I met one of my neighbors kids the other day. They're new to the neighborhood so we were talking about the ages of his family members compared to mine. He just turned 6. I asked how old his dad was and he said 50 or 60. I could see his dad across the yard and he's definitely younger than me. I asked how old he thought I was and he said 70. I'm 36. Kids can be meaner on accident than assholes are on purpose.
The kind of person in the position to convert a vehicle from one energy source to another is either competent enough to do any future work themselves, in which case they already have the necessary tools to do said work, or has enough money that the potential difficulty in maintaining the vehicle is not a concern.
That's exactly what it sounded like, which is why my reply was worded from that perspective. You may not have intended it to be read that way but it does to me.
I think sometimes people say things that come across that way in order to offer potentially helpful advice, not to one-up you. For example, if you had a minor house fire recently but my house had burned completely down at some point then I might tell you my story as both a way to let you know that I understand how difficult your situation is and offer assistance with what comes next. Dealing with insurance and replacing your stuff can be an overwhelming proposition. If I don't communicate the desire to help you particularly well then you may think I'm just trying to say that I had it worse when really I'm wanting to help you but am simply too awkward to do it effectively.
Obviously some people are trying to shift the focus off you and on to them but I think you should be able to tell someone's intentions with a quick follow up question to whatever they say. Something aimed at determining whether they want to help you or just talk more about them.
I think the key when trying to relate to someone is brevity. You want to signal "I understand what you're saying because something similar happened to me" not "shut up, we're talking about me now". The former is more difficult to do the more words you use. At the very least you have to stop talking long enough to let the other person continue their story if they want to.
Selfishness and greed are basic human tendencies. You can't breed or cull them out of us. We all do those things every day. The only difference between us and the people you're talking about is scale.
Stop trying to talk yourself out of doing something. You clearly believe that something needs to be done so do whatever you can to move us in a positive direction. I'm not saying you're wrong but every time we say stuff like this we help the people hearing it feel more justified in doing less. Let others come up with their own reasons for inaction and work hard to overcome your own.
I'm not apathetic, I'm realistic. No one has moved that needle significantly in 100 years so talking about it like you're going to make it happen seems like setting yourself up to fail. Work with what you have instead of wishing you could have more. That's how progress is made.
The percentage of people who don't vote hasn't changed much in 100 years. Call them lazy, uneducated, apathetic, etc, it makes no difference. They don't vote and that's all there is to be said about it. If you're waiting around for them to start voting for your preferred candidate you're going to be waiting for the rest of your life. Stop talking about them and start making other plans.
I still haven't figured out how to download only the Monday episodes of TDS. Until then I guess I'm stuck watching on yt. The others are OK but Jon makes the show.
I met one of my neighbors kids the other day. They're new to the neighborhood so we were talking about the ages of his family members compared to mine. He just turned 6. I asked how old his dad was and he said 50 or 60. I could see his dad across the yard and he's definitely younger than me. I asked how old he thought I was and he said 70. I'm 36. Kids can be meaner on accident than assholes are on purpose.