merc
@merc@sh.itjust.works
- Comment on Saint > Pope 2 days ago:
I still can’t get over that his policies are the result of what he watches on TV. I’m not talking about his watching the Sunday morning political shows. I’m talking fictional movies in prime time that result in new US policies.
At 9pm on Saturday WLRN aired “Escape from Alcatraz”. On Sunday another Trump policy was announced: he was re-opening Alcatraz prison.
This is at least the second time that people have figured out what Trump was watching on TV to cause him to issue a new crazy edict.
- Comment on [deleted] 3 days ago:
That’s not something that can be solved by changing interest rates. To increase wages you need unions and for those unions to go on strike.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
I don’t remember what did it for me, I switched a while ago. But, I do clearly remember one time when I had the kind of moulded earphones that go really deep in your ear, and I caught the cable on something, and they got yanked out of my ears. That was pretty painful.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
Why are you so deep in your own bubble that you don’t believe that someone could simply prefer wireless? If that’s the case, you should get out more, meet more people, expand your horizons.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
Ooh, BUUURN! BUUUUUUUUUURN!!!
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
I’ve never lost one in at least a decade of using them. But, I don’t use the kind that just balance on the edge of your ear.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
Wireless means you plug it in occasionally, maybe once a week.
If you don’t value the convenience of wireless headphones, that’s great for you. For a lot of people, the cable is a real pain in the ass. It gets tangled up when it’s off. It gets caught up on things when it’s on, etc.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
If you’re listening to podcasts or music, latency doesn’t really matter.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
Yeah, it’s a risk. But, there’s also a risk of getting your wired earbuds cord caught on something. I’ve had that happen and it yanked the phone off the table and sent it crashing to the floor. I’ve also had the buds get yanked out of my ears multiple times.
If I lived somewhere where winters were mild, I might still use wired headphones. When you only have to worry about a t-shirt or something managing the cord isn’t too bad. But, when you have to manage a hat, scarf, coat, etc. there are just too many things to get in the way of the cord.
- Comment on The Circle of iLife 1 week ago:
You know what’s easier than a cable? No cable.
I’ll give you sound quality, but the whole reason that wireless earbuds took off is the hassle of wires.
- Comment on It's a fun new game 3 weeks ago:
Because it would be nice to have a card number that looked plausible that could be used in movies. Imagine if every phone number in a movie had to be (555) 555-5555. It would break your suspension of disbelief.
- Comment on It's a fun new game 3 weeks ago:
Too bad the Visa and Mastercard ones are so obviously fake.
- Comment on It's a fun new game 3 weeks ago:
It doesn’t seem to be the case, but it would be interesting if there were CC numbers that were meant to be used in movies, similar to how 555-XXXX phone numbers are never real.
- Comment on Anon is looking for a new video game 3 weeks ago:
What exactly are you doing with this headset? Are you putting it on the zombie and putting on Joe Rogan’s podcast until the Zombie’s remaining brains melt?
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
There’s a reason I didn’t say “hairs”. I believe he has one and it gets wrapped around and around and around and around and around…
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
It’s going to take a while to weed all the competent people out of the secret service.
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
Many countries saw the US as an ally, they don’t anymore.
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
What world do you live in where you don’t understand that the US has many enemies?
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
He’d know what it would do to his hair, he’d never risk that.
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
What country would want him shot? He’s destroying the US more effectively than any enemy could ever hope to do.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
No, only in Quebec. There’s a bit of French spoken in Ontario (especially on the border with Quebec), and maybe 30% of the population in New Brunswick, but in other provinces it’s not even the second most spoken language.
For example, Manitoba’s most widely spoken languages are 1M English, 33k Tagalog, 30k Punjabi, 19k German and 15k French.
- Comment on How likely is it that Trump will be the first President assassinated since Kennedy? 4 weeks ago:
I don’t think it’s at all likely. Trump knows he’s hated, and he isn’t about to go and do a parade in a convertible. More importantly, the secret service knows he’s hated and know they screwed up huge in letting someone take a shot at him, so they’ve dialed security up to 11.
Reagan and JFK were shot at a time when they had extremely high approval ratings. It was probably harder for the secret service to stay focused and for everyone to take threats seriously when that was the case.
This isn’t a Hollywood movie where a billionaire can go on the dark web and hire The Jackal or something. If they were to try to place a hit, most of The Jackals out there are probably feds posing as hitmen.
But, let’s say somehow a billionaire could find people willing to make the attempt. Trying to assassinate the US president is a suicide mission. If someone tries to do it as a lone gunman, they’re going up against the entire secret service. They may get the attack in, but they’re almost certainly not going to get away. If it’s a group of attackers, the more people, the more communications, the more communications, the more opportunities for the NSA to spot them.
And, this is one time we don’t have to worry about nation-states attacking the president. The US is punching itself in the dick over and over right now. If you’re someone who wants the US to fail, you just have to stand by and watch. In fact, if an enemy’s surveillance of the US turned up a plan to kill Trump, they’d probably warn the secret service to make sure Trump stays in power as long as possible.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
Whatever you say, bud.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
I’m not defending taco bell, I’m just saying that they serve tacos. Why are you so convinced that they don’t?
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
I have relatives in Mexico, I visit regularly and we go for tacos all the time. There are lots of varieties of different kinds of tacos. Meat-stuffed tacos are not the norm in Mexico. Most of them only have a little meat and a lot of sauce. That’s what allows them to be sold incredibly cheaply. You can easily get a dozen tacos from the taco stand on the corner for what one taco will cost at taco bell. Because they’re so cheap, you can get a lot of variety from just one visit: suadero, lengua, carnitas, etc.
Taco Bell isn’t as good, and the flavours aren’t completely authentic, but it still obviously a taco. When my cousin visits Canada/USA he prefers to get burritos (from Chipotle) because he can’t get them where he lives in Mexico and he loves them. He doesn’t get tacos because they’re tacos, and he can get much better ones in Mexico.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a joke or something, but yes. More than 90% of the people in Quebec speak French. More than 50% speak English, but for most it’s a second language.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
Taco Bell sells tacos that are reasonably close to Mexican street tacos. Obviously not as good, but it’s a small soft tortilla with fillings, that’s what you get in Mexico too.
Burritos are also Mexican, though they’re not as common across the whole country as tacos. The modern burrito comes from Ciudad Juarez right on the border with Texas.
Most of the rest of the Taco Bell menu isn’t authenitcally Mexican, but I’d say their core menu items are tacos and burritos.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
They’re not at all snobby. The French in France are snobby. If you try to speak to them in French and it isn’t Parisian-style french, they’ll try to switch languages on you because they can’t bear to have their dear language mangled like that.
The Quebecois aren’t snobby, they’re just obnoxious about preserving their language and culture. And it gets pretty absurd. Around the world stop signs say “STOP” even in French speaking countries. But, in Quebec they mostly say “Arret”, and when a local English-speaking community has stop signs that say stop, vigilantes sometimes change them to Arret.
- Comment on Genius 4 weeks ago:
Nope. The Canadian government just sighs and wishes Quebec wouldn’t be such a problem.
- Comment on ain't your buddy, pal! 4 weeks ago:
Florida has a few bros.