail and has been for well over a century. If your town has direct rail service it's normal to walk to and from the station, no car needed.
Slashdot Mirror
"Flame also targets several U.S. allies, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia."
They are allies in name only, playing the US against their own people and against competing Muslims who are are outright enemies.
Given the periodic Slashdot pieces on prodigies, I will not be quick to succumb to ageist assumptions.
If I had mod points I'd mod that Insightful.
Asking on computer forums is a good way to find out all such details.
Weight and size are part of an items typical description.
The internet has thousands of people who will buy an item before you do an plenty of forums to ask them about their purchase or read their venting when they are pissed off by their purchase.
We can fight over the resources, the losers will die, and humanity moves on.
Nature has no mercy and humans won't either under pressure. Some of the group die, the species lives on.
There is realistically nothing to be done about this except insist ones preferred group be ready to compete.
"Men get the eye candy, but they are also being made fools of."
Speak for yourself. I don't react to sales pitches because they have hotties involved. I certainly enjoy looking at hot women, but it will sell me absolutely nothing.
If advertising works on you, you have personally failed to train yourself not to be a "mark". Every bit of advertising from a garage sale sign to a cereal box is designed to get your money, and it need not have boobs to do that.
I seek products to SERVE me, I know what I want, and know it's all a game since Ogg offered Zog a shiny rock.
"How comfortable would you be about that?"
I don't care if it's a gay male orgy (I'm straight). They could sell horse trailers with a live "Mr Hands" demo and I could care less.
The less we care about sex roles the freer we are. What turns others on isn't my concern unless I'm trying to SELL them something where that's relevant.
Advertising directed toward WOMEN also shows attractive women.
We are nearly all wired to like hot women. Even many gay men either want to "be" a hot femme or fuck one.
Advertising isn't based on idealism, it's based on what's proven to sell product.
"Would you take your 15 year old daughter who happens to be interested in computers and science to one of these conventions?"
Yes, to show her that she should consider other, more rewarding fields of endeavour such as medicine or law, where in INTEREST in computers and science is COMPLEMENTARY and can give you an edge.
""it's tiring to stand in heels for eight hours"
Yeah, and it's "tiring" running a cutting torch at a scrap yard, not to mention the filth or the joys of hot slag finding its way into your clothing.
It's offensive to have people not appreciate it when they get paid to fuck off. I LIKE getting paid to fuck off, because getting PAID is NICE.
The proper response from those who have skate jobs should be that "it's a skate job and beats working".
"Go ahead and ask. I guarantee you, 99% of guys would gladly agree, not because they've been trained to seek objectification, but because it sure as fuck beats real work.
You want to pay me to stand there in a skimpy outfit and feign interest in people? Where do I sign up?"
Fuck yeah! I've done plenty of "real work" and if there's a better way to make money NOT doing real work I'm on it.
"Feigning interest" is a vital job and social skill anyway, so learn to do it convincingly!
Precisely.
The reason that people PAY you to work is that you, absent the pay, would rather be doing something else (unless work fortuitously matches your hobby).
I'll venture the fellow who vacuumed the shit slurry out of my septic tank doesn't also do that as a hobby, though after lurking at 4chan I would not be completely surprised.
If you don't want to be a stripper, find another way to make da money. A model or other eye-candy worker is no different.
My statement isn't sexist. If for some bizarre reason I could make bank flaunting my hairy ass and aging fat rolls to drooling onlookers, I'd be all over it.
Of course, it requires motivated, non-dumbfuck parents.
I've had a variety of home-schooled Airmen as subordinates in the Air Force and they did as well or better than the conventionally-schooled folks. They were technically proficient at aircraft maintenance and good learners and workers.
Even religious parents (and if you've seen my other posts you know I despise superstition!) can do a good job challenging their kids and exposing them to (shock, horror) science.
There are some HORRID local public schools from which I agree home schooling can rescue children. It's legit to do that, but in that case the parents should seek tutors to do what they aren't equipped to do.
