shalafi
@shalafi@lemmy.world
- Comment on Rock Eagle Flag 9 hours ago:
Then I ask this: School shootings simply never happened when I was a kid in the 70’s and 80’s. We had far less regulation*. Any asshole could buy a gun, get it delivered to their doorstep, and they were cheap. Yes, even AR-15s.
This shit all started with Columbine. Want to suicide and go out the most horrific way possible? Shoot up a school!
So no, it’s not the guns. Nothing has really changed on that front. So what happened?
* One exception: Conceal carry laws were nothing like today, far more restrictive. I’m leaving that out because criminals and mass murderers hardly give a shit about carrying illegally. Would that stop you if you were intent on murder? Also, at the same time, the laws around transporting guns generally became more restrictive.
- Comment on Unpopular opinion 2 days ago:
He (or she) could actually be attractive with some simple changes.
- Ditch the nerdy glasses, not working for their face. Contacts are cheap enough and switching back and forth with glasses changes your look, very cute.
- Get a decent hair cut that suits them. Find a stylish people like and go there. Gay dude at Walmart used to cut me, damn I looked good. If you’re a man, find a gay stylist, best ever. (He moved. Stylists are like gypsies, gotta get their personal card and follow 'em around.)
- Dress nicely. And dressing nice costs almost zero money. Stunning what you can find at the thrift once you land on a style that’s attractive on you. I make plenty, but I still mostly dress out of thrift stores. Got a nice collection of watches for example. Got a sack of cool ones for $1 at a roadside thrift. A couple of $.75 batteries and some polish, nice.
Probably lots of others easy/cheap things. My dentist made mouth molds for tooth whitener. $80 for molds that last forever, buy the cheap refills on Amazon. Done. And what a dramatic difference two treatments makes.
The nose is a little much, but work with it. I started parting my bowl-cut hair in 8th grade. Read that dudes with a big snoz shouldn’t do that, part on the side. Stuff like that.
They’re not fat, so there’s not that to overcome. Nice chin and hands, smile and mouth. Take his/her ass outside and move around. A little color and muscle tone is easy with quick results.
tl;dr: I’ve rarely seen a truly ugly person. Almost everyone can be at least modestly attractive, easily and cheaply.
- Comment on This has been your weekend PSA 2 days ago:
Just got mine out 5 minutes ago! And the one I left overnight.
- Comment on I feel betrayed... 2 days ago:
OTOH, a horse was incredibly valuable to a common man.
- Comment on The fine art of negotiation 3 days ago:
$3,000 was $7,209 in 2024 money (from 1990). $21/hr. would be $50 in 2024 money.
- Comment on A girl after my own heart 5 days ago:
Used to mean hygienic care. “Performing your toilet” in the morning used to encompass washing your face, brushing your teeth, whatever it is that a given person does to clean up. Makes a good generic term for all that, without including particular acts.
- Comment on Louisiana Requires Ten Commandments to Be Displayed in Every Public Classroom 6 days ago:
I can hardly be arsed to get upset except that it’ll cost the government (read: tax money) to defend this idiot thing. These people have no idea what children are like.
It’s just another stupid poster on the wall. The kids are going to fall into two groups:
A) Those that are already religious and are familiar.
B) Those that aren’t and don’t give a shit.
It’s nothing but background noise to children. Just asked my kids if they have the 10 posted in their Arkansas schoolroom. Blank stares. LOL, they wouldn’t have a clue unless the teacher made a point of teaching from them.
- Comment on U.S. Sues Adobe Over Hard-to-Cancel Subscriptions 1 week ago:
I don’t get these lawsuits. If the FTC says Adobe is breaking a law or regulation, give 'em $X days to comply. Done.
- Comment on They're everywhere!!! 1 week ago:
In the Discworld books witches are much like local doctors. There’s a young witch that can’t convince a family to move the privy away from the garden, which is making them sick. She tries to explain there are tiny, tiny animals that are coming from the poop and that’s what’s making them ill. They smile politely and don’t change anything.
The old witch comes along and it explains that the problem is the goblins in the outhouse and to move it far away from the garden. They happily do so.
