Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[zoobyshoe]

I guess that they should have claimed that it would turn people into litigious morons.

Benjamin Careathers, a regular consumer of the fizzy drink, sued the company for false advertising, arguing that after 10 years drinking Red Bull he neither had wings nor any enhanced athletic or intellectual performance.

The above sounds moronic. But the actual nitty gritty of the lawsuit makes more sense. The contention was that Red Bull claimed their product was more "performance-enhancing" than the average cup of coffee. That is what wasn't born out by the facts:

“Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of ‘energy’ worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine.”

So, the false advertising consists of presenting their product as somehow superior to coffee, hence worth more, when it actually isn't.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My water's been shut off while the plumber fixes a leak. He left while the glue dries and now he's been gone over an hour.

 

[lisab]

My water's been shut off while the plumber fixes a leak. He left while the glue dries and now he's been gone over an hour.

This is how life will be in a few years, if that drought continues much longer.

 

[zoobyshoe]

This is how life will be in a few years, if that drought continues much longer.

Captain Kirk will save us:
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83375748/

Actually I don't understand why, a long time ago, California wasn't working on developing every kind of way to desalinize sea water. We have all of that a state could have, and our supply of fresh water has been precarious from the start.

I don't have any hope the drought is going to suddenly clear up. The southwest is probably going to wither up and die.

 

[Lisa!]

It seems that I can't get Closer movie (2004) out of my mind!

 

[OmCheeto]

Captain Kirk will save us:
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83375748/

Actually I don't understand why, a long time ago, California wasn't working on developing every kind of way to desalinize sea water. We have all of that a state could have, and our supply of fresh water has been precarious from the start.

I don't have any hope the drought is going to suddenly clear up. The southwest is probably going to wither up and die.

I have a FB friend up in the Seattle area who posted Shatner's proposal, the day after he made it.

It took me a few days to figure out what Shatner was doing, but in the end, it was, IMHO, pure genius.

And don’t think badly of Shatner. He has made his proposal with tongue firmly planted in cheek. After receiving a negative response from folks up in the land of Amazon, Starbucks, REI and Microsoft, Shatner sent out a tweet that read: “Dearest Citizens of Seattle if you think I'm an idiot or evil enough to steal your much needed water; you don't know me very well.”

See? We knew he was a hero. What Shatner is really hoping to do is bring attention to a big challenge — not just the drying up of California, but the drying out of the entire West. It is a challenge that needs to have brought to it some bold, futuristic ideas. It is a worthy mission for everyone, from border to border.

#1: I discovered that Seattle had zero spare water.
#2: There's a river, about 200 miles south of Seattle, that could supply all of California's water needs, just by siphoning off 13% of it. And that's assuming it never ever rained in California, ever again.

The strangest thing I found, was that water prices in San Diego, were the same as they were in the "Seattle" region.
Though, I discovered many strange things, other than that.

 

[zoobyshoe]

#2: There's a river, about 200 miles south of Seattle, that could supply all of California's water needs, just by siphoning off 13% of it. And that's assuming it never ever rained in California, ever again.

I haven't heard of this, but if it's true, then the Shatner pipeline should go there.

The strangest thing I found, was that water prices in San Diego, were the same as they were in the "Seattle" region.
Though, I discovered many strange things, other than that.

I was thinking about this today. Why haven't they raised water prices here to discourage waste? I suppose people who aren't wasting would complain. As it is, they are on the verge of ticketing and fining wasters instead. There are already restrictions on lawn watering and other stuff like that.

 

[OmCheeto]

I haven't heard of this, but if it's true, then the Shatner pipeline should go there.

I proposed it on FB, and all the Goonies could do was knee-jerk, and say no.

I was thinking about this today. Why haven't they raised water prices here to discourage waste? I suppose people who aren't wasting would complain. As it is, they are on the verge of ticketing and fining wasters instead. There are already restrictions on lawn watering and other stuff like that.

My sister lives in the burbs of San Diego, which is why I checked out the water rates there.
There is a $40.62 flat fee, which you pay, whether you use 0 gallons, or a million gallons.
This means, to me, that poor people, who can't afford a lot of water, are going to pay more than rich people.

