TACO in 3, 2, 1…

OK, well, at least you’re consistent.

I would be careful with the statement that license plates have done little to mitigate road safety issues, though. They have not fixed the problem entirely of course, far from it, but they have greatly increased accountability, because all an ordinary citizen needs to do in the case of a hit and run is to note the plate number. It also enables the use of speed and red light cameras, which have also lead to a decrease in dangerous driving. (And note - speed and red light cameras are not surveillance in that sense, since they - bar malfunctions - only hit those who are guilty or are very likely to be guilty).

So are you arguing that cars shouldn’t have license plates, either? Because if the point of license plates is to enable surveillance, then that would apply to cars, as well.

I have to say, I’ve always admired the Stack exchange system. Yes, it’s a Karma-like system, and it’s obviously not perfect, but it means that accounts always start with very little abilities, most notably that they’re not able to downvote yet. And when those accounts do get the ability to downvote (which doesn’t come all too quickly), it costs a certain amount of their “reputation”, which makes them think twice about downvoting.

“die Rentner von heute…”

I’m outing myself, but La Bottine Souriante is a Quebec/French Canadian folk band who’s founding member are all no longer current members.

Usually the robot asks you to press a number, as soon as you do that you’ll be talking with a “representative”

Actually makes me wish I had kids, this is brilliant.

I’ve been getting a lot of spam calls lately. Eventually said fuck it and screwed with them as much as possible. The best times were where I had something to do that didn’t require much brainpower but had to be done. I eventually was able to keep them on the phone for up to a half an hour by pretending I was following their instructions until they realized I was bullshitting them. Everything from the internet being slow (and going on a rant about “ever since I moved to [made up town] I’ve had to deal with this shitty Internet, and they promised it to make it better X years ago”) to fake accents and changing my voice, or sometimes just not having a clue if I have an iPhone or Android and getting walked through how to figure it out. Once they figure out I’m bullshitting them they get furious. Absolutely hilarious.

Unfortunately for the fuckery with the scammers I don’t have as much brainless stuff to do at the moment. Though I still do fuck with them, I keep it short. Some things they really hate:

• go into the bathroom, and when they’re explaining their stuff flush the toilet so they can clearly hear it

• answer in a voice like you’re getting off. Instead of “yes” answer “Oh God yes”. At a fitting moment say “Oh God I’m going to cum”

• go really far away from the microphone and speak softly, and when they ask you to speak louder tell them you’re already speaking loudly, something must be up with the line. They’ll most likely turn up the volume. Once the conversation goes to their scam and they’re not thinking about it anymore, scream as loud as you can into the microphone.

• “How would you like to get fucked in the ass?” (Works best with men, considering those men often seem to be pretty prejudiced)

• in a crazy voice: “HEY, WHAT DO YOU WANT, I’M TAKIN A SHIAAAAT”

• "You say you’re from [insert company they’re pretending to be from]? Shit, your ex was right, you are a liar!

• "you work for [insert company they’re pretending to be from]? Is that what you tell your mother?

• “Hey [insert their fake name they gave you, the way they pronounced it], if you’re going to use a fake name, at least learn to pronounce it right”

• if you recognize the name from an earlier call, reference what happened in that earlier call and rile them up further about it

• when they’re about to hang up: “don’t be a chicken, don’t hang up! I have a bet going with my friend here, if you hang up, I win!”

• after getting insulted because you told them you know they’re not who they say they are: “you’re insulting me, which means I’m right, thank you!” [Proceed to laugh loudly]

Anyway, I have more, it’s just not popping into my head at the moment. But creativity is the key here, and it’s fucking entertaining.

For fuck’s sake.

What are parental controls?

Something else being much more dangerous doesn’t make that first thing less dangerous. Otherwise, why worry about rail safety then, for instance? Taking the train is also somewhere around 100x less dangerous than driving (and I’m pretty sure if you evaluated the statistics the way they are in your picture, it would be well more than 100 times less dangerous).

Add to that, just because it doesn’t kill you, doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. Injuries are also something that are, well, not good, especially when it’s caused by other people’s recklessness.

And let’s not mix up licensing and surveillance. You get a surveillance state when that information is then used to track you where you go (see flock cameras). Otherwise you could make the same argument that cars shouldn’t have license plates, either.

Honestly, bicycles should have license plates, period. They may not be as dangerous as cars, but they can still be very dangerous. And considering an unfortunate number of cyclists see themselves as above the law, it’s necessary. And honestly, I would have absolutely no problem with registering my bike, as long as the process isn’t overly complicated.

If there’s a court that could try him that isn’t Venezuelan, it would be the ICC.

Oh wait, the US doesn’t recognize the ICC. Well, well, well.

I feel like this is the beginning of a howtobasic video.

(Is he still making videos, anyway?)

I won’t say all rules are valid or right, but this one just makes sense (in contrast to rules of some other communities, which outright ban certain opinions). Sometimes you don’t want to hear about all the doom and gloom, and for many people, it’s not good for their mental health to hear about it all the time. They know what’s happening, they need some time off.

Interesting back windshield wiper that only wipes half the windshield.

Unfortunately not only a problem in schools. Where I work at there’s already a pay per use system that bills the department, with an entire system with separate codes to identify where you belong financially. Now they’re debating adding a fee for the ability to print.

It’s true that two women have failed, but I’m not convinced their gender had anything to do with it.

This. In fact, many people were driven out to vote for Hillary because she was a woman, despite being a pretty terrible candidate. Let’s not forget, she won the popular vote by several million/several percent.

The sword cuts both ways, so I would rather put gender and ethnicity by side and look at their actual policies.

Minced meat on its own is processing the meat of an animal until it is unrecognizable

Not quite. It’s to use the leftovers, and also to preserve them to a certain extent. The leftovers can often be tough, so it’s ground. What doesn’t change is that the flavor of the meat is still very present. It’s not trying to taste like something different, which the vegan “sausage” is.

For decades - but they were much rarer than nowadays. You wouldn’t find them on store shelves like you do nowadays. And sausages have existed for centuries.

For me that comes down to the same argument as “didn’t you read the fine print?” If I spent time researching the due diligence you’re expecting, I would have time for nothing else anymore.

And I didn’t order wrong, they misunderstood me, because it was so confusing.