- Comment on bawk 1 week ago:
Flip it. It’s not a fair thing since we read left to right.
- Comment on A Tax of 5% on The World’s Multi-Millionaires and Billionaires Could Raise $1.7 trillion, Enough to Lift 2 Billion People out of Poverty 1 week ago:
Had a friend in the day named Mike. Mike was horrified when he found out the government burned worn out bills.
“We should be giving that money to poor people!” By which Mike meant “ME!”
“So Mike, do you realize the government could easily print $1,000,000 for every citizen and just give it to us?”
“Fuck yeah man! Why don’t they do that?”
“I mow lawns for a living, $20 a pop (this was 90’s money and I was cheap). If I had a million and you had a million, everybody had a million, fuck I want with $20?! Now it’s $20,000 to even consider mowing your yard.”
Mike did not see the problem with this because my original price, $20, would still buy me a McDonalds meal. Mike was dumber than a rock.
Tax the snot out them and spread it to the public good, but it’s childish thinking 2 billion people would suddenly not be poor.
- Comment on Justice for our boy 1 week ago:
That’s honestly he most disturbing picture of Jesus I’ve ever seen. Visceral disgust kinda reaction.
Like a poor, scrawny carpenter was some ripped American meatball. Fuck me, I’m an atheist and this is gross.
- Comment on Justice for our boy 1 week ago:
I honestly wondered what Negan was doing in the pic.
- Comment on The men vs. bear saga reaches the inevitable conclusion 2 weeks ago:
Given that Grizzlies are extinct in California, yeah.
What about Brown Bears though?
- Comment on Pathetic. 2 weeks ago:
What was it Robert Heinlein said about the best revenge being to outlive your enemies? LOL, we short fuckers live longer.
Heard the term “little old man” or “little old lady”? Yeah, that’s why they’re old.
- Comment on When did a movie misrepresent the country or city you live in? 2 weeks ago:
Pensacola in Godzilla. LOL, no. It’s nowhere neat that large and lit up. They made it look like a major port city. Well, it’s a port city all right.
- Comment on SPLORP! 2 weeks ago:
You don’t have much outdoor experience I guess? I see so many comments like yours.
“I have no experience with this. DEATH TRAP!”
Go outside. Take some risks. Live life.
- Comment on Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less 2 weeks ago:
Do you think employers are stone ignorant of market rates? Who said anything about mass quitting? The people not moving on are the people who can’t. Hell, that’s where I’m at. Pretty sure I’ve attained the Peter Principle for now.
- Comment on Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less 2 weeks ago:
Fine. They all claim to have offers. It’s not like employers don’t track turnover and market rates. Some of them just decide it’s cheaper to allow high turnover. Not like they can’t work an Excel sheet.
Having said that, I’ve found many employers wholly ignorant of metrics that aren’t easily tracked. For example, 2 jobs ago I was a key player at my shitty little shop. Kept the customers rolling in, despite their aggravations with the company. You can’t put a solid number on that. (And many told me they left for the competition when I quit.)
Last job, I quit for an offer doubling my pay and benefits. They loved me, wouldn’t go for it. The next year they paid far more in IT costs than it would have cost to keep me.
Back to my point, work hard, achieve something to be proud of on your resume, jump ship. The game is only rigged for the employer is you’re in a shit job that requires almost no skills. As to that, see the example I talked about with my oil change buddy.
- Comment on Jon Stewart Tackles The Trump Conviction Fallout and Puts The Media on Trial 2 weeks ago:
He got CNN’s Crossfire cancelled. Seen that one? You should.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
He retired, quit. And still he came back to say these things, add to our discourse. He didn’t have to. He could have wondered off to an island and fucked off forever.
And OP added so much more. I don’t know what more you want from the man.
- Comment on Jon Stewart Tackles The Trump Conviction Fallout and Puts The Media on Trial 2 weeks ago:
That episode should be required for all Americans. ALL Americans.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
That was so powerful it killed the program.
I’d put this as close second for required viewing:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2HKbygLjJs
No. America isn’t the greatest country in the world anymore.
- Comment on Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less 2 weeks ago:
Preach. You gotta move to get paid. I have no idea why people would think their current employer would just throw them a gigantic increase.