I've used about 1200 gallons/month, over the last year.
At San Diego rates, my water fee per gallon would be $0.041
A person using 10 times as much as I do would pay only $0.007/gal
So a water miser like myself, would pay nearly 6 times per gallon, as a green lawn whore.
And I would still pay 3.5 times as much per gallon, compared to someone using 1,000,000 gallons/month, with the progressive rates.

So yes, the system is a bit screwy. Not to say our system of water rates aren't screwy. But we've no shortage of water.
I'm just worried about the price of tomato sauce next winter.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I proposed it on FB, and all the Goonies could do was knee-jerk, and say no.

Maybe you should propose it to Shatner. Show him some math.

My sister lives in the burbs of San Diego, which is why I checked out the water rates there.
There is a $40.62 flat fee, which you pay, whether you use 0 gallons, or a million gallons.
This means, to me, that poor people, who can't afford a lot of water, are going to pay more than rich people.

I've used about 1200 gallons/month, over the last year.
At San Diego rates, my water fee per gallon would be $0.041
A person using 10 times as much as I do would pay only $0.007/gal
So a water miser like myself, would pay nearly 6 times per gallon, as a green lawn whore.
And I would still pay 3.5 times as much per gallon, compared to someone using 1,000,000 gallons/month, with the progressive rates.

So yes, the system is a bit screwy. Not to say our system of water rates aren't screwy. But we've no shortage of water.
I'm just worried about the price of tomato sauce next winter.

So, your water bill here would be about 46.85 a month. What is it there, where you live?

 

[OmCheeto]

Maybe you should propose it to Shatner. Show him some math.

I did. He created a website almost immediately. I posted the first day. But his website sucks royally. Page 2, which is where my post resides, gives me a 404 error.
Greg needs to get ahold of him.

So, your water bill here would be about 46.85 a month. What is it there, where you live?

It's complicated up here in Portland. We've a poop and water combined bill.
If we hadn't installed the new sewer system, I'd probably still be paying $5/month for water.
But I pay $45/month now. Which is what I would pay down in SD.
hmmm...
Do you pay to poop on top of your water?

To me, water/poop rates are a runaround hand-wavy tactic of hiding taxes.

Everyone hates taxes.
Everyone loves water.
Hide the tax in the water bill.

Idiots...

 

[OmCheeto]

Things are getting too non-random.

We need a pop quiz.

Here's a picture from my city that posted over the last couple of days:

What two people at PF did it remind me of?

 

[zoobyshoe]

I did. He created a website almost immediately. I posted the first day. But his website sucks royally. Page 2, which is where my post resides, gives me a 404 error.
Greg needs to get ahold of him.

It's complicated up here in Portland. We've a poop and water combined bill.
If we hadn't installed the new sewer system, I'd probably still be paying $5/month for water.
But I pay $45/month now. Which is what I would pay down in SD.
hmmm...
Do you pay to poop on top of your water?

To me, water/poop rates are a runaround hand-wavy tactic of hiding taxes.

Everyone hates taxes.
Everyone loves water.
Hide the tax in the water bill.

Idiots...

We have separate charges for sewer service here. Example:

http://www.sandiego.gov/mwwd/rates/singlefamily.shtml

These charges, though, are billed along with the water. That is: you get one bill for both sewer and water. There's a base fee and a usage fee. And I assume the separate usage fee per month has to be based on the water usage bill. There's obviously no sewer meter, and I suppose they assume that most of what goes into a house exits via the sewer.

To their credit, they do seem to be always out there replacing sewer pipes. They're not just charging empty fees because they can. On the other hand, traffic is always screwed up somewhere big time on the surface streets due to sewer construction.

All of which will be moot if there's no wastewater to discharge into the new sewers.

 

[lisab]

Things are getting too non-random.

We need a pop quiz.

Here's a picture from my city that posted over the last couple of days:

View attachment 83191

What two people at PF did it remind me of?

Hmm...jtbell and edward, I think!

 

[OmCheeto]

Hmm...jtbell and edward, I think!

Correct!

