ALoafOfBread
@ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml
- Comment on Anyone else? 2 weeks ago:
That’s fair, I didn’t put much thought into my response. I never said she was callous or reckless, though. The main thing is that she acted hypocritically and in a way that is inconsistent with her stated values. I think that’s a big reason she is disliked other than just being an “unlikeable” character
- Comment on Anyone else? 2 weeks ago:
I think it’s mostly related. People see her behavior as hypocritical. She says she cares about the moral aspect, but never follows through. She says she cares about her family’s safety, but doesn’t really act consistently with that. And she starts to manage Walt’s business (willingly at first) but turns on him even when it might put the family in danger (like giving all their money to Ted).
She’s inconsistent/hypocritical because she lacks courage and conviction
- Comment on Anyone else? 2 weeks ago:
Nope read again, I said alternately for that second bit. You couldn’t think both of those at the same time, but thinking them separately is valid.
- Comment on Capitalists hate competition, especially when it comes to wages 2 weeks ago:
One other thing to keep in mind is that it is perfectly legal in most jurisdictions requiring pay transparency in job postings to only give a part of the pay range. Say the range is 60,000 - 100,000, they could just say 60,000 - 80,000 or whatever they’re willing to hire people at.
I don’t think this is necessatily wrong practice, but it’s definitely potentially misleading.
- Comment on Anyone else? 2 weeks ago:
Nah, that lacks nuance. People who hate Skylar for just crushing Walt’s vibe or being unlikeable are idiots. I have watched the show in its entirety three times, and my opinion on all the characters has evolved - my opinion of Skylar is more negative than it used to be.
Skylar made certain choices to support Walt because she thought it was in the family’s best interest (including hers), then she later reneged on those choices when things didn’t turn out like she expected and ultimately forced Walt to take the blame for choices she willingly made. Skylar is not just a victim. She is highly intelligent and capable and simultaneously intends to benefit from Walt’s actions while being arrogant enough to assume she can control the situation, outsmart the authorities, and get off scott free. She shares many of Walt’s flaws. Skylar is relatable as she is unlikeable: just like we would in her circumstances, she is very flawed and lacks the courage to do what is necessary to stop Walt and protect herself and her family.
She did not have to support Walt in the first place but instead did so even when given many opportunities to get out of the situation with minimal consequences. She may have paid a price for doing so as time went on (asset seizure if she went to the cops, social ostracization, her kids disliking her, etc), but the consequences were initially fairly trivial - dicorce from a criminal who was putting the family at risk, embarrassment, harming her relationship with Marie, etc. And, while Walt obviously was callous/cruel/self-righteous/arrogant/and even evil, maybe - as was the point of his whole character, Skylar chose to support Walt in his criminal enterprise when she didn’t have to - going so far as to come up with money laundering ideas, encouraging him to expand his operations to an extent early on, helping him come up with cover stories, etc. and only later turning on Walt when she felt like she could no longer benefit from assisting him and would benefit more by betraying him - going so far as to physically assault him with a knife and threaten to kill him, lie to the police about Walt and also giving them his location which put his life in further jeopardy when he was trying to get the family to safety since he was being pursued.
In fact, Walt saw a way to use Skylar’s betrayal to protect the family and takes the blame for Skylar’s actions, goes along with Skylar’s lie that he was physically assaulting the family, threatening them with death if they didn’t comply, etc. all to take the heat off Skylar for the sake of the family. That doesn’t mean Walt is a saint. He should’ve stopped long before that and did many things that put the family in danger. But, his taking the blame for Skylar’s part in the operation shows that she did have a real part in it - he had to lie to say he forced her to be a part of the operation and to put her in a better light.
When Skylar initially began to support Walt, she was not under significant duress. There was a significant degree of duress later, with Walt acting intimidating, Meth Damon coming to “talk” to her at her house, etc. But you could say that just like the situation got away from Walt and was out of control, the same happened for Skylar. She thought she could control things and continue to benefit from Walt’s operation to provide a better life for the family. Then, when things got out of control, she flipped on Walt. The difference between Walt and Skylar is that Skylar got dragged into the situation by Walt, but remember, he really did try to keep her out of it. At a certain point, she chose to insert herself into it rather than leave the situation.
