Printable View
I don't think that's quite what DD said. If the purpose of going to school is to prepare you for work in that field, then extraneous classes outside that field can be seen as a waste of time. I disagree of course, since I think any class you take can help you better at your primary job. Ie, if you are an accountant, you could still stand to learn some fine arts/speech/writing/drama/social sciences, which would make you a better employee and person.Quote:
Originally Posted by Abdula
While a diverse education may cultivate your mind for better performance, not everyone agrees that it's something you must learn and even be assessed on. I would say that's better for highschool level learning (general skills and preparing individuals for society). In university, you're paying to study for your field. More often than not, it's to receive qualifications to work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
Looking at it through this qualification lense, you're basically saying that I (the professor) can degrade your overall mark due to a compulsory, non-related subject.. thereby making you seem less qualified based on overall academic merit.
A "better" person compared to an "average" person is evaluated by other people through an interview, not by a High Distinction in visual arts.
You pay for the degree but what that entails is not for you to decide. The school, and by extension potential employers who value a degree from that school, determine what courses are required to obtain that degree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
A professor can degrade your mark for a related subject just as easily by making difficult tests or not covering material in lecture that appears on tests. The problem is that these "unrelated" courses are often not taken seriously by students, so they don't put in the effort. If they were made to understand that it is an essential part of their learning and certification, instead of as a waste of time, it would become an integral part of their studies.
As it is, most courses that are related to your field do not come into play in the actual job. By your account then, those courses should also be removed from the curriculum, and courses should only cover exactly what you'll need on the job. The problem with that is that you can't know exactly what you'll need to know on the job.
My point is simply that you should focus on learning useful information that will be relevant to your aspirations. Sometimes, you'll need to adjust what you want to do in order to be relevant in society.
Learning for the sake of learning without any forethought on how that knowledge could be use is stupid. Society function in a way that knowledge is passed on to the next generation so that we can learn from the mistakes and successes of our predecessor. The act of learning is simply absorbing previous information created by others. At the core, you're simply following instructions that was created by someone previously. For the majority of college students, they're using some sort of loan/grant program that potentially puts them in debt to obtain this information. I don't think it's too much to ask that this information they're paying for is something that justify the money they're spending to obtain. If this is not the case then you're using resources to obtain knowledge without any plan of using it to contribute something back to society, a parasite if you will.
This isn't simply a problem of GPA. Sometimes people needs to be smart about picking their major. Is it too much to ask that someone does a little bit of research before deciding on what they want to do for the rest of their life? Look up the number of college grad in areas like theater or fashion designs, then compare that to growth that those sectors and you'll see a disparity. The question then becomes "is it a good idea for me to drop 40,000+ USD to not have a job?"
That isn't to say that having a well-rounded education is a bad thing. It's just that sometimes it's less about being well rounded and more about the University making as much money as possible before you get your degree.
If a professor wants to make tests hard or teach in a shitty manner, go for it. He should be ready for the feedback as well, but at least the learning objectives and examinable materials are set out in the course profiles. I'm seeing some problems with our lectures not covering much of the examinable content, but I'm happy in knowing that the work I'm putting in is being spent on a topic that is clinically relevant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
Educators and employers are different, and the former certainly don't look after the interest of the latter. As I said in my previous post, there's a difference between a "desirable" quality and something that affects your qualification. I might want to employ an engineer with a more social personality because I think he'll fit in with my team better. It doesn't make him less qualified.
That's why areas like medicine and law where (educators will even admit that) the knowledge you learn in university is either too little or quickly outdated teach using Problem Based Learning to facilitate self-education. It gets you into identifying gaps in your knowledge and knowing how best to fill them to the depth that is required at the time.Quote:
As it is, most courses that are related to your field do not come into play in the actual job. By your account then, those courses should also be removed from the curriculum, and courses should only cover exactly what you'll need on the job. The problem with that is that you can't know exactly what you'll need to know on the job.
You're right in that you won't know exactly what you need for a job (though people generally have a pretty good idea - or can get such insight from talking to people in the field). So what are you doing throwing in a left-field courses in there?
I found out the other day that having a better idea of Australian geography and raising cattle could build rapport with people, especially those who live rurally and expect people to go "I don't know where that places is..". I might go read for half an hour on it when I have time, but I'm not going to attend a summer course for it. (Let alone getting failed in my professional degree for something like that).
