13 August 2024

Truths and inspirations for 13 August 2024

If something's hard to see or read, click to enlarge.

My hope for these posts is that they will provoke thinking, not mere agreement or disagreement.  If I can get you to consider even one idea which you would not previously have entertained, or which would not previously have occurred to you, then I've succeeded in what I'm trying to do.

[For the link round-up, click here.]







"Earlier, cosmetics were tested on animals.  Happily, now, we have influencers."








I can still remember when, almost anywhere, you might routinely encounter that stench.  The other day I happened to pass close to an actual dead skunk which had been hit by a car.  Even that didn't smell one-tenth as bad as the stink of cigarettes.







































It's who they are.




















11 Comments:

Anonymous Reaganite Independent said...

Asking seriously, what is wrong with cashless enterprise?

Is it the socio-economic consideration that it excludes some people, or such?

I almost don’t do business with anyone who doesn’t take Apple Pay, so the opposite.🤷‍♂️ I don’t have to worry about security at all, or touching filthy money, been this way since COVID. It’s even faster than cash, no counting change, whatever

I’ve had the same cash in my wallet for months.

I don’t want Face ID so I’m right now getting a new iPad while they still offer Touch ID

There’s a very gratifying little haptic click when the fingerprint/payment goes through and the bell rings 😁

Apple Pay is the way to go, man

13 August, 2024 02:04  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

If a business is cashless, that means it is denying me the option of paying in cash, even if I prefer to do so. All payment methods other than cash can, in principle, be tracked -- that is, some corporate entity or the government can in principle monitor what you are buying. There are situations where that's undesirable. (I do not, obviously, agree with the sentiment attributed to Goebbels that "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear". It's none of their damn business.)

A store does not need to be cashless in order to give you the option of using Apple Pay (whatever the hell that is). Every store I go to takes credit cards and cash and probably other things as well. Going cashless is about taking away an option, the only truly anonymous one.

13 August, 2024 03:19  
Blogger Lady M said...

Here is a fascinating article I just read on my phone that might interest you https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/08/13/gen-z-women-less-religious/74673083007/

13 August, 2024 11:23  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

I can understand Woody not wanting a phone. Only 3 people have my phone number. lol I only have it in case I fall down outside while walking the dog. lol

I don't know if I agree with the BDSM statement. Someone who enjoys being choked will want someone to choke them. If that other person does it with care to not hurt them but only to bring them the pleasure they want but not go over a line, they can still love them while doing that because they are doing something that the other person finds fun and gets pleasure from.

My dad is Mormom and gives a tithing to his church. I don't get it. He has to know that it's going to the church so they can get bigger and it's not really going to help anyone. He says he pays it so he can get into heaven when he does. It makes no sense to me.

13 August, 2024 14:41  
Anonymous Reaganite independent said...

OK, I had heard this was an issue because it excluded homeless and other people from certain stores, you know

I understand what you’re saying

You would actually like Apple Pay then- it’s the most anonymous payment method

The payee only gets a payment code and the money, they don’t know anything else unless you want to tell them, and not your email, account number, home address,, CCV security code, phone number, credit card number, none of that goes anywhere.

They can’t even send you a direct email. It goes through Apple and comes to you via a code- but they don’t know your email box.

And no, I don’t work for the company or own the stock 😁

I shop a lot online and during COVID it became a habit. Now I use it everywhere

Alas, in the last few years, I’ve come to the conclusion that the era of privacy is over forever - and that’s just how it is 🤷‍♂️

I find this to be the best compromise for my purposes

13 August, 2024 22:32  
Blogger Richard said...

Hey! Calm down over there! I eat bugs. Me and my primate ancestors have always eaten bugs. Popular favorites include not only shrimp and molluscs, but also a variety of chapulines, escamoles, grubs, etcetera.
They are tasty and nutritious, and they have heritage food status.

13 August, 2024 23:13  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Lady M: That's very interesting. Given Christianity's general attitude about women, the biggest surprise is that it took so long to happen, but it's great news that it finally is.

Mary K: Basically the same with me. If it weren't for the possibility of car breakdowns, I probably wouldn't have a phone at all.

I'm aware of the viewpoint you're expressing about BDSM, but that piece was basically written as a response to it. For one thing, choking a person is dangerous. Someone without medical training doesn't know exactly how much reduction of blood flow and oxygen (and for how long) the brain can tolerate without suffering permanent damage. Thanks largely to the poisonous influence of pornography, many people have become convinced that things like choking, slapping, whipping, etc are just normal and harmless variants of sexuality. They aren't. Incorporating violence into sex is pathological behavior. People who do that are ill in some way. Very often, as (apparently) with the writer of that item, it originates with an over-controlling or violent home environment.

Religion is an awesome racket, not least because it's so effective at making people give money in exchange for absolutely nothing, even though it makes no sense to think that God needs money or can't support whatever religion is his "true" one.

Reaganite: Nothing is as anonymous as cash. Also, none of that stuff would work during a prolonged power failure or internet outage. The bottom line is, a business which declares itself cashless is taking away an option which in some cases I might want to use, so I have no interest in patronizing it or in encouraging that kind of policy.

Richard: Yuck. Well, I doubt many moderns will want to follow your example.

14 August, 2024 07:51  
Blogger seafury said...

I always look forward to the next installment. Of T&I. this one fell on my birthday. Thank you

14 August, 2024 09:27  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Happy birthday! (Even if a day late.) Glad the collections interest you.

14 August, 2024 11:20  
Blogger bdbdbd said...

Crustaceans and bivalves aren't bugs. That's dumb. Bivalves aren't even arthropods.

17 August, 2024 07:50  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Crustaceans are arthropods and thus fall within the general usage meaning of "bugs", even if not the strict scientific meaning. Oysters are just as gross and disgusting as bugs, so I'm not inclined to split hairs. The general point remains valid.

17 August, 2024 08:10  

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