From testing and experience, the $3 wines are undrinkable unless ice cold and nasty then. $6-$12 is fine for drinking with food or getting tipsy but thin.
At $13 + you start getting decent wines. Most folks taste buds seem to top out at $25 bucks a bottle.
And you shouldn't be wasting a $60+ bottle of wine to get tipsy or if you can't tell the difference or you just don't like it. I can tell the difference a bit but don't interpret it as better.
But -- for my group Johnny Walker Blue was very smooth but not preferred over several whiskeys $210 per bottle cheaper. For some JWB was just too smokey.
But there is a difference between potato vodka and wheat vodka if you are allergic to wheat. Friend of mine would turn red and shed skin if she got wheat vodka plus get intestinal distress.
I've found it makes a difference in rums. (did a blind taste test and Bacardi did not do well). For dark rums- big variations in taste and ability to drink them neat.
But agree on vodka otherwise. All taste the same to me.
I have a terrible palate but I've tasted these notes and it was kinda cool.
There are probably a dozen that anyone can taste after drinking a couple dozen bottles of a particular type.
I've had a "peppery" wine and a "chocolatey" wine- which was bizarre because as you say, they were just grapes.
I've also had 3 perfect pairings and 1 near miss. When that happens- it's like magic. Each sip of wine makes the food taste better and each bite of the food makes the wine taste better in a swirling dance of gustatory delight.
There are many kinds of grapes-- many kinds of soil those grapes grow in-- and many kinds of weather conditions that occur while the grapes are growing.
What's also cool is when the wine changes taste in your mouth over time.
Why on earth would people who eat different foods and have different taste profiles and come from different ethnic heritages be expected to like wines equally.
I've had several blind tastings.
For most people, the ability to taste a difference tops out in the $20-$30 a bottle range. I've only known one person who had the ability to finely discriminate wine and he came from the new york area.
At one tasting- the one bottle he disliked, everyone else liked.
There is a tremendous difference at the lower end because many of the less expensive wines are either
a) Just bad (and just about anyone can tell this) b) or they are "Thin" (watered down, one note) which anyone can taste pretty quickly and easily in comparison to a good wine.
But there are plenty of wines good enough for 14-18 a bottle. And plenty of wines that are good enough after you are tipsy for $9-$14 a bottle.
The truly great wines require an experienced and truly great wine tasting ability.
And why give truly great wine to people who can't tell the difference anyway (i.e. most of us).
Oh... and as it says in the "Don't talk to the police" video- the things you say CAN'T be used FOR you. They are hearsay in that context. Only if you say something that leads to finding hard evidence that eliminates you as a suspect would saying anything be useful.
I.e. "I'm guilty" - - DONE. You confessed.
"I'm Innocent" -- Pointless statement.
Any mistake in your memory can be interpreted as a willful lie. And lying to the police is a crime.
And when they are caught violating the 5th, they are suspended, possibly fired, their cases are dismissed. Strong disincentive against violating the 5th (if they want a conviction).
And when they torture someone- the feds get involved for civil rights violations and the perpetrators stand trial and go to jail, face fines, lose their jobs. Strong disincentive to torture.
Each barrier protects our liberty in different ways.
Lack of a 5th amendment creates a stronger incentive to torture.
Actually they are not except for extraordinary circumstances and then they usually need the approval of a judge.
In most cases, when you ask for a lawyer, they have to stop questioning you til one is present.
If you plead the 5th, they have to stop questioning you unless they have evidence to arrest you with. If they can't arrest you, they are bound to let you go or they get in serious trouble.
As facist as the U.S. has become (in less than 30 years!), it still has a LOOOOONG way to go from being a true facist state. We still have a lot of legal protections.
Go to Youtube and look for the motorcycle guy pulled over at the illegal checkpoint. I'm uncomfortable watching the damn thing. But the police let him go very quickly (under 10 minutes) because he actually knows his rights and they can tell he does.
You understand what "induce" and "incent" mean right?
If caught violating the 5th amendment, there are consequences (includingbut not limited to possible jail time for the police, huge fines for cities, suspension and job loss) With the 5th amendment, there is no point in torturing you.
WIthout a 5th amendment and without consequences- and desiring a good conviction rate- you have the set up for a mess.
Observe the policeman saying when he interrogates someone, he is having a good time- getting paid overtime rates to stay in the room with you. And he also says how your own innocent statements can be used to convict you.
And this isn't even torture. It's just pressure for hours on end. It takes effort to talk and think. Taking the 5th is the least effort and most likely to prevent you from breaking.
That... and watching "Don't talk to the police" before you are arrested.
If your own words can be used to convict you, then the police and government gain a huge incentive to torture you into confessing.
In fact, this is probably a principle reason why the founding fathers put this protection into place. Torture by the authorities was common in the 1600's.