It's a Nice to Know, not Need to Know.
I agree with Animeniax to some extent here. It's important for anyone in any field to be well-rounded, but students should have a choice of which compulsory non-related courses they should be taking so that they're more involved and interested in what they're taking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
At the very best, non-compulsory classes can enhance your other skills to make you more employable, help you later down the road for transdisciplinary tasks or problems, develop your social skills with people outside your study, and establish a common paradigm amongst peers from different faculties, which you can use to effectively communicate.
At the very worst, you've hopefully gained an appreciation of a different faculty/department, which will allow you to be more understanding of people's tasks. e.g., junior micro and macroeconomics courses allows for the understanding that economics is more than just supply and demand.
The problem is incentive, though. If you're not going to be marked on the work you produced, what's the point of paying attention or even attending non-related class? Even if attendance is mandatory, what's stopping the typical unmotivated whiners and disruptors from degrading the class environment?Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
I'm not entirely sure how HR operates, but it's important for job candidates to be well-rounded, which includes an appreciation for other fields of study, which translates into different types of work. Even if you already have an appreciation for other disciplines, not everyone was educated with the same mindset and this could particularly lead to unstable transdiscplinary teams if there are social issues - especially when the invisible career hierarchies in the workplace are important to some people.Quote:
A "better" person compared to an "average" person is evaluated by other people through an interview, not by a High Distinction in visual arts.
I strongly agree with this statement to some extent. There are some students today are being trained for jobs that do not even exist yet. Obviously, there's a strong discrepancy between completely unrelated disciplines, such as engineering and dance, but if it was something like engineering and medicine (biomedical engineering), new fields can be created.Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
Non-compulsory courses allow some students insight and flexibility too in case they decide that their current discipline isn't for them. It's not uncommon to change majors in western countries and part of that reason of switching majors is because a non-related course has interested that particular student more so than than their current major.
I agree with this as well; it's important to excel in your particular discipline to be productive in your workplace and sometimes compulsory non-related courses may seem like a hindrance. While we know what is relevant in society today may not be relevant tomorrow and as aforementioned, non-related courses can give students a direction if their job markets are performing poorly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Dragon
I definitely agree with practicality of a degree, but I think it's important to be a lifelong learner, which encompasses learning for the sake of learning. Pulled from Wiki:Quote:
Learning for the sake of learning without any forethought on how that knowledge could be use is stupid. Society function in a way that knowledge is passed on to the next generation so that we can learn from the mistakes and successes of our predecessor. The act of learning is simply absorbing previous information created by others. At the core, you're simply following instructions that was created by someone previously. For the majority of college students, they're using some sort of loan/grant program that potentially puts them in debt to obtain this information. I don't think it's too much to ask that this information they're paying for is something that justify the money they're spending to obtain. If this is not the case then you're using resources to obtain knowledge without any plan of using it to contribute something back to society, a parasite if you will.
This isn't simply a problem of GPA. Sometimes people needs to be smart about picking their major. Is it too much to ask that someone does a little bit of research before deciding on what they want to do for the rest of their life? Look up the number of college grad in areas like theater or fashion designs, then compare that to growth that those sectors and you'll see a disparity. The question then becomes "is it a good idea for me to drop 40,000+ USD to not have a job?"
That isn't to say that having a well-rounded education is a bad thing. It's just that sometimes it's less about being well rounded and more about the University making as much money as possible before you get your degree.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelong_learningQuote:
Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"[1] pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it not only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development, but also competitiveness and employability.[2]
... The economic impact of educational institutions at all levels will continue to be significant into the future as formal courses of study continue and interest-based subjects are pursued. The institutions produce educated citizens who buy goods and services in the community and the education facilities and personnel generate economic activity during the operations and institutional activities. ... there is a great economic impact worldwide from learning, including lifelong learning, for all age groups. The lifelong learners, including persons with academic or professional credentials, tend to find higher-paying occupations, leaving monetary, cultural, and entrepreneural impressions on communities ...
For the most part, it's better for those to pursue what they really want and interested in (completely different than those who blindly pick a disciplines and go to college because everyone else from high school is doing it). Both industry and students don't know if prospective students are competent for jobs in that field, and without trying, how do they know their degree is completely useless?
