I think I read somewhere that about 20% of the population spends money foolishly. Constantly buying premium cars, electronics,fashion, food, boats, etc. etc. while racking up debt to a point that they aren’t saving any money and live month to month.

If it wasn’t for that 20% out economy go into recession and millions would be out of work. Products the rest of us use would likely increase in cost as manufacturing would need to make the revenue somewhere.

If someone wants to spend their money on stupid shit let them. It keeps others employed.

This above all things. The number of inputs required to build a microchips is insane. There are probably 2 to 3 thousand separate vendors who are part of this process all of which produce highly specialized products. Not to mention the fact that all silicon used to produce chips is currently mined in a single quarry in South Carolina.

China might be able to make a fab, but the inputs required to make chips are too diverse for any single nation to build 3 or 4 nm chips at scale by themselves.

Sounds like because you don’t use those devices regularly they don’t get a chance to download updates. When you finally do turn them on after long periods being off they have a lot of downloads to do and your password has expired (My Xbox can be very frustrating when it comes to passwords)… PCs will perform the same way in the same circumstances.

But consoles do update and start working after a password reset, fewer choices and a curated environment means the non technically oriented like the rest of my family can get it up and running without bugging me.

Consoles are probably just not your cup of tea and that’s ok! 👍

100% This, I work in IT all day. The last thing I want to do with my personal time is build and support a home built machine attached to my TV that my kids or wife will use to watch Netflix or play a few games. Especially if I am out of town and something stops working.

That’s why I own a PlayStation and pay a premium for their games on an inferior platform compared to PC. It generally just works with out me having to fuck with it all the time. I’d get a Steam box for the same reason.

You can remove the /s… that’s going to be Trumps playbook moving forward.

Try a Speed Queen and then get back to me.

I guess I’m practically Calvin Candy if I buy food to donate to a homeless shelter…

My own thought is that he views these tokens through the eyes of a mobster. They are tokens of obedience, loyalty and subservience.

When people kiss his ass he loves it because they are acknowledging his power over them. But he doesn’t respect them and would turn on them in an instant.

Was perma banned in Reddit a few years ago for discussing ACA compliance. I saw it coming for awhile, the any comment I made no matter how inauspicious was flagged over the course of a few weeks.

After banning I was unable to post on any of my accounts. But I could change prior comments so I used an app to generate AI gibberish and replace years of comments and participation with AI bullshit to salt the earth for Reddit.

Before you leave I recommend doing the same.

Chaos, division and a weakened America is the goal. Why do you think all of the major MAGA social influencers are foreigners.

Shit the new “America First” movement trying to replace MAGA as it fades is pushed by RT News.

Unfortunately American citizen have been conditioned to accept propaganda without critical thinking. So we are especially susceptible to it.

Same, I had been on android since the OG Droid and switched around the same time for similar reasons.

If Apple is going to charge premium prices just to splash ads on their products I’m moving on again.

I’ve only owned windows machines… well since my first DOS machine in the 90s. I made the switch to Mac after hearing about the embedded Ads in 11.

I’m sure there are many more going to Linux.

It depends upon the setting and what you want. Showing up to a McDonalds shift in a suite and tie trying to get the CEO job. Not so much.

Showing up to your first office job and meeting with your bosses in a nice polo or button down shirt and slacks looking professional, yes. It signals you are eager and want to succeed. Which will go a long way.

Of course you still have to put the work in. But your boss will be more likely to give you more training/work/promotions if they know you want to learn and work over someone who doesn’t give a shit.

This is a MASSIVE money grab. Instead of paying up front and outright owning the equipment. Governments will now rent equipment and Infinitum. They will pay for that tank, ship, fighter etc multiple times over the lifetime of that equipment.

You also won’t have old equipment that can be just given away or sold at a discounted rate to allies or friends like Ukraine when an emergency occurs.

I’ve had Windows machines since Windows 3.1, when it was time to start looking at buying a new machine to run Windows 11 I noped once I saw the Ads etc. etc.

This year I bought a Mac for the first time.

AI hype is papering over the bullshit economy that exists underneath it all. Only a handful of companies make up most of the gains in the past few years of the stock market. If you take that away the market has been pretty flat. Which reflects the reality for most people.

I don’t buy civ games until they release all the DLC. Since CIV 5 it seems like they have released unfinished games that lack major game mechanics on launch and the game only gets finished through DLC.

Poor adoption and sales with CIV 7 is their own fault. They have conditioned the market to wait for the DLC.

It’s simultaneously a grift and a way to impose a flat sales tax all in one package.

1. Republicans have been creaming their pants for years at the thought of imposing a regressive flat tax on all sales while doing away with income based taxation. This would forever shift the majority of the tax burden to the poor and middle class. Which is why we see Trump cutting taxes on the wealthy with his Big Ugly Bill and imposing a tariff as a way to tax the unwashed masses while simultaneously claiming he isn’t. Hopefully the courts strike down his power grab and force Congress to vote on Tariffs. The weasels will probably give it to them but at least we get to see Republicans go on record as voting for a tax increase.

2. Trump has announced or will announce tariff exemptions that benefit large companies that have donated to him. Sometime later if he feels he needs more money he will announce a higher random tariff on the exempted goods and shake these corps down for more money/favors. All the while he can claim he is doing our industry a favor.

Never forget Trump is a grifting piece of shit who will always stick it to the little guy.

22 is too young. From a purely clinical point of view your brain isn’t done maturing and you haven’t hit the prime years of your life.

But there is no option in the US for male birth control and there is a chance that the vasectomy can be reverse, so do what you think you need t so. It’s not a chance I would take though.

The only justice you can find in America is the justice you can create with your own hands.