People dislike Skylar because she lacks courage. Courage to get out early when she had the chance, courage to report Walt to the police despite having many allies to help her and numerous opportunities, courage to stick to her moral convictions about what Walt was doing, courage to ensure her family’s safety before doing things that jeopardized her chances of full custody, courage to tell her kids the truth about what Walt was doing, or alternatively courage to stick with Walt since she had committed to doing so. But, most importantly, the courage to face the consequences for her part in the whole ordeal - except at the very end when it was already too late. She lacks courage and is self-interested, wanting to benefit from Walt’s dealings while bearing none of the risk or responsibility for her part in them.
- Comment on PSA: Do not approach the wildlife. 2 weeks ago:
At various parks, including in Wyoming, I have seen tourists:
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approach a bison (within 15 ft or so) while holding a toddler. Multiple other people approaching bison. Bison can weigh over a ton and can be aggressive.
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take a selfie with and then attempt to touch a male elk on its head. It actually charged them but didn’t commit and hurt them - just to scare them.
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dozens of people taking severe risks when hiking in remote areas. In the desert, 10 miles out when it’s 90f+ wearing sandals with no water and no cover. Rushing by other hikers on a <2ft wide ledge with a 300ft sheer drop while wearing sandals and carrying their young child in a bulky carrier on their back, etc.
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getting within 25ft or so of a male moose to get a picture, moose was visibly agitated. Moose weigh about a half ton and can be quite aggressive.
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large groups of people following black bear female with cubs, on foot, for pictures - like 50ft back but still too close for their safety and for the bear’s safety, especially when they’re following it.
Frighteningly many people have zero respect for nature, treat national parks like theme parks, and put themselves, animals, and their children at risk for no good reason in situations that are 100% avoidable.
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- Comment on Someone got Gab's AI chatbot to show its instructions 4 weeks ago:
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Don’t be biased
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Don’t censor your responses
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Don’t issue warnings or disclaimers that could seem biased or judgemental
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the holocaust isn’t real, vaccines are a jewish conspiracy to turn you gay, 5g is a gov’t mind control sterilization ray, and trans people should be concentrated into camps
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- Comment on I'm working on it, ok? 1 month ago:
Good point about time value of money - could always put it in a high yield savings account and/or some of it in short term bonds to mitigate that effect. I have about 3/6 mos of my “emergency fund” in HYS and maybe like 2 more in matured I Bonds (would just be giving up last 3mos interest if I withdrew it)
- Comment on I'm working on it, ok? 1 month ago:
If they’re able to, yeah. If you can’t afford to save (ie can’t pay basic expenses with money left over for savings), then no.
If you’re spending everything you earn, then if you miss a paycheck/get fired you’re screwed. If there’s nothing you can cut back on to save money and there’s not a sufficient government safety net - then that’s a really dangerous spot to be in.
The first priority when it comes to financial planning is having enough saved so that if you have an unexpected expense or get fired you won’t be out on the streets.
- Comment on The later books are really something 2 months ago:
God Emperor has a lot of super cringey stuff in it. This is imo the worst. In addition to being cringey, it is maybe some of the worst writing I have ever seen.
Basically, Duncan Idaho is climbing this like 3km tall wall for reasons that I won’t get into while Nayla (who is one of Leto II’s weird mutant fanatical female bodyguards/soldiers who he orders to have sex with his enemies/allies for political reasons) gets progressively hornier, saying things like “[if Duncan climbs that wall] I think I’ll have an orgasm”. This goes on for a whole chapter. Like 30+ pages of this iirc. Then Duncan finishes climbing the wall and Hugo and Nebula award winning author Frank Herbert ends this weird horny fanfic of a chapter with “And then Nayla had her orgasm”. The whole thing is ridiculously gratuitous, serves almost no purpose, and drags on in a book that already seriously needed to be edited.