For us, it also means that there's less competition for jobs in our fields and incompetence in our fields. When we talk practicality of a degree, four fields immediately come to mind: law, engineering, medicine, and business. Because there are students pursuing other fields, this is simply a supply and demand issue. Furthermore, with the exceedingly high standards that these fields have, it would be difficult for the average college student to be competent in these fields, which would probably lower the professionalism of these fields. If the job markets are saturated with people disinterested in their discipline or incompetent in them and were hired, then the four fields aforementioned would also degrade in professionalism and quality.
Overall, this nicely wraps up my point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiaan
I'm just going to clarify my point since Enkoujin kind of agreed and disagreed.
Quote:
Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"[
Quote:
The problem is incentive, though. If you're not going to be marked on the work you produced, what's the point of paying attention or even attending non-related class? Even if attendance is mandatory, what's stopping the typical unmotivated whiners and disruptors from degrading the class environment?
These are exactly the reasons why the course (or a time-tabled section for a compulsory, self-selected course) should not exist. Extra-curricular learning should be attended by those who desire and want to learn something new, not mandated to everybody as a whole. If you make everybody do it, it becomes a need which it certainly isn't.Quote:
It's a Nice to Know, not Need to Know.
Unfortunately, over the years, I've come to deeply understand why they say pride is a sin.
Time and time again I've seen people act carelessly in such a way that literally puts others in life-threatening danger, and then completely IGNORE/disregard the close-call situation in order to safe face. Why can't people fucking PROCESS their own carelessness even when it comes to nearly ending someone else's life?
This is soul-crushing to me.
Any de-identified specifics available? Or just venting?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
I had that happen to me recently. Some guy changed lanes into my lane at 70mph, causing me to swerve into the lane to my right. Luckily no one was in that lane at the time or I'd be dead. I then spent the next 5 minutes blocking the guy who almost killed me from passing, and giving him the bird. Then I got pulled over by a highway patrol officer, who said he saw the entire thing, but wanted me to explain my side. He let me go with a warning and even more respect for the men and women in uniform who keep us safe.
In addition to Ani's example, I just see shit like this too frequently. For example, I remember going to stay with a close family friend when I was a little kid.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
tl;dr
Ah. That sucks.
What I've ended up concluding through my experiences is that admitting saves more face than being a loser. I'm not able to differentiate as to whether I admit because it's the "right thing" to do, or because it's the one that saves more face in the end (or that I'm lazy and it's easier to give in than to put up an act and think of lies).. but the outcome's good so I've given up caring about the reason I do it.
Just a question: If you hadn't spent the next five minutes in road rage fueled retaliation, would the cops have pulled over the guy who was driving carelessly and recklessly rather than pulling you over for road rage and looking for an explanation?Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
He saw the whole thing...but chose to pull you over and gave you the warning. Or was there more than one patrol car?
I wouldn't say the other guy was driving recklessly, just being careless for a second so the officer wouldn't really have had any justification to pull him over. But that one moment of carelessness on his part could have cost me my life, which is what was so upsetting. It was a Saturday morning at 2:30a and I was driving home from work, so I admitted to the officer that I overreacted and apologized. I think his main concern was that I wasn't intoxicated, and once he established that, all was ok. I think when he said that he saw everything that happened, he meant he saw me swerving and braking in front of the guy and flicking him off, so he probably didn't even see the other guy almost kill me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryllharu
I think strep is contagious so maybe you got some of them sick too. Well you turned out ok so hopefully your upbringing just helped build character and made you aware of the injustices in the world so you can fight them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
If I have learned anything from traffic, it's that it's every bit as full of trolls, wilful or natural, as the Internet, and losing your cool means you are also going to be the one losing money or worse. The troll always gets the last laugh if you let their behavior get under your skin.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryllharu
Here we just shoot down traffic trolls, or maybe destroy their windshield with a pipe or bat. I've seen others pull out wipers, throw cans, and kick doors.
It works because the trolls are usually too poor to press charges.
So vandalising private property is not criminal in any form? Police have no say in it even if they saw you?Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
Good on you, Buff! I'd be nice if people actually fessed up of their wrongdoings (to others) more often, but I don't know that I'm lamenting the lack of this specifically.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
What really bothers me is that immediate moment after the deed where someone goes into "auto-defense" mode and just blurts out something facetious to excuse whatever they did, or does the dangerous thing again to prove they can get away with it or basically flip the concept of responsibility the bird. So it's when people actively do the exact opposite of owning up to something just because they're too prideful/cowardly/who knows why. Isn't that a mockery of the concept of "integrity"?
