I guess one could make the claim that an automatic defrost system is a luxury, lol

Exactly this!! The function of appliances hasn’t changed hardly at all since their inception: washers wash, dryers dry, refrigerators cool, ovens/stoves heat. No “smart” capabilities necessary, or at least nothing that simple mechanical controls and switches couldn’t handle.

They are, but also they are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Damn, I’m def gonna start recommending smoking to any pregnant ladies i see–that’s quite a life pro tip! Go figure the AI was actually right about that lol

“it’s just another dollar, brah”

It does seem like it could be the name of one of the members of Shobaleader One…

Yeah, things have actually gotten quite a bit better over the past 3 years. Much of that was due to the abysmal performance of his predecessor, so even a “just ok” job would have looked like a masterwork.

That said, Biden’s def hitting his stride lately 😄

Now you do: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/business/in-n-out-burgers-boycott-california-republicans.html

Based on this particular comment chain and your decision to come back and read the article, i decided to read it as well. Very engaging, indeed! Learned quite a bit, def worth the time. I even subscribed to Ed’s newsletter, lol

I mean, why wouldn’t they? They’re furries after all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think there’s a couple things at play:

• You know enough to find a different app and make it do what you need it to. Not a hard thing, but something many non-tech savvy people could struggle with, or more likely–

• People often will just use what’s there. We know we have options, we are aware of the privacy concerns… but many people simply aren’t and/or don’t care enough to do anything about it.

We spend a lot of time here, so it seems to us like second nature to avoid intrusive apps… I find in my day-to-day life not many people are talking about that kind of stuff, or don’t have much knowledge/experience in that realm. (I realize that is anecdotal).

I 100% agree with your statements–just trying to rationalize how so many people end up using/staying with these ever-worsening services/apps…

That seems to be the life-cycle of social forums online. The successful ones usually seem to have at least a slightly left-leaning user base, which inevitably attracts trolls/right-wingers/supremacists/etc. The trolls don’t have much fun talking to each other, as they are insufferable people to begin with. It seems like a natural progression for them to seek out people they disagree with, since they have nothing else/better to do. Gab and the like are just the “safe spaces” they constantly berate everyone else for having (which they hate extra hard since their bullshit isn’t accepted in those places)

You wouldn’t download an island…?!

Does this work universally or is there a particular station you frequent that it works at?

Ahhh thanks for the clarification! I should have known ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Damn, never seen an xkcd where they used that kind of language! 😳

Your comment does a pretty good job of illustrating the main reasons: further wealth inequality, difficult housing market, and a crazier society that’s becoming more accepting of school shootings/shootings in general…not to mention climate change, more wars, and batshit politics becoming the norm globally. How bout that response to covid? If anything had ever disgusted me about this country it’s how brazenly people were willing to risk other people’s lives because they couldn’t be bothered to even attempt to be safe or consider others safety. As if i didn’t have enough reasons not to have kids before… it seems almost cruel to bring them into today’s world.

For sure, turning a blind eye to all that and escaping into a relationship and starting a family sounds great. You need a good job to do that…or you and your partner may both need good jobs to do that. Who watches the kids then? How much time will you actually get to spend with them? Are you going to saddle your parents or in-laws with the responsibility of raising them? Day care? What point is there in having children if you’re spending most of your time away from them? Disregard all that of course, if you’re rich ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I just don’t think I’m ready to spend all of my waking hours endlessly trying to produce enough income to maintain all the expenses that come with a family, while still putting aside money for the kids to go to college and a retirement fund to boot.

It would be nice to have a family, i just don’t think it’s practical anymore. I don’t believe it’s the simple choice you make it out to be (at least that’s how i interpreted the last sentence of your comment)

You read my mind 👏

Bobby Kotiktok 😎

Good for you. Get yourself a cookie