Random Rants

[mclaincausey]

It beggars belief that someone was dumb enough to think that touch screen games on the screens behind the headrest of an airplane seat was a sensible idea.

[goosehd]

@mclaincausey You noticed that…spent my last flight with a kid playing some game behind me…

[mclaincausey]

It’s such an obviously stupid idea. What did they think was going to happen?

[tody]

Not this, obviously:

[flannel slut]

@tody me preparing for Monday

[Graeme]

There's currently a housing crisis in Australia. Somehow, despite having a land area close to the contiguous 48 states in the US, and a tenth of the population, we have some of the most expensive property in the world. When a friend who lives in SF thinks prices are insane, you know there's a problem.

Anyway, in the news today:

"There is not a single property across Australia – or even a room in a shared house – that's affordable for someone on youth allowance, according to a new report from support organisation Anglicare Australia.

And just three properties Australia-wide were deemed affordable for those on a JobSeeker allowance."

I'm probably moving house in a few months, and I'm not looking forward to hunting for a new place.

[Mizmazzle]

This is crazy. Sounds especially drastic in Australia, but it’s a situation here in Colorado as well.
When I moved here 30 years ago, I was a kid living on next to nothing in income. Yet I had my own apartment downtown and never seemed to lack beer money to go out every night.
I feel very fortunate that as my income has increased I’ve been able to stay above the housing cost increases due to buying my house before shit went insane. I can’t imagine how challenging it it for young people or those that struggle with income to find a decent place to live.

[popvulture]

I feel the same way, @Mizmazzle . When I moved to Austin 17 years ago, I could get a 2br apartment in the most desirable part of town for IIRC $800. I'd moved from Brooklyn, and had so much space in my new place that I had a couple empty rooms due to not having enough furniture to put in them. I have no idea what that place would cost now.

I also bought my house before shit went nuts, and it's really wild and disheartening that the generations below me have a hard time becoming homeowners or just can't do it at all. My place is definitely what I'd call a starter home — kinda crappily constructed, built in the early 80s on the cheap — and nowadays the same place would be in the budget of well-established professionals. What you get for your money here makes my stomach turn.

[Mizmazzle]

@popvulture the divide between economic classes is becoming very wide. It’s crazy how noticeable it is over the last several years. Homelessness at a staggering rate and cost of living through the roof.

[Dchill]

@popvulture agreed Austin has changed since I moved back in 2000. Wife and I bought a home in 2020 and the increase in value is wild.

[Walery Smirnoff]

Hello guys. I read your posts. I multiply everything you wrote by 3. And what you get is what can be called life in Russia. On the one hand, cheap services in the service sector, on the other hand, expensive goods, loans and the weakness of Russian business. The cheapest car costs 10 thousand dollars. Mortgage loan 15-16 percent per annum. Consumer loan from 16 percent and above. Housing prices have increased by a third since the start of the war. Fuel prices are rising slowly, but in small steps every month. The average salary is less than $500 per month. And many live on 250 So believe me guys, your destiny is still luxury)))

[jordanscollected]

I just cancelled an upcoming Turo car rental because after booking they sent a "required disclosure" message that they have an Apple Air Tag on the keychain to track the keys if they get lost. I get if they want to have a tracker in the car, but I'm not ok with a host having a tracker in my pocket. Seems like a step too far towards a full on invasion of privacy.

I know my phone's always being tracked but this feels different.

[mclaincausey]

Google: fuck you in particular for not allowing YouTube TV to load outside of the US. What is the point of downloading videos? I paid to add the 4K package specifically to watch Shōgun on a trip.

Similarly, Amazon, fuck you in particular too for needing a network connection at all to watch downloaded content.

Only Disney has gotten this feature correct.

[Giles]

Don't disagree, and this is not really the point, but can't you VPN in from "America"......?

[mclaincausey]

Yep you definitely can but I didn’t bother installing a VPN just to use the service while in Berlin, where we didn’t have time to watch, and you can’t run one on United WiFi anyway.

Bonus fuck you to whoever keeps shitting themselves on this flight. It smells like a nursing home in here

My wife thought it was a diaper from a nearby baby but no infant is capable of such devastation. This is someone who had too much beer and sauerkraut and/or a ruptured colostomy bag.

sigh I guess I’ll try to fall asleep. My Iron Heart bandana is doing the best it can as a mask. Wish I had an N95.

[Giles]

@mclaincausey said in Random Rants:

but no infant is capable of such devastation

[Tago Mago]

My car has a cracked windshield from a stone chip. So I took my wife’s car. End result:

[ARNC]

@Tago-Mago I’m no expert but that doesn’t look quite right. More seriously, hope you’re ok and everything gets fixed quickly and without too much damage to your IH budget.

[Tago Mago]

@ARNC thanks, all good. May be time to retire the car. Got it through MOT last year, but had a broken coil spring since and now this. I’m in the same boat as you with regard to my mechanical knowledge but I’m pretty sure that those two loose ends belong together

[tody]

@Tago-Mago I have cars way older that look way better underneath. I'd say that one needs much more than just a new exhaust.