Why?

The internet at large is still a cesspool.

The only difference is who is in control of it.

Missed the half-dozen boilerplate SEO sites that scraped the most generic and unhelpful information possible that feature links to whatever barely tangential software or product they might be selling.

Sure, some did. But in those novels the same individuals were actually pretty smart.

That’s the difference.

We’re not mining anything in space anytime soon. The climate crisis will end that possibility long before we can develop automated systems sufficient to get the mechanics in place and ore safely back to wherever it’s needed on Earth.

Right now spaceflight is just another profit vehicle for billionaires. The don’t get paid because of the work the companies do, they get paid because the stocks they have from those companies keep going up.

Have you visited Threads? It’s pretty horrific.

Removing outside sources of information? There are a few countries that already do this, and they’re not great places to live.

Been using facebook groups for a long time. It’s generally better than many online groups because people often use their real accounts, business accounts, or other identifiable information that helps keep bad behavior to a minimum. Also the groups I participate in tend to be heavily moderated so bad behavior and spam are near zero.

With a couple firefox plugins and some vicious “x”-ing of every ad FB puts in front of me, FB is pretty enjoyable and useful. Always the caveat - my use and participation is the product, it isn’t “free”, and I’m always aware of that.

Comic book villains are charismatic and have a plan. They can often be related to.

The villains being placed in positions of power are one dimensional, inept, and destructive for the sake of being destructive.

They’re like the villain’s stupid henchmen that constantly plot for their own selfish reasons while trying to not to catch too much attention from their leader.

In the deepest of ironies, the Allies set Germany up post-war to do a far better job with their governing and constitution (yes, yes, nothing is perfect!) than the US can do with it’s own. Especially with the critical and analytical eye on its own history.

The US just keeps sweeping everything under the rug called “When America Was Great” while ignoring the parts that were racist, colonialist, etc.

A doomsday cult set up as a religion so they can dodge taxes.

Some inside perspective:

You are talking to staff or an intern. You might be the hundredth call for the day. They’ve heard all kinds of shit, from long-winded conspiracy crazies to the most courteous and intelligent calls ever. Yelling at them or being a jerk will get you nowhere. Be prepared to state your case clearly and concisely. Your concern will indeed be noted and logged.

Do not call a congressperson that isn’t your own. They are not required to listen to you, you are not their constituent. Do not write a congressperson that is not your own. The letter is almost guaranteed to go straight into the trash.

The best letters go on the intern break room fridge to be enjoyed by all.

Even so, unfortunately the congressperson may not act in a way consistent with the majority of people’s calls and letters. Thank money and power plays in politics for that.

Threads is the same or worse. I just deleted my account.

Good luck.

I deleted Threads five days ago.

It was a cesspool of (Russian? Troll Farm?) propaganda attacking Harris for not having any accomplishments for the last four years, complaining about housing, grocery, egg, and gas prices, “fixing” America, a crapton of pro-jesus stuff, pro-Elon comments and reposts, government money going to “illegals” instead of hurricane victims, and a ton of made up lies. …

All of which were as transparent as fuck why they were wrong. VP’s don’t make policy, so what accomplishments should she have? Housing has been going up for a decade+, it’s not new, egg prices were normal while the pics were of organic egg prices and expensive grocery carts had hidden high cost items or just straight up lied about the cost, gas prices are the lowest they’ve been for years. Jesus stuff praised trump, America, tons of AI generated “holy” trump pics, bashed atheists, posted Elon’s BS pseudo-wisdom, Ignored the $20Bn spent on hurricane relief in favor of a few hundred million housing the undocumented workers living in the affected area…

It was infuriating. Because they were so obviously wrong…blatantly, in-your-face, completely fucking wrong. It was a constant flood of lies. Eight out of nine posts were BS.

But as soon as the election swung in Trump’s favor…poof…it went quiet. Hardly a peep. Gone.

And I realize that Threads was captured completely by troll farm bots spewing right-wing propaganda. And it was a waste of time. So my account will be deleted.

Truly a (reverse?) shitpost.

Refine that a little bit: he made a series of very bad business and financial choices regarding the commercial property he bought. He failed to follow through on the legal avenues he had available to him, he screwed with people who wanted to buy his property by jacking up the price after he had an offer, and he constantly blamed others for all his problems.

The man engaged in self-sabotage at every opportunity and made it everyone else’s fault.

He is in no way a hero.

I generally round up to nearest bigger number or close to that. $19.99 is $20. $23.99 would probably be $25. $180 would just be $200.

No real rhyme or reason, just the bigger the number the more I fudge the “real” price upwards thanks to sales tax and a “can I really afford this?” factor.

You bought coach, business, or first. Those were your upgrades from coach. There were no “tiers” in coach like coach “plus” or whatever extra legroom or no checked bag coach is called these days.

Seat pitch was the same for everyone.

They would charge more for window or aisle, that’s been a thing for a really long time.

Dunno why you got downvoted. Shit’s expensive. We’re doing pretty good, but live in a very plain, 60 year old home, no new cars, but we do manage a decent vacation once every other year or so. I don’t understand the “carefree” attitude being described with a $100k salary, we have to budget, plan expenses, and any big bills are still a surprise and an unhappy event.

We don’t live in major metro area, or even in the suburbs of one.

I would have felt pretty much the same way. And eaten the food anyway.

And that’s how they get those fees. Effective, isn’t it.