 

[Astronuc]

Track a shark - http://www.ocearch.org/tracker/mobile/

Interesting journeys

 

[WWGD]

I don't know if it is my imagination , but it seems the food I prepare
tastes better when I leave it out overnight, or at least a few hours , and
do not cook it fresh out of the refrigerator.

I tried almond "milk" , but , after a few days, I don't know how to tell
when/if it has become spoiled, which is much easier to tell for good-old
fashioned cow milk.

 

[JorisL]

I don't know if it is my imagination , but it seems the food I prepare
tastes better when I leave it out overnight, or at least a few hours , and
do not cook it fresh out of the refrigerator.

Depends of the dish but a beef stew is better if you let it sit for a day. I believe it is because the taste develops.

About the milk, I don't use any it's revolting imho (as in I really don't like the taste of it). Double cream for cooking is acceptable.

 

[zoobyshoe]

For most of human history there were no refrigerators.

One way they dealt with this back in the day was to have an eternal stew: it was always simmering over a low heat, day and night. You ladled some out when hungry, and added to it when stuff was available or as needed.

 

[zoobyshoe]

"Chat" means "cat" in French.

 

[nuuskur]

"Chat" means "cat" in French.

chatte, if you want to say "chat" then it's got to be with something, for example "un chat noir" - a black cat.

 

[WWGD]

To follow up on an old post, an FCTI cash machine was the one that charged me $2.50 just to check my account balance.
Massive Ripoff.

 

[Ibix]

What would it do if your balance was less than $2.50? They don't want to refuse to serve you because that gives you information for free, but they don't want to serve you either, and for the same reason.

A profiteer's paradox...

 

[WWGD]

I know the information angle is one that the phone companies used to charge you:
a busy signal is information. But: it is not information I requested from them. Still,
it is a ripoff to charge $2.50 for something that may cost them a few cents. And
they are bottom feeders: they do nothing of any real use to anyone. I understand
I could have gone to my own bank's ATM, and I am willing to pay some amount _for
withdrawing cash_ , but not for checking my account balance. Just a ripoff.

There is also the fact that many of these ATMs do not tell you about the fees until
just before they give you your money ( this one never did) , and not when you just log
into the system. I feel some warm about capitalism at times like these.

And I do literally walk the extra mile for an ATM from my bank 99% of the time.

 

[zoobyshoe]

chatte, if you want to say "chat" then it's got to be with something, for example "un chat noir" - a black cat.

See what it says here:
http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/free-language-lessons/french/lvl1-lesson-1

 

[nuuskur]

See what it says here:
http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/free-language-lessons/french/lvl1-lesson-1

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. The French people I chat.. I mean communicate with say that it's la chatte and la chatte only. They must know something I don't :/ (Yes, I can see that animals have both masculin and feminin form, but must be something else, too.)

 

[Enigman]

Maybe all their cats are female.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. The French people I chat.. I mean communicate with say that it's la chatte and la chatte only. They must know something I don't :/

There is some indication if you google, that "la chatte" is a vulgar term. They may be messing with you. Or not. Regardless, I'm pretty sure it's OK to say "le chat" without modifying it.

 

[nuuskur]

Je suis un idiot :< Yes, I see now why it's vulgar and I'm going to kill them, too, verbally.

 

[Enigman]

Well, we are about to move into page 69, this seems like an auspicious start... Here's a pu cat
http://stylonica.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Cat-cats-32040775-1440-900.jpg

 

[zoobyshoe]

Je suis un idiot :< Yes, I see now why it's vulgar and I'm going to kill them, too, verbally.

Well, don't kill them before you verify that. Micromass and Fluidistic (I believe) are native French speakers. They ought to be able to settle it.

 

[nuuskur]

Enigman pretty much settled it with the stricken out part :P I am positive of that.

 

[collinsmark]

Evo speaks French, I think.

 

[Evo]

Yes, a cat is chat.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The reason I mentioned it was because it occurred to me a native French speaker might involuntarily interpret the upper right PF menu as:

MY PF INBOX ALERTS FORUMS CAT INSIGHTS INFO SEARCH

 

[Ibix]

I bought a table and chairs today. According to the labelling, pregnant women should take extra care when using the chairs.

There's a faint smell of stupid mixed with the aftershave of ambulance-chasing lawyers coming from the label.