I think it's because to me, self-reflection is the ultimate and final tool of growth. If this is blocked because of pride, to the extent where your own choices that nearly take someone else's life can't even sink in, then the consequences of that can be very real and irreversible.
-
@shinta: That's hella scary lol
@Buff - There are hardly any cops around. They usually camp inside their air conditioned stations unless they want a bit of cash for some grub. That's when they go get pay offs or free food from restaurants, or catch traffic rule violators for some bribe money. If they catch you busting up a troll's car, yeah they will arrest you. Then you just pay off the judge so you can get off quickly. This only works if the other party is poor, or at least poorer than you are. Bribe contests are a quick way to lose a lot of money for both parties in disputes.
I have been pulled over (half rightfully, half unjustly) for traffic violations 10x. I have bribed my way through all of them. In fact, I got my driver's license without a practical test, and the written test had the answers written in when I got the sheet, and all I had to pay was like 25 USD all in all.
@Sapph - Pride is probably my greatest sin. However, I have also always taken great pride in being able to admit my mistakes. Pride that necessitates petty actions is not real pride. Pride that requires one to make excuses for oneself is nothing but cowardice.
Aaahhhh...
And therein lies the answer behind crazy S/SE-Asian traffic.
Wow shinta that is great stuff. Lawlessness is always cool. I don't have any pride. Dignity, self respect, high self esteem and self worth and I am honest to a fault but I have nothing anyone would confuse with pride.
Money can't buy dignity. I love their shock when you tell them how truly worthless they are, it warms the heart. I am a big believer in consequences. Actions must always have consequences, inaction as well. I have seen too many people's lives ruined or ended because of the pride or in some cases downright stupidity of others to just sit and do nothing about it. Though I have learned to be more moderate and infinitely more effective in my responses. For example I once took someone out into the woods, tied them to a tree and left them there as a lesson in trust and betrayal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
Pride has both its positive and negative connotations. I see that you believe you have the former, but lack the latter. Most of what you said you have can be attributed to the positive meaning of pride. That is great.
Lawlessness is not cool. It's reality. I have been working to get out of this god forsaken place for a while now.
Indeed so I have been told but I disagree though. Most of the positive connotations of pride have to do with some sense of satisfaction with one's self or some nonsense about self acceptance, I don't have that.
Yeah. I know what it is like when people begin to think they can operate with impunity, and I have seen what happens when it is actually true. Most places are lawless, the law just comes in after the fact to give people the illusion that they are safe and "justice" has been carried out.
Lawlessness is indeed not cool. it might sound cool to some though.
Poland isn't that lawless... but it is pretty close - if you get caught for speeding you can usually bribe your way though, whole parliament is one big den of corruption(supposedly it takes only 4mln PLN to pass any bill). Money matters but connections matters more in here - for example it is pretty common in any gov't companies for there to be a few big departments that do nothing, expect employing families of politicians/government workers.
Lawyers are one big family in here - you can't get lawyer's license if you don't have work experience - and only friends and family members are allowed to get the work experience.
Judges are above the law, most 'private' media are owned/controlled by one group, prosecutors can abuse their power pretty easily without any consequences.
Oh and city presidents and city council is doing everything it can to pull out the money from the budget into the private hands(by doing retarded things like: rebuilding one crossing, next year doing it again(For no reason, it has been done 5 times in a row) - ofc the same company won the contract to do it; replacing every signal light with ones that require button press to switch(mostly in places where such ones are useless)).
Lawlessness is not cool... but what's even more annoying is that law exists to protect you, but you know that it won't be effective.
There is one great thing about Poland though - free education up to the masters degree(albeit the education system/programme is getting dumber and dumber each year).
You guys have almost removed my right to complain about Australia.
Well ours are 3rd world problems, you still have yours 1st world problems.
Went to a resort, ate 3 dinners, 2 breakfasts, as post breakfast and 2 lunches in one day; did not get a pound. :/
I am very confused. Are you complaining about eating a bunch of food and not gaining a pound?
Not gaining pounds
You should try eating peanut butter. Eat enough and you'll gain it pretty damn quickly.Quote:
Originally Posted by UChessmaster
Totally crashed my car :/
Totally done it too (in the past). It's the fucking worst feeling in the world.
