themeatbridge

I think you should reframe the thinking. All corporations are profit driven, and exploiting a devoted fanbase is very profitable. Innovation, customer service, commitment to quality, these are things that cam build loyalty, but capitalism demands growth. If you run out of ideas or saturate the market, the only way to grow profits is to cut costs. Customer service and commitment to quality might be the last things to go, but they will go eventually.

Came here to say, one is his name, the other is not.

Because as big as space is, time is bigger. Humans have existed for only the most recent nanosecond, and we’re only just figuring out how to leave this rock. We’re either going to figure out intergalactic space travel, or we might just obliterate ourselves and kill all life on the planet.

Crossing paths with another intergalactic species would be like if two different people each threw a grain of sand into the air in any desert or beach on earth at some point in the last 10,000 years, and the two grains of sand collide.

If we do find intelligent life out there, it will probably be because we have developed some intergalactic broadcast signal, and whatever comes for us might share their star maps or they might just be looking for a snack. Either way, it would take them thousands of years to hear our signal and get to us.

For the same reason GMT became the standard: Somebody has to make the clocks. Space is pretty big, but if I had to bet money, I would wager that the first intergalactic travelers would start here, where the people are, and they would start with here as their point of reference.

Market demand is not the only factor, though. Manufacturers make design decisions based on a variety of factors, from supportability and manufacturing efficiency to alternative profit vectors like bloatware and proprietary ports.

If someone made a slider phone with a physical keyboard, it could be the best selling phone on the market without making the most money for the company.

You seem really upset about something that shouldn’t affect you in any way.

The answer is that you’re thinking about this too much. It’s pop music, designed to be fun and catchy, with a hook and a fun dance routine. It’s performed by pretty people who can sing and dance in a manner that is aesthetically and musically entertaining.

Why do they all look and sound the same? Why does every fast food restaurant have a similar burger and french fry combo? It’s because that’s what sells, and this isn’t art. It’s a product designed to be sold.

I dunno man, if you are a girl wouldn’t you a dude that, yeah, he’s attractive but also that looks manly? That can physically protect you? And that does not has a doll face?..

This just comes off as thinly veiled insecurity. There are a lot of people in the world, and attraction is a spectrum. People like what they like, and there’s probably someone out there who likes you for you. You don’t need a doll face, nor do you need to look manly or be physically imposing. Most people don’t need protection in their day to day lives. People want support, companionship, partnership, compatibility, and entertainment. Be fun and loving, and be yourself, and just leave the outdated gender stereotypes behind. You’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, nor do you need to be (unless you’re trying to land a job in a KPop band).

Strong agree on the dark side of the industry. That’s the danger with turning performers themselves into a commodity. It’s bad enough manufacturing commercial music as a product, but turning the talent into a product is dehumanizing in a way that leads to terrifying exploitation.

But as consumers, we’re all really good at compartmentalizing the exploitation from the enjoyment we receive from it. If you think the pop music industry is bad, wait until you learn about fast fashion, or cheap technology, or luxury travel, or abundant meat, or out-of-season produce, or inexpensive energy, or pretty much anything you pay to enjoy. There’s a lot of money involved in hiding the suffering.

I think they should watch it again and again, then, because that’s the behavioral object lesson of the film. Everybody is the hero in their own story. When he has his moment of clarity, and says to himself, “I’m the bad guy?” it ought to be a wake up call to all the chodes who were cheering him on.

You’re supposed to relate to DFENSE and see him as the protagonist. You’re supposed to feel the same revulsion he experiences when he meets an actual Nazi who thinks he’s an ally. You’re supposed to feel the rush of excitement and power he gets finding a duffel bag of automatic firearms. You’re supposed to feel the cathartic release of shooting up a fast food restaurant when the minimum wage worker smugly follows a pointlessly strict menu policy.

And then you’re supposed to feel it all come falling down when he realizes that he cannot get his life back. He cannot restore his relationship with his wife or daughter. He cannot escape the consequences of his choices and his own lack of control. He did everything they told him to, but they lied to him, and now his job, his family, they are gone, and the cruel world doesn’t give a shit. He is “not economically viable” anymore, so he has been cast off.

He thinks he has nothing left to lose. He’s wrong. He thinks he has fallen down, and is on the rise. That sensation that feels like flying, it’s because he’s jumped off a cliff. And we’re all supposed to feel the landing with him.

You’re not supposed to like anybody. It’s about the fall of civilization. There is no hero. Just flawed people. Nobody is standing up for the little guy. Nobody is doing the right thing every time.

Falling Down is a movie we should all watch again.

Same question, but mashed potatoes.

Perplexica? What sort of sauce goes with that?

For a minute I legit thought Italy had dropped a new pasta shape.

Huh, thanks. TIL I’m banned from a Palestinian community for something I wouldn’t have done. So that’s weird.

People stand up to wipe? Doesn’t that just smoosh poop between you butt cheeks?

I know you’re joking, but no don’t do that.

Church & Dwight is the conglomerate that owns Arm & Hammer, and they own some other cleaning product brands like OxiClean and OrangeGlo. They also own Trojan condoms and First Response pregnancy tests.

I don’t think that there is a direct reationship between a specific “product” and a specific “currency,” though. Like, what is the product of the dollar? Or the Yen, or Euro? Any product you want. That’s the definition of currency, you can exchange it for any product.

At the risk of being tautological, the product you get in exchange for time is any product you can get in exchange for time. Maybe it’s something you make yourself, or maybe it’s value you derive from waiting for something, or maybe it’s a skill you develop through practice. Maybe it’s the mental or physical health gained from rest. Those are all “products” of time spent.

What do you think is the relationship between “currency” and “product”?

If they become the Play store, why wouldn’t I just use the Play store?

It’s marginally easier to read, and it costs me nothing. I’ve been typing this way for forty years, and it takes me longer to try to single space after periods. Why should I change? I’m not asking anyone else to do it, but I’m not going to unlearn something that doesn’t affect anyone else.

So that’s my thing. I’m the double space after periods guy. I’ll also argue with you about State’s Rights and the Civil War, the correct pronunciation of the word “gif,” and why imperial units remain popular despite the “obvious” superiority of metric. I also have some inflammatory opinions about conservativism, but those aren’t nearly as controversial as the other ones.