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Comment: Does no one remember being a nerd? (Score 1) 548

by Valdrax (#46510949) Attached to: Prominent GitHub Engineer Julie Ann Horvath Quits Citing Harrassment

I wonder how many men, if going away with perceptions like these, would be ready to ascribe it to some "them vs. me" issue. I mean, one can't conclude on basis of statements like these that some sort of improper discrimination wasn't going on, but neither can one conclude that it was.

Not many, for much the same reasons that polls show that white consider us to be living in a post-racial worlds while nearly everyone else in America disagrees strongly.

You don't generally notice discrimination if you're not the one being discriminated against, since most of it will happen out of your sight. You may have some awareness that "some people" still act that way, but it will seem remote to you and likely overblown.

Does no one remember what it was like to be a geek or nerd in high school? Sometimes people act against you with open, gleeful hostility, but most of the time, it's just a subtle undercurrent of preconceived notions and dismissive attitudes. Guess what? It doesn't really go away when we get older. It just happens to different people.

Comment: Re: Living in 1925 kinda sucked (Score 1) 432

The invisible hand has always worked way way better at improving people's standard of living than kill/steal from the rich policies ever have.

Oh yes, I agree: the economic boom in the 50s and 60s clearly had nothing to do with the fact that the highest marginal income tax rate was 90%. Clearly.

Comment: Re:Ah, the Planet Pluto (Score 1) 32

by Valdrax (#46510875) Attached to: Pluto Regains Its Title As Largest Object In Its Neighborhood

The whole "We changed our mind and decided that Pluto isn't a planet" is bullshit. Just say that Pluto and Eris are both planets and be done with it.

Define "planet" in a meaningful, non-arbitrary way that does not include dozens of other bodies not traditionally recognized as planets in our solar system (e.g. Ceres). It's believed the Kuiper belt has hundreds of dwarf planets. You want to promote them all just to not have to give up a mnemonic from childhood?

Comment: Re:Consumption taxes favor the rich. (Score 1) 246

that is why you don't tax "necessary" consumption, like purchase of food, payment of rent payment of electricity, water ... (0% tax)
and you do tax all luxury items like food in "high" category like Caviar, Champagne, expensive vines, expensive cars, expensive houses/villas, hotel bills, private planes yachts ...

Woah, woah, woah. How do you determine what is and isn't a luxury item within the same category?

Let's take food, for example. So caviar is taxable, but what else is? Fatty tuna? Well, it's pretty expensive, but where do you draw the line between taxable tuna and not taxable tuna? Is there a tuna chart or fat percentage? You mention expensive wines, but where is the line on what's "expensive?" $100 bottles? $50 bottles? $20 bottles? Anything that doesn't come in a box or a 4-pack? Is organic food a luxury? Is meat? Do you tax steak at a Longhorn's different from Waffle House? Hell, are all restaurants luxuries or not, since people can just cook at home?

From the sound of things, you are creating a tax code far more detailed, controlling, and onerous than our existing income tax code. Furthermore, will its dividing lines move with inflation? How do you set up POS check-out terminals to handle this? What about private sellers (e.g. garage sales & eBay)? Etc. etc.

you can make as much for society as you want tax free, but as soon as you start spending resources you start loosing money

Compounding interest, my friend. Those who can afford to save will see their money grow, and even if they get taxed the same later, they still had a chance to grow in wealth far faster than someone who had to spend it all on necessities.

Comment: Re:Ah, the Planet Pluto (Score 1) 32

by ackthpt (#46510733) Attached to: Pluto Regains Its Title As Largest Object In Its Neighborhood

the guys who run the telescopes decided to start calling Pluto a dwarf planet


Some guys decided to start calling it a Dwarf Planet, after pretty much everyone else attending the IAU had gone home. They conspired to hold a meeting, without a full quorum and voted these BS standards into place. As disgusting a fixing of science as any effing millionaire/billionaire trying to rewrite school textbooks with whatever they personally would rather the youth of the nation end up spouting.

Comment: Re:Ssssure... (Score 1) 83

by Marxist Hacker 42 (#46510523) Attached to: Dorian Nakamoto Officially Denies That He Created Bitcoin

I've been told I was an idiot for signing a contract for a $4000 timeshare without a lawyer reading it first. After the timeshare was foreclosed upon in 2002 and they just sent me my 2014 bill for maintenance fees.

On second thought.....I was an idiot, and that's what the entire timeshare industry is built on, sucking idiots dry (I'm just not enough of an idiot to have paid those maintenance fees in the last 12 years, and they'll never get another penny out of me).

Comment: Re:And the US could turn Russia into vapor (Score 1) 563

by ackthpt (#46510423) Attached to: Russian State TV Anchor: Russia Could Turn US To "Radioactive Ash"

The more inflation, the more the other holders of dollars would be harmed. I think Russia would do themselves far more harm than they would the US and once it's done -- that's all they can do. Russia is currently an exporter of raw materials, not much in the way of manufactured goods. A pretty weak economy. The people of The Crimea will eventually share that benefit, too.

Listening to business people in the Crimea, they're quite aware what leaving Ukraine means to them - closing up shop, laying off workers, pulling up stakes and starting again somewhere where the heavy hand of Russian Customs and Duties will not interfer with supply and distribution.

Comment: Re:Think you miss the point (Score 1) 193

by PopeRatzo (#46510379) Attached to: Paris Bans Half of All Cars On the Road

So how much did it really help to design a city to facilitate this when they still have vast pollution issues from cars?

Can you say the old cities of Europe were designed to facilitate biking? Nor were they designed for cars, as cities like Los Angeles were. Most of them weren't "designed" for anything but the glory of the monarchy.

If people are biking in Europe, it's most likely despite the city's design, not because of it.

Here in the US, we had cities that were so choked with smog that it caused respiratory ailments. It took the EPA a couple of decades to fix that, much in the same way they cleaned up the Great Lakes. I'm not sure one fix like "odd/even license plate days" are going to fix Europe's problems quickly.