That's disturbing. Yeah there's cray cray driver's everywhere. Speaking of which, I'm (finally) taking my driver's test today. :o
Drive carefully and keep your head cool. Although I passed mine at the first try, I believe it's better to be careful rather than to try to give an impression you are as good as the pros.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
Nope....Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
I talked about this before with 26 year old Kristen Bell portraying a high schooler with a smoking hot body in Veronica Mars. Now I'm watching Friday Night Lights and as gorgeous as Minka Kelly is, I think it's kinda shitty that she's a 26 year old portraying a high schooler with a smoking hot body. No high school chick I knew of had such a developed and smoking hot body, so it kind of spoils the escapism for me.
I know what you mean but what are they going to do get actual high school kids to play high school kids in every show just to satisfy you. Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars wasn't an issue because she is tiny and she looks like she has to work to not look like she is still in high school.
Also you should probably think of something better than smoking hot body to describe a woman, you used it 3 times in a row, and if you didn't know anyone 16-18 when you were in high school who had what could be described as a smoking hot body then you probably went to the wrong high school.
To be fair what with the hormones and steroids they inject into everything we eat, kids are growing bigger faster, so it's somewhat plausible that high school girls have developed more than when I went to high school in the early 1990s. But knowing these girls are actually in their mid 20s kind of ruins the fantasy of hot bodied high school girls that these shows use to draw in viewers.
I'm just looking at google images, but Minka Kelly doesn't look too out of place in her cheerleader long-sleeve. It's more the face that looks too mature, rather than the body. I might just be used to televised Asian highschoolers though, who look younger in general.
Yeah it is mostly the too mature faces that throw you.
Fantasies of hot bodied high school girls (read underage).
Someone was talking to me about Halo 5 coming out on the Xbox One, and I was confused for a second thinking he meant the classic Xbox. I can see it happening again in the future. Stupid naming sense. :(
Aren't there a lot of high school girls who aren't under aged?
Not "a lot", but enough. Consent here is 16.Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
----------------------------------------------------
PS4 pre-orders opened.
USA: $399
Australia: $548
:eek:
She fits in as a cheerleader but usually she's in very revealing clothing that high school girls would call slutty. Of course these are 1990s values and I think most girls dress scandalously at ever younger ages these days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
I always thought the prices in Australia were beyond ridiculous... then I realized the minimum wage in Australia was $15.59/hour or $606.40 per week for anyone older than 20. In the US, the average minimum wage is $7.25/hour, so...Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
USA: $399 / $7.25/hour = 55 hours
Australia: $548 / $15.59/hour = 35.15 hours
Unless Bill can correct me.
Those numbers seem to be right, I didn't know USA wages were so low, though I did expect them to be lower than AU. We've been known (at least with our old, now replaced, tax brackets) to have higher taxes globally, but when I factor the current situation in:
After tax:
Minimum wage earnings
USA: $6.38/hr, 62hrs for PS4
AU: $14.29/hr, 37.7hrs for PS4
Double minimum age earnings
USA: $12.539/hr, 31hrs for PS4
AU: $25.11/hr, 21hrs for PS4
We ..uhh... seem to have it pretty good. :confused:
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/06/12...-for-xbox-360/
you can start bitching now Ryll. but there is still hope.
If they still release it on Vita, I'm okay. If not...then I'll be upset.
http://www.animepaper.net/ suspended their activity.
It was by far the best wallpaper site I've ever found. Scan-wise there are other free sites to be found, but as far as wallpapers went their quality and quantity was consistently great.
I haven't used any other site for years. Anyone know of some good alternatives? (I know of half a dozen or so, but none are in the same class)
edit:the next best one seems to be TheAnimeGallery, followed by minitokyo (which tells you about the gap, doesn't it? Good stuff on there, but lots of noise too). There's still Kona-chan and Yandere etc for scans, but not all scans come in a ready-for-desktop-background rendition.
Just use 4chan /w/ like the rest of us?
Always worked well for me, just stockpile.
This site archives wallpapers from 4chan and they're decently good.
http://nik.bot.nu/
there is always 4chan's /w/ board and /wg/(non anime).
Hmm, good recommendations guys. Found some nice stuff there.
