I've been drinking a lot, so it's pretty good. It's really nice to relax on vacation, drink a lot for the summer, and kill some brain cells. Also smoking more. Drinking and smoking more, for sure. I also made myself some french fries today, with grilled cheese sandwich. So, kids' menu straight out of Friendly's, drinking, and smoking. Week couldn't be better.
I left a job once because at the old job I had to share an office and at the new job I found and landed (because I wanted a new office) I got my own office. It's kind of like a no-duh. I felt like I was the Jeffersons. Motivating factor for changing jobs not caring I didn't last a year at the old job where I had to share an office: Having my own friggin' office. I even asked in the interview, "can I have my own office, or do I have to share?" They said I got my own office. I hummed "movin' on up" after.
There isn't a need for that at the moment. There are PLENTY of small publishers you can send a manuscript to. Small publishers will, of course, sell authors' books on Amazon, but it's absolutely not the same thing as going it on your own as an author dealing directly with Amazon. First of all, if you submit to and are accepted by a small publisher, libraries can purchase your book and there are none of the exclusive rights crap Amazon imposes on the individual writer looking for a venue. Most writers seek out a small publishing house before resorting to the "go it alone" approach. There are many writers who also avoid the Amazon bullshit by setting up their own publishing company just to publish their own works, which is perfectly simple to do and doesn't cost much at all, in comparison to all the costs associated with marketing, cover art, bla bla bla. Amazon is often a last resort or a result of "the final straw" of receiving rejections from publishers and when writers don't know how to set up their own mini publisher to self-publish first. Anyway, you can by-pass a lot of the Amazon crap by setting yourself up as a publisher that dedicates itself to publishing your writing. You can even offer paperbacks and hardcovers, using a printing service to take care of that for you. Then, through your own publishing company you set up, you offer your work to Amazon. It's a different set of conditions.
Yes, this new type of statistical reality in this parallel universe I've stumbled into, where people don't die if they walk, is fascinating, isn't it? If I see a casino, I'm definitely going all in on the roulette wheel.
I don't have this problem. I think it depends on your carrier. Some carriers let the call go straight to voice mail. My blocks are a one-time thing and system-wide.
That is a secondary concern for me, although I think it's an important point to bring up. I'm more worried about people who open their small shop and can't afford to accept cards as payment. People are making purchases with a card that 20 years ago I wouldn't have even thought of doing, such as buying a can of soda and only a can of soda, which can amount to under a dollar (or under a euro). More and more often I see people trying to pay with a card and the person at the register says, "you need to spend 1 euro more if you want to use your card." What would happen to these small businesses if they didn't have the option to demand cash for purchases under a certain amount? They would drown in fees. The merchant has to pay for being able accept cards. A big company can afford it. A small rinky-dink shop can't right now. This would mean, what? The need for subsidies for small businesses so they can accept cards? In the USA (where I'm from) I don't see that happening. In Europe (where I live) I see that type of policy - which would totally happen, unlike in the USA where maybe not depending on the state you're in - having a time limit on it, like so many other subsidies for small businesses here. Typical subsidy for small business would be like, "for the first five years you are open, and only on your first business" or "for small business owners 40 years old or younger for the first five years." Yes, age discrimination in Europe, or what we Americans would call age discrimination, is rampant. Anyway, a cashless society would give preference to big retail corporations and corporate restaurant chains, making small business retail and hospitality all the more difficult to keep open.
Wow, I know a lot of people that died and they were quite the walking enthusiasts. Some of them must have only walked 3966 steps a day. They were just one step away from immortality, perhaps?
In Sweden, merchants can refuse to accept cash if they want to. As seen here Sweden is predicting the future of society as cashless. So, it's a worldwide trend, and there are countries with policies in place already that are encouraging a move from cash to all digital money, such as Sweden. Where I live, my bank has refused to handle cash transactions at most branches for years now. If you want to make a cash deposit, you have to use the ATM. I think where I live it's not really possible for merchants to refuse cash because they get charged fees for accepting credit cards. They don't want you to scan your card for a purchase below 5 or sometimes 7 bucks. But, restricting cash circulation is a way to control tax fraud, so I'm sure a lot of governments will be looking for ways to make policies that discourage the use of cash. I think the major problem is going to be for the small mom and pop stores and businesses. To accept cards they have to pay fees that are still too expensive. It's not fair to them if the banks aren't going to find a way to lower fees for Visa, MC, etc.
Higher education problems collide with healthcare problems to create a gigantic mess that seems nearly impossible to fix. The public doesn't care about academics, who are viewed as lazy people who barely do any "real work" for their salaries. The public isn't voting in a direction for healthcare reform, either. Graduate students, professors, and teaching staff continue to be exploited. Corporate healthcare continues to dominate and interface with higher education at the medical school and the hospital. Public officials aren't doing anything because nobody asks them to. I wonder when enough people will get concerned about this? Maybe when it's too late?
I find it appalling that Amazon demanded evidence of a trademark registration for her name. I hope they get sued. Trademark or not, you can't put an author's name on something that they did not write. That's called plagiarism, and it is not legal, especially if you try to make money off of it. I wonder how many authors they did this to? How clogged will the civil courts get from this? What a mess!
Have you ever said something to yourself like, "Wow, that clown is lucky I can't reach through the friggin' screen and smack his face off?" If the technology keeps on advancing, maybe one day there will be mass homicides all over the place.
Don't watch The V (a classic miniseries that was actually remade, too. Don't watch either.) Also, stay away from Colony and don't even think about watching Falling Skies. To feel slightly more upbeat, I would prefer The X-Files although sometimes the mood is "wow people are disgusting and don't care about other people and will even suck up to alien invaders." Star Trek is nice because, yeah, some of the aliens and some of the people are banded together to fight for justice. Lost in Space gives a similar vibe. Anyway, I agree with everything in your OP and I agree with you here. The aliens concept can turn into a happy fairy tale that provides a therapeutic mental escape from the drudgery of the real world that doesn't seem to be getting better at all. People say "it gets better" because they mean well, they are trying to inspire hope. One thing I've learned is that in some ways the shitty things "get better" because over time I learn to live with the shitty things I can't do a damn thing about.
I'm not saying that monetary economies developed from barter economies. I'm saying so much more than that. I guess my language was a bit strong because I found this video to be too simplistic for my preferences. Bartering and money are not mutually exclusive. Bartering and capitalism are not mutually exclusive. Bartering and feudalism are not mutually exclusive. You can most certainly barter within any type of economy. That's what actually happens every day, in fact. But, you see, that's what I find lacking in this video. It's too brief for my taste and, to satisfy me as a viewer, would need to talk about political economies, their different forms and structures, etc. I have nothing against the OP. I limited my comment to the video. If the OP found the video enlightening, I think that's great. It's probably useful, just too lacking for me.
It really depends on what hardware you have. A new laptop just released last month will have a ton of issues with any linux distro. The guy we're replying to installed linux on a mac laptop. Not ever easy! The ThinkPads often work well with any distro, as far as I know. Same goes for HP laptops. BUT, most gaming laptops are a no-go, unless you're ready to spend hours tweaking after installation.
I've been drinking a lot, so it's pretty good. It's really nice to relax on vacation, drink a lot for the summer, and kill some brain cells. Also smoking more. Drinking and smoking more, for sure. I also made myself some french fries today, with grilled cheese sandwich. So, kids' menu straight out of Friendly's, drinking, and smoking. Week couldn't be better.