Do keep in mind that living costs in the US are significantly lower than in Western Europe, particularly in the parts of the country that have the highest poverty rates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
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Do keep in mind that living costs in the US are significantly lower than in Western Europe, particularly in the parts of the country that have the highest poverty rates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
Doesn't the Invisible Hand dictate (both by article and your response) that this is because no one in their right mind would live there?
^^Western Europe you mean? Of course.
Vienna!
I was there for a few hours once, lovely city from what I saw, German cars everywhere! Wouldn't wanna live there though :p
In fact if I were to ever move (which I plan on) first choice would be the US, then *maybe* Germany.
I swear, cinema is dead
Includes students and the like, FYI, so not quite accurate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
As if a significant number of US citizens gets higher education ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by CitizenCain
Heh. Well, they all seem to try these days. I think the graduation rate at OSU was 50-something % when I was there, which means a lot of students living below poverty levels, at least until they flunk out their second freshman year. :haha: (And it's not like Ohio's renowned for its higher education participation rates either...)
Assuming grants count as income, any student at the better colleges is automatically above the poverty line! I mean, the income they have to have to pay the tuition is already higher, never mind actually living...Quote:
Originally Posted by CitizenCain
And any student living at home (which I assume most people at local colleges are) is included in his parents' household.
Lately, I've been awake at odd hours and have turned on the TV to find some really strange stuff for sale. Not just the penile enhancement products, which are many, but some cool things like knife sharpeners, wire basket strainers, or those mesmerizing sandwich grills (kind of like a variation of the George Foreman grill).
Every time I see these adverts, I think they're very clever inventions and savvy marketers. I've found myself watching infomercials for hair extensions or magic barrettes, or stylists displaying that 'patented' hot roller iron combo hair brush and flat iron. I don't even have a need for that kind of hair product, but I was lured by the before and after.
Are these guys making shit loads of money, or are they lost on people like me who get mesmerized but never buy?
They make TONS of money on imsomniacs who know their credit card numbers (or their significant others') by heart. My mom used to work for QVC :haha: The 7 AM hour is the tail end of insomniacs calling, returning things they've bought on impulse, or calling because they can't afford the payment for all the crap they buy....
There was one episode of that show with the KISS guy where his girlfriend was high on pain killers and kept ordering stuff from infomercials for like a week or something
Netflix decided that the correct response to everyone being upset by their price increase was to split DVDs and streaming into separate websites.
I decided the appropriate response to that was to cancel DVDs, I almost did at the price increase, but there were still enough older films I wanted to see that I decided to keep it. No more.
We're cancelling DVDs too. I think I will keep the streaming for a few more months, and if their content doesn't improve then I will get rid of it completely. :(
http://www.stoppiracyinnyc.com/
A contest to get students to make a rough commercial encouraging others not to pirate...which due to students not having very much money will likely be made with pirated software, and since not very many people fully understand copyright law, music, sounds, fonts, images, etc. which they haven't licensed to include in their rough commercials. :noob:
http://news.yahoo.com/judge-refuses-...190741647.htmlQuote:
The ruling was a setback for abortion rights advocates, who have successfully blocked enforcement of other new Kansas laws dealing with abortion. Federal judges have temporarily blocked two laws — one dealing with strict abortion clinic regulations and another that strips federal family planning dollars from a Planned Parenthood chapter — pending trial on their constitutionality.
Brown said the insurance law appears to draw heavily from federal law. He noted that the federal health care overhaul also authorized states to prohibit abortion coverage in policies sold on state-level exchanges, where individuals and small businesses would be able to choose from different health care plans and compare coverage options. The new Kansas law has such a provision.
As for the ACLU's claim that the law violates its members' rights to equal protection, since men could buy general policies for their reproductive needs, the judge sided with the state. Brown, who at age 104 is the nation's oldest sitting federal judge, agreed that such a contention must be reviewed but said the ACLU didn't provide enough evidence to convince him.
In a separate case challenging another abortion law, a federal judge refused on Thursday to allow a national anti-abortion doctors' group to join a lawsuit over Kansas' new abortion clinic regulations. The judge said intervention by the by American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists would unnecessarily delay the case, and shot down all of the group's arguments.
Seriously, that's messed up.
Good ol' Daily Fail. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro
Apparently a girl I vaguely know was murdered by her ex, who then committed suicide. :bulb:
That's fucked up. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
Facebook just suggested Timmah as someone I may know. Tellya, that place can get pretty damn creepy.
Okay, my father's car (Diesel engine) sounded a bit worrying yesterday, so he took it to the shop. They figured that something might be loose at the exhaust. Around noon he gets a call: They discovered that he did not have Diesel in the tank but regular gas - which can be quite deadly to the engine.
He still had the receipt from the last time he filled up (last monday) - it was not an accident on his side, the receipt states 45 liters of Diesel fuel. Only possibility remaining: The gas station gave him the wrong fuel, for whatever reason.
He already talked to a lawyer who told him to forget it. So, tomorrow we'll know if the engine can be repaired or whether the car is a loss - it's 8 years old now and a new engine won't be worth it.
He should at least try going directly to the gas station? Sounds like something they wouldn't want getting out.
My sister's car was screwed up once because there was so much sulfur in the gas, she had to have a new tank dropped in. Gas station took care of everything immediately, she never went to a lawyer.
Quite :(Quote:
Originally Posted by termite
Turns out I know the guy who did it, too (he was even a fan of my band). Always thought that was a bit of a whiny emo kid (heard he cut himself), but damn... Never would have expected anything like this. The girl was, as far as I know, really sweet, too.
Weird to see things on facebook about him, saying rest in peace, sweet blabla.. I mean, sweet isn't exactly the first word I'd use. Then again, he was obviously quite messed up in his head in the end, who knows if he was an otherwise nice enough guy, I never knew him well(I knew his face but that's about it). Sad thing altogether, really.
Happened to my BMW. Just replace the filters or some-such. The gas station paid for the repairs in my case because an Attendant filled up for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro
Naw, engine's dead. Since my dad had already thought about buying a new car before this incident, it's not too bad. Considering that he got 800€ for the "wreck", it's a loss of about 1700€.
Weird thing is that the car drove away from the gas station at all. Usually, when you fill up with gas instead of Diesel, the engine is beyond repair before you are able to even leave the station. Had that happen thrice during my job at Europcar - it usually amounted to "I filled the truck with gas and now I'm standing a hundred meters away from the pump!"
At the cinema today; a commercial to raise funds for research into the causes of and a cure for ALS. It starts with a middle aged woman, talking face shot, she introduces herself and tells that she has been diagnosed with ALS. Then she goes on to describe the disease and the typical way in which its suffererers die (suffocation). She then continues asking people to donate money to this foundation, for all other people who have ALS. THEN she says, I don't ask this for myself, because it's too late for me, I have already died.
I always wonder if that's actually true, or just an actor. It's gripping, though.
Which reminds me of the Donor Show, where the donor was an actress (but the possible recipients were not). Shocking, half a sham, but it got attention to the cause.