In other news, why the fuck to batteries leak?! (like, your standard AAA batts etc)
They do it when they sit in remote controllers, I've just seen them do it (and I remember previous occurrences too) when they simply lie flat in a container.
Luckily I didn't touch on of my figures afterwards or I'd be super-cut.
They contain corrosive potassium hydroxide solution, so it's only a matter of time before they leak.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
If leaking is inevitable, should batteries not have a "use by" date on them like other perishables? That would sound reasonable instead of just letting them wreck havoc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
They do. At least they do over here. I'd be somewhat surprised if they don't in your parts.
My personal experience is that cheap Chinese batteries leak more readily and worse than quality ones from Germany or USA, for example. But I still buy also the cheap Chinese ones...
You're also supposed to take them out of devices you don't plan on using for a while. The fact that they are in a circuit promotes leaking.
Yeah, I rationalised that one.. today was just a leakage of one that happened to be sitting at the bottom of a box.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryllharu
Quit the medical field and get to work on supercapacitors. Revolutionize the world for us Buff.
In the wonderful province of Ontario we have this bullshit eco fee the provincial government tacks on to things like TVs, computers, etc. I bought a $300 LED and was charged a $39.50 eco fee and what makes it even better is the fact they included that fee in the taxable total so I essentially payed a tax on a tax.
There's also an electronics recycling fee in all products running on electricity in the EU. However, it isn't nearly as much as that! It's also not just an additional random tax with a bullshit explanation, because it ensures you can take your old, broken device to the shop where you get your new one, and they must take care of it appropriately with no extra charge. Or you can take old electronics for free to the municipal recycling centers.
Personally I think ours is an excellent system. Electronics are very worth it to recycle due to the rare earth elements and other stuff contained within. If you can get rid of them officially and "for free", because you have paid the recycling fee already no matter what, it leaves no excuse to dump them to the woods or something else nasty. Of course there are and will always be blistering idiots who no matter what carry their old stuff to somebody else's land instead; as long as there are humans on Earth, there will be idiots as well. At least this system ensures normal people don't be tempted to become idiots only to save a few euros.
A taxable tax is just laughable. I'd appeal that and ask for a reason for such a shitty system.
We have the exact same system and for the same reasons which seem ecologically responsible. I was just really annoyed that was such a staggering amount, more than 13% of the cost of the TV...the $300 TV ended up to $383.62 after the eco fee and tax.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
It wouldn't be as bad if the manufacturer shared in the fee since they produce these electronics that ultimately produce the waste. Though it seems like our provincial government is proposing to scrap the eco fees paid by consumers and put them onto the producers...but then the producers will just add it to the cost of the electronics so consumers will still end up paying for them in the end. Source.
Appeal to who, exactly? Corrupt politicians who have ZERO accountability? Or retailers who just shrug their shoulders and say they're forced to charge these fees by the government?Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
Your local MP? It's not likely to do much, it it may help you in knowing you've done your bit in trying to improve the system, and the slack's on other people. It's just a vent, like how you write complaints to companies.Quote:
Originally Posted by fahoumh
I don't remember the exact numbers, but my gut feeling is that for a 300 euros product it would be a few euros. It's not separated in receipts or price tags or such. In any case when it was introduced years ago, the prices certainly didn't jump up by any really significant amount. The fee is already paid by the manufacturers (or importers if imported from outside of EU). That fee directly funds the system to collect and process the old devices, so it doesn't dangerously go through the state.Quote:
Originally Posted by fahoumh
I've never actually written to my local MP...though maybe I should.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
As of right now I think the consumers share most of the burden of funding the recycling program...or it seems that way with the exorbitant fees.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Now matter how the system works, it's obvious the end users will pay - ultimately it's always the consumers. After your post I read a bit about the situation over here and interestingly enough it looks like that even though our fee is but a fraction of yours, it's still generating surplus, which is returned to the manufacturers and importers! Theoretically that should allow them to adjust prices down, but the pessimist in me believes it rather goes straight into the bottomless pockets of the stock owners. The law dictates the organization (which is basically a cooperation effort by the involved business) must have a reserve fund that will ensure six months of continued recycling even if something happened to make the normal funding model crash.Quote:
Originally Posted by fahoumh
I have nothing to complain about. When I took a year ago a big load of old electronics and devices from collecting dust in my corners to the free recycling center, it felt rather good. But unless you had no recycling whatsoever before your outrageous fee appeared, and thus it's all built from nothing, then it's clear somebody (or something, like the state) is embezzling. If it all goes to the right purpose, I'd imagine it will drop at some point. Another possibility is that it's a fixed amount, not progressive like our. I believe that the more expensive and bigger the device you get here, the more the fee will be. According to some source I spotted the max is 25 euros. Perhaps if you buy some 3000 euros mammoth TV, the fee is up to 25€ for it.