Why the "hah"? We paid ours (per the job offering pages) about $80,000 per year so they cost about $120,000 per year with benefits. I was doing a rough translation to pounds-- what do you think a fair number is with benefits?
Yes but just having two full time people easily runs you $160,000 per year in salary and benefits. Maintaining a set of test PC's probably runs another few grand per year.
The question was why it was so expensive and people were speculating it should basically be free because at home your machine is allowed to always patch itself. Given that I know how we did things at our business (where we had a full time staff of 8 people for PC support) I thought I'd contribute some information.
And FYI, you can't just "turn on and off" people like this- you have to hire them or sign a long term contract with a them or a provider. Otherwise, you might be left without resources for several weeks at times.
You need to test the patch before you allow it to propogate everywhere.
At a minimum, for every tuesday patch, you have 1 person patching a representative sample of your computers and then after seeing the computers still work postpatch, setting up the patch to propagate.
Assuming a 40,000 pound salary for one expert employee... and then another 50,000 pound salary for a back up... costs add up quickly.
The problem with this position is that they have HAD a bad reputation for stealing IP for over 20 years now. And it hasn't changed anything.
People still do business with them. People still ship designs and formulas to them to produce.
What will reduce IP Theft is higher chinese labor costs which make local manufacturing a better solution than offshoring. And we've probably got another 8 years before chinese wages + fuel transportation costs == local labor costs.
I don't hate police- I donate to the police survivors fund.
That being said, I recognize many are bullies and function as gangs. They selectively enforce the law on many criteria and they abuse their power often. Usually in small ways- but often in big ways.
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When I find something I like, I buy a few bottles (not too many since not all wines age well).
It's frustrating when I open a bottle 6 months after purchase and it is stellar and also no longer available.
I like Cane 21 and Diplomatico reserve.
For mixed drinks I use the cheapest white rum. They seem to all be the same and folks can't tell the difference.
From testing and experience, the $3 wines are undrinkable unless ice cold and nasty then.
$6-$12 is fine for drinking with food or getting tipsy but thin.
At $13 + you start getting decent wines.
Most folks taste buds seem to top out at $25 bucks a bottle.
And you shouldn't be wasting a $60+ bottle of wine to get tipsy or if you can't tell the difference or you just don't like it. I can tell the difference a bit but don't interpret it as better.
It matters for whiskey...
But -- for my group Johnny Walker Blue was very smooth but not preferred over several whiskeys $210 per bottle cheaper. For some JWB was just too smokey.
But there is a difference between potato vodka and wheat vodka if you are allergic to wheat.
Friend of mine would turn red and shed skin if she got wheat vodka plus get intestinal distress.
I've found it makes a difference in rums. (did a blind taste test and Bacardi did not do well). For dark rums- big variations in taste and ability to drink them neat.
But agree on vodka otherwise. All taste the same to me.
I have a terrible palate but I've tasted these notes and it was kinda cool.
There are probably a dozen that anyone can taste after drinking a couple dozen bottles of a particular type.
I've had a "peppery" wine and a "chocolatey" wine- which was bizarre because as you say, they were just grapes.
I've also had 3 perfect pairings and 1 near miss. When that happens- it's like magic. Each sip of wine makes the food taste better and each bite of the food makes the wine taste better in a swirling dance of gustatory delight.
There are many kinds of grapes-- many kinds of soil those grapes grow in-- and many kinds of weather conditions that occur while the grapes are growing.
What's also cool is when the wine changes taste in your mouth over time.
Why on earth would people who eat different foods and have different taste profiles and come from different ethnic heritages be expected to like wines equally.
I've had several blind tastings.
For most people, the ability to taste a difference tops out in the $20-$30 a bottle range.
I've only known one person who had the ability to finely discriminate wine and he came from the new york area.
At one tasting- the one bottle he disliked, everyone else liked.
There is a tremendous difference at the lower end because many of the less expensive wines are either
a) Just bad (and just about anyone can tell this)
b) or they are "Thin" (watered down, one note) which anyone can taste pretty quickly and easily in comparison to a good wine.
But there are plenty of wines good enough for 14-18 a bottle.
And plenty of wines that are good enough after you are tipsy for $9-$14 a bottle.
The truly great wines require an experienced and truly great wine tasting ability.
And why give truly great wine to people who can't tell the difference anyway (i.e. most of us).
As we saw with waterboarding- "torture" can be a very slippery word.
Oh... and as it says in the "Don't talk to the police" video- the things you say CAN'T be used FOR you. They are hearsay in that context. Only if you say something that leads to finding hard evidence that eliminates you as a suspect would saying anything be useful.
I.e.
"I'm guilty" - - DONE. You confessed.
"I'm Innocent" -- Pointless statement.
Any mistake in your memory can be interpreted as a willful lie. And lying to the police is a crime.