Contact a local college. There may be students who will work cheap for some extra cash off the books.
"What brick-and-mortar stores make sense where you live?"
None. I learned about PCs without access to worthwhile local stores and now I could care less. I don't even know what local stores offer. I don't need them.
I can find out everything I need to know online before shopping, which also means I don't need to spend the time and fight the traffic and burn expensive fuel to go moon about a brick-and-mortar computer store.
Newegg and other online vendors have been very good to me over the years. For used parts, there's Ebay where bidder feedback is vital to the seller. Brick-and-mortar stores could give a fuck about that.
"Standard of living has elevated yet the wage gap between rich and poor has widened. "
Which means the poor are much better off. Back then, many still worked as sharecroppers and lived in conditions that looked like a Walker Evans photograph. The "gap" doesn't affect the poor, but their actual personal reality does.
"We don't have segregation, yet there are more black males in prison than college."
Medgar Evers and Martin King stopped bullets in the fight for change, but refusal of the masses of black males to take advantage of this is no one's fault but theirs. Meanwhile, black FEMALES are pursuing opportunities and schooling. I've taught both in a local community college. The women are FAR more motivated and better listeners than the men. (This ALSO applies to whites!)
"I imagine that health insurance wasn't common 50 years ago yet it's essential today"
There was almost NO "health care" in the modern sense fifty years ago. See pics of open-bay hospital wards for examples. No expensive treatments means no need for insurance.
"Crime statistics show a drop in crime every year yet Americans are more scared and armed than ever before. My point is, yes things are better but things are worse too."
Which Americans are "more" scared? Being armed back then was common and firearms were widely accepted as just another tool.
Youth marksmanship training etc was common yet "Charlie Whitmans" were more rare (possibly because that wasn't considered cool...).
Fapping to visions of dystopia is delectable, but humans have been breeding selectively by preference as long as we've existed.
BTW if undesirables never make it to term by parental choice than no ones rights are violated or infringed. If you are choosing to produce offspring, why not have more granular control of outcomes?
The world has enough window-lickers as it is.
...ubiquitous as pocket calculators (as was remarked years ago by other Slashdotters) but the drive to change/fuck with their product ensured that would never happen.
Consider boarding schools, especially out of state.
They are a great way for kids to associate with quality students in an environment of your choice.
"If they'd even take the time read music lyrics that were being sung 50 years ago, they'd easily see that things are even worse now than they were before."
Worse for who and in what ways and please be SPECIFIC.
There is no draft so everyone who goes to war is an eager volunteer with no illusions. (I served as an eager volunteer with no illusions, BTW, and would cheerfully do so again.) The Iraq war is over, A-stan will be shortly.
The economy is recovering (it's just another Recession, we've had MANY Recessions, they are NORMAL parts of the economic cycle!) and there are no serious civil rights problems _compared_to_fifty_years_ago_.
Fifty years ago was 1962. Civil rights workers were in routine danger of being SHOT. Things got worse before they got better:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/price&bowers/price&bowers.htm
Have some school bombing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing
Now we have a (b)lack President, vastly more civil rights for LGBT folks, legal cannabis in a few areas, greater social mobility, and a much higher standard of living.
You are being rather harsh on Obush, but fear not!
Robama or Omney will win in November and things....won't be different.
Spend some time in the Southern US and you won't dare think that again.
There are near-zero "Socialists" in the US.
The only folks using the term are the far Right.
"". Commuting by rail is much cheaper than trying to maintain a car, much less hassle than driving a car, "
I have never seen this to pan out in any commuting system in the US."
Northern New Jersey to Jersey City and New York City is a breeze by rail and has been for well over a century. If your town has direct rail service it's normal to walk to and from the station, no car needed.
"They need to stop making people right of center seem like that they are all crazed idiots."
As long as rightists SUPPORT Superstitionists they share their guilt.