Our province is running a substantial deficit and it's not like we're paying any less taxes. It's clear as day that public money is grossly mismanaged: stolen by corrupt politicians for personal use, poorly invested, given to large corporations and banks in the form of ridiculous subsidies and tax breaks (I guess the billions of dollars in NET profits are never enough). Corruption in politics is nothing new and will never change; there have been several politicians recently who got caught using public money for their own purposes and you know what happened? Nothing. They supposedly gave the money back, apologized and continued going about their business. Meanwhile, anyone else who gets caught stealing gets charged, even if they give what they stole back. Politicians have ZERO accountability here. But I'm going off on a rant here, so I'll just stop now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
I have recycled 3 or 4 old computers but nothing substantial. Old televisions have been left outside and collected by people who drive around neighbourhoods picking up recyclable or reusable waste.
Mail-in-rebates (MIR) - specifically, the most recent types of mail-in-rebates.
I purchased an ASUS product today that has a mail-in-rebate sale. I thought it was innocent enough until I realized the ingenuity involved with MIRs. It brings price discrimination to a whole new level. It tricks the consumer into thinking that a product is on sale, which encourages greater sales. You have to pay full price for an item you might not have otherwise bought if there wasn't a special going on. Then, the consumer has to take the time to register for the rebate online, print off the form, copy the receipt, and cut out the UPC, pay postage, and wait for a few weeks (excluding first-class shipping) to get what was offered a month ago.
Meanwhile, the retailer benefits from making a sale on a regular-priced item (full taxes too!), and the manufacturers count on the laziness of consumers to not send in the MIR. When I considered all the work involved for the $10 MIR, I thought I was wasting a lot of my time and effort, but my pride didn't allow the system to game me.
But then, it did.
The MIR I'll be getting back is through an Amex gift card instead of a check (no other choice)... I thought this was ridiculous. These MIRs are like a chain reaction - the expenditures for these products create more expenditures when you get a rebate. Now I'll have this extra piece of flimsy plastic to engage in more transactions where companies can make more money off of my purchases. Can't I just get a check and save my money that I was supposed to be promised in the transaction? What happened to the concept of saving money? Isn't that one of the main reasons why the economy turned to shit in 2008?
tl;dr:The capitalist system gamed me today through MIRs and I don't like it.
EDIT: Just realized that MIRs can be abused by company refunds with original receipts, inflation creeps up to you while you're waiting to get your money back, and the manufacturers have my personal information. They are truly one of the most underrated evils of our markets and I'm pledging to boycott all products with MIRs in the future.
More accurately, the problem wasn't so much that people weren't saving money, but were borrowing money that they couldn't pay back (and institutions allowed such borrowing) right?
I haven't heard of these mail-in-rebates before, but they sound like a point system / loyalty-card system, except you have to work for it.
You're definitely right - I really went off tangent on the issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
Pretty much - leverage is definitely more on the retailer and manufacturer's side with this system in place.Quote:
I haven't heard of these mail-in-rebates before, but they sound like a point system / loyalty-card system, except you have to work for it.
You shouldn't look at it like the MIR is the only reason you made the purchase. Is the product worth the price paid (ie full market price)? If yes, then the MIR is icing. If the product isn't worth the price, then don't buy it.
I know MIRs are mostly a scam, similar to gift cards, where the retailer/manufacturer relies on peoples' laziness to recoup costs or make profit. That falls back on consumers to not discard gift cards and to follow up on MIRs. If it's not worth your effort for the $10 MIR, then the product must be worth full price.
I suppose the trick is that with rebates they can announce that the item is now $$ after rebate, giving the illusion that you're saving on the current product, while the point system makes the need for a future purchase to realise the saving more obvious. Putting a monetary value on the saving also makes it more concrete than earning "points".
Well done to marketing..
I occasionally see those rebates on some products (though they are vastly more uncommon here than they seem to be in the USA) , but I have never bought any product that happened to have it active, so I never knew how troublesome they could be to cash in. Although I imagine it could also depend on the company you are dealing with.