Even with the 5th, they still torture.
And when they are caught violating the 5th, they are suspended, possibly fired, their cases are dismissed. Strong disincentive against violating the 5th (if they want a conviction).
And when they torture someone- the feds get involved for civil rights violations and the perpetrators stand trial and go to jail, face fines, lose their jobs. Strong disincentive to torture.
Each barrier protects our liberty in different ways.
Lack of a 5th amendment creates a stronger incentive to torture.
As we recently saw tho- you have to just invoke the 5th and otherwise SHUT UP.
If you say anything else about the case, you blew your 5th amendment protection. You can't start talking- then stop and claim the 5th for the rest.
Actually they are not except for extraordinary circumstances and then they usually need the approval of a judge.
In most cases, when you ask for a lawyer, they have to stop questioning you til one is present.
If you plead the 5th, they have to stop questioning you unless they have evidence to arrest you with. If they can't arrest you, they are bound to let you go or they get in serious trouble.
As facist as the U.S. has become (in less than 30 years!), it still has a LOOOOONG way to go from being a true facist state. We still have a lot of legal protections.
Go to Youtube and look for the motorcycle guy pulled over at the illegal checkpoint. I'm uncomfortable watching the damn thing. But the police let him go very quickly (under 10 minutes) because he actually knows his rights and they can tell he does.
You understand what "induce" and "incent" mean right?
If caught violating the 5th amendment, there are consequences (includingbut not limited to possible jail time for the police, huge fines for cities, suspension and job loss)
With the 5th amendment, there is no point in torturing you.
WIthout a 5th amendment and without consequences- and desiring a good conviction rate- you have the set up for a mess.
Go watch "Don't talk to the police" on Youtube.
Saying "I didn't do it" can get you in trouble. The policeman gives examples of how.
(this comment was already modded up elsewhere in this conversation so please don't waste your mod points on this 99% duplicate post).
Go to Youtube...
Watch "Don't talk to the police".
Observe the policeman saying when he interrogates someone, he is having a good time- getting paid overtime rates to stay in the room with you. And he also says how your own innocent statements can be used to convict you.
And this isn't even torture. It's just pressure for hours on end.
It takes effort to talk and think. Taking the 5th is the least effort and most likely to prevent you from breaking.
That... and watching "Don't talk to the police" before you are arrested.
If your own words can be used to convict you, then the police and government gain a huge incentive to torture you into confessing.
In fact, this is probably a principle reason why the founding fathers put this protection into place. Torture by the authorities was common in the 1600's.
I would be really scared to be near this building- much less in it.
They need to require that any suppliers spend time in the building after it is finished.
Why the "hah"? We paid ours (per the job offering pages) about $80,000 per year so they cost about $120,000 per year with benefits. I was doing a rough translation to pounds-- what do you think a fair number is with benefits?
Yes but just having two full time people easily runs you $160,000 per year in salary and benefits. Maintaining a set of test PC's probably runs another few grand per year.
The question was why it was so expensive and people were speculating it should basically be free because at home your machine is allowed to always patch itself. Given that I know how we did things at our business (where we had a full time staff of 8 people for PC support) I thought I'd contribute some information.
And FYI, you can't just "turn on and off" people like this- you have to hire them or sign a long term contract with a them or a provider. Otherwise, you might be left without resources for several weeks at times.
In a business,
You need to test the patch before you allow it to propogate everywhere.
At a minimum, for every tuesday patch, you have 1 person patching a representative sample of your computers and then after seeing the computers still work postpatch, setting up the patch to propagate.
Assuming a 40,000 pound salary for one expert employee... and then another 50,000 pound salary for a back up... costs add up quickly.
The problem with this position is that they have HAD a bad reputation for stealing IP for over 20 years now. And it hasn't changed anything.
People still do business with them. People still ship designs and formulas to them to produce.
What will reduce IP Theft is higher chinese labor costs which make local manufacturing a better solution than offshoring. And we've probably got another 8 years before chinese wages + fuel transportation costs == local labor costs.
And by the same virtue the Democratic Party is the Republican Party and the Republican Party is the Democratic Party in America.
Both serve the corporations.
If it's any help- I think it's too late to do anything about it.
Interesting. How many races per year do you do each year?
Are they on any TV networds or Youtube?
I don't hate police- I donate to the police survivors fund.
That being said, I recognize many are bullies and function as gangs.
They selectively enforce the law on many criteria and they abuse their power often. Usually in small ways- but often in big ways.
That's fair enough. And I even imagine a very few people will maintain old hardware to play them on.
Literally ANYthing can become a collectible. One of the first steps to it being valuable is that most people throw it away.
In 300 years, a copy of "Quake" on the original media in an unopened box might be worth thousands of dollars.
In our lifetimes, I think computer games (especially those made in the last decade) are not likely to be highly valuable.