- Comment on Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less 2 weeks ago:
It’s a bit messy for the employer. You can’t just hand out 20% raises every time someone threatens to leave. Then everyone would be threatening to leave. And that’s a hefty cost to add to what’s likely your largest operating expense. Also, that’s not just 20% in the employee’s pocket, there are additional costs like unemployment insurance and the like.
OTOH, unless your employee plain sucks or the job is simple, it’s almost always better to keep them than train a replacement. Tribal knowledge is valuable knowledge.
And no, only very small-time employers expect loyalty. They understand the game, and we should as well.
Funny that lemmy whines and moans about capitalism all day, without realizing they can play as well. Jumping jobs over the last 11 years got me $14 > $22 > $39. Been at this place 5-years, thinking about jumping ship again. Probably put me over $100K with a little luck. Oh, and I’ve never had such fat benefits or worked less. From home to boot.
Related: When we first moved here, a friend started at an oil change place, well below his skill set and previous pay. Kept job hopping and stacking his resume, now he’s the top service manager at the largest auto dealer group. He quit moving, guess he’s fat and happy. Sure drags in the $.
- Comment on People React To DUI Laws(1980s News Report) 2 weeks ago:
The one guy is right. You can have a beer or two and be perfectly safe to drive. (Unless you’re my 99lb. wife who hardly ever drinks.)
For those not around, MADD was a force to be reckoned with. I was a kid/teenager in the 80s, who wouldn’t normally have given a shit, but we were well aware of MADD. They were powerful and they were heard. I give them about all the credit.
As to the stats at the end, kinda wishy washy. Deaths dropping despite the huge population increase is eye opening. But vehicles and driving practices became far safer in those years. Crumple zones? No thanks. We rolled tanks. Seat belts were for communists and air bags were considered deadly.
FFS, my parents were very safety minded, but I was napping in the rear-view window deck, hauling ass on the interstate. Not sure I ever wore a seatbelt in the backseat. (And then there was the time I pulled a toy revolver on a Missouri State trooper. LOL, dad had to go downtown and pay that ticket on the spot.)
The 38,000 number is for 2020. Remember that year when we weren’t driving? Car deaths are on par with gun deaths, about 50K per CDC numbers. And one type of violence is rarely random while the other type almost always is. Driving is still pretty scary if you look at it like that.
So I’d hardly give the turnaround on drunk driving all the credit. OTOH, nobody seemed to give a shit before MADD got mad. Young people would be fucking appalled at what attitudes were like in the day.
- Comment on Humanity making progress like it always does 3 weeks ago:
Same age. Dad taught me to always clean the windshield when we filled up. Yeah.
- Comment on Right wing shit post 3 weeks ago:
Trucker picks up a couple of gay dudes hitchhiking. After they get rolling the first hitchhiker asks if he can fart in the cab.
“Sure. No problem.”
Man rips a trombone, and gods does it smell.
Further down the road the next hitchhiker asks the same.
“Hey, we all gotta bro. You go for it.”
Dude brings out a tuba, stinks like death.
Finally the trucker starts getting squirrelly.
“Guess you guys don’t mind if I let one rip?”
squeeeee
Gay guys smirk, “WE KNOW WHO’S A VIRGIN!”
(Sorry, but that’s all I can think of seeing this cartoon. Flips it around nicely. 🎷)
- Comment on Riding in style 3 weeks ago:
It’s got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It’s a model made before the catalytic converter so it’ll run good on regular gas.
- Comment on Which is which? 3 weeks ago:
Harmless old slang terms are now sexist. Got it.
- Comment on This automatic faucet that need the hands to be between the wall and the water to turn on. 3 weeks ago:
I learned it working telecom. For example, if you wish to offer 911 service, your service has to be operational 99.999% of the time.
It’s more casually used to mean a service or operation is insanely reliable.
- Comment on Why do people throw out old motors, bicycles, anything metal into rivers and lakes instead of a junk yard or the trash system? 4 weeks ago:
Around here you can leave it on the curb and someone will take it for metal. At worst you can find a guy on FB marketplace, Thrifty Nickel or some such that will pick up stuff for free.