I hope I never have to see one, ever. All the rebates here are done in-shop, at the cash register.
That's strange. You'd think the likes of Canon or Microsoft, for example, had the same system everywhere since the same products are sold everywhere. Maybe your national laws forbid such rebates?Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
I just did a quick search and someone's bought a monitor at an Australian shop that involved an Acer MIR, so I presume it's legal. I've just never seen one advertised. If they're unadvertised, then I never bought something that had MIR. Mandatory online registration for warranty services is the worst I've had to deal with in this regard. It sucked when I didn't have the box anymore for my mobo, but required the serial number to contact technical support to ask about 3-4TB HDD support.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Tree falls on powerlines across the street, snaps the power lines. Was without power for 7 hours, but because it was in the high 80s (~30C) and my house was correspondingly quite warm, I lost everything in the fridge and freezer, except for the mustard and soy sauce.
3rd time in just about a year (edit: that I've lost the contents of my fridge and freezer).
7 hours because of such a thing? The local electricity company surely saw no need to hurry, huh?
Nah, the line crews were on the scene within the hour. It was just a nasty fix because the tree was still on top of all the other lines that hang from telephone poles.
That sucks. You should have just eaten the stuff in your fridge, and cooked the stuff in your freezer.
It was dusk when it happened, I was already full.
It was a large garbage bag worth of food, I doubt I could have consumed it all even if I hadn't already eaten.
You should have cooked all you could and taken much of it to the repair crew. Maybe that would have made them work faster.
Cooking the frozen food after it defrosts would make it last longer, then you could have just popped it back in the fridge once the power is up. Doing this could have saved at least some of the food.
Some cooking methods are also great at preserving food, especially once that have salt/soy sauce, sugar, and maybe vinegar.
I'm surprised the food couldn't stay frozen or at least be thawed but fresh enough to cook over the next few days. If you keep the door closed on a freezer without power, the contents should retain enough chill to survive 7 hours.
Yeah, I'm pretty surprised too. I would have thought the food would last that amount of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Animeniax
Is it common to have gas stoves in the US? I've got electric, though I do have a gas cooker. I suppose a BBQ would have done the job too..Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta
I had a power failure a few months ago for around 10hrs. The food was fine, but it wasn't 30C.
What about getting a cooler or being all manly and setting up a backup generator?
Yeah when I was a kid we gave a gift basket to the people who were doing our lawn (we were renting, so auto-maintenance). It made us happy to see them take a break and munch on our goodies. :D :D <3Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraco
Sorry for being in a country where gas stoves are default and we do not have electric anything...
30 degrees C, LOL. I actually hope for days like that recently.
I keep meaning to get a gas generator for emergencies but I live in central Texas where the only natural disasters are brush fires and drought so it'd be kind of pointless. From the sounds of it Ryllharu would be well served to have a generator on hand.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
One good thing about electric stoves (prolly the only good thing, tbh) is that I can flip the main power switch off for stoves before I leave the house and have the comfort of knowing I won't burn down the house.
Has.. that got anything to do with having a tipping culture? The "treat them extra nice on top of their pay" idea?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphi
No, just a pure act of compassion for others. We had one prepared already, we got the idea from our neighbors giving us one when we moved in.
The interior of my house was 83°F (28.3C) last night because I have shitty A/C units and it's been disgustingly humid the past two weeks (so I can't open the place up at night).
Normally, food would last more than 7 hours. But all the food in my fridge was over 54°F for longer than two hours, so all the dairy and meat went out. I was able to keep some fruits because they don't really need to be refrigerated anyway.
The rule is over 40F or under 130F to prevent microbial growth and not all foods are irradiated. This is why people get sick at outdoor events or office parties. Food can't be sold if it is within that range for 30 minutes or more. It's also why I never eat fish at buffets, and never eat uncooked shellfish (or someone's homemade sushi).
I wasn't about to go on a cooking flurry at 9pm-Midnight with a propane grill outside. Also, once I cook the food, I put it back into the already warm fridge and freezer?! That's not going to help the few things I didn't lose cool back down.
Lastly, you're also not supposed to bother the line crews. They don't work any faster than they already are.
Edit 2: Yes I need a generator. No I haven't bought one yet.
what kind of freezer can't hold