I think your comment is the key. Many others tell what to do, but yours addresses the core in that you won’t be happy unless you decide or allow yourself to be happy (perception).

I used to mock those people who would say things like “smile in the mirror and tell yourself that it’s going to be a great day”. Later in life, I figured out that that’s what they needed to do, so good for them. For me, it’s something else. I need to be around nature to ground my feelings. Other times, it’s physical cardiac exertion, like a bike ride.

Medication can help if there’s a real medical problem, like depression. Self medicating can be dangerous.

That is the plan. Imagine an app that can provide personalized pricing to extract just less than the amount that would cause you to go elsewhere?

It knows when you get paid and can splurge. It knows when you are drunk or high and have less self control. It’s the digital pricing tags at the grocery store, but personalized to you (and not with your best interests in mind).

I’ve done this same thing. My dad lived on the other side of the country and it was a way for me to “take him out to eat” at a restaurant that he loved but was too expe dive for his tastes. Another time, I bought him a round of golf at a nice golf course that he would not treat himself to. He did not “believe” in gift cards wither, but on both occasions he mentioned that it was as if I took him to eat/golf and it was a nice gift for the guy who has everything.

Similarly, I have a cuckoo clock. I could watch the internal mechanism for hours.

I had to double check that I didn’t write this because those words could have literally come from my fingers.

I’ve run the gamut with these apps and none seem to really work I’ve even tried a few paid ones. These days, if you’re not in my contact list or you don’t provide caller ID, I don’t answer.

I’ve been doing street complete for over a year now and didn’t know how much I would enjoy it. It’s also doing something for the community of people who use open street map data (usually hobbyists or folks looking for an alternative to the privacy violating giants). I feel proud of my work when I see my contributions on OSMAnd+ or when I post a picture of a place and somebody can use that data to contribute to the map.

This has been happening for a while. Most starter homes in the US are townhomes, detached townhomes or small single family homes in a denser neighborhood. Through the years, the building code has changed bit by bit to make those homes unaffordable. It’s similar to how you can pay half the price for a car in Mexico; there are much less mandated safety features. In houses, there are new energy codes (good for the environment) additional safety features like fire sprinklers and other similar things. Additionally, labor is more expensive, appliances and building materials are more expansive.

On the other side, you have people who have lived in their house for decades. The house (actually land) value has increased steadily and maybe they’ve kept it up, remodeling or putting in an addition. Now their kids are all moved out, they’ve retired and they’re ready to downsize, but the house they bought so long ago has appreciated and selling it to downsize would trigger a huge tax event on the appreciated value. They’re better off (financially) to keep it, pushing new buyers to look elsewhere.

It’s a complex problem intermixed with policy and also all the corporations mentioned elsewhere who have learned to profit from the broken system.

You’re exactly right on both counts. When you hear it from politicians, the sound bite (byte?) is “to protect the children” which is ambiguous. I take it to mean to protect the data of my children, somebody else takes it to mean to protect my children from being brainwashed and the children running the social media companies take it to mean it’s protecting their right to wealth. It’s win win win!

If the US govn’t were serious about protecting people, they’d implement GDPR and put data privacy into the hands of the individual.

One thing I forgot to add to this was a different article by the same author: https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/19/apologetics-spotters-guide/

Referencing a book, the article lays out the corporate BS playbook for pushing back on changes. In the anti monopoly ad space, they’re currently running play 1: there is no problem, people want targeted ads.

I feel like the whole advertising machine needs to be reimagined. I’m not opposed to learning about new and better products, but I’ve been conditioned to immediately distrust anything coming to me in the form of an ad. Pair this with the mindset of advertisers that they can’t do their job without stalking every individual and it’s a recipe for a global-level human rights violation.

that could be, but reading between the lines, it seems that the judges have just been brainwashed to think like the media companies want. The article mentions “users WANT targeted ads” and yet when given the option, 90% of FB users shut off targeting.

I like the Van Halen brown M&M version. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-did-van-halen-demand-concert-venues-remove-brown-mms-from-the-menu-180982570/

I’ve always been fascinated with the Holocaust and so when there was an interview with a Holocaust survivor on 60 minutes, I had to watch it. The woman said a bunch of stuff, but what stuck with me is that she said that, “people need to be given permission” to act badly. The episode showed previously undiscovered notes and pictures from one camp, showing officers having a picnic and enjoying themselves after a hard day of???

Her point was that these people were given permission. I now see it everywhere. Food fight in the school cafeteria? There were a few instigators who gave permission to the rest. A city protest that turns violent? Again, a few vocal minority of the group started the violence and then the rest joined in. I see it at work and I also see it on-line. Anonymity and lack of accountability also enhances the effect.

Whether the instigators are real or bots doesn’t really matter because they “gave permission” to the rest to misbehave.

Found the episode: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pictures-show-nazi-life-at-auschwitz-as-jews-died-in-gas-chambers-60-minutes/

🤔

I haven’t been out there in 15 years. I’ll have to check it out again!

I don’t know the legal side, but employers don’t want you to talk about your compensation with anyone. Maybe it’s legal, but definitely frowned upon.

Garden & walks fix a lot. Also, if you eat it off the plant directly, it doesn’t count against your diet!

I wanted to quit nagging my kids to close the pantry door. It conflicts with the fridge door and they’re both getting banged up pretty bad. I replaced one of the pantry door hinges with a spring hinge (and removed the latch mechanism from the handle) and now the pantry door closes on its own. Sometimes, I hear them fling the door open and hit the fridge anyways, but I giggle just a little when it bonks them on the head.

Consider what would happen if employees across the globe posted to an open database about their employer, position title, salary bonus and health care information. I’m sure we’d all be sued. How is this legal?

In the US, I’ve noticed several places, mostly restaurants that now charge a convenience fee for credit card transactions. Double bonus for cash. I’ve even started using checks again as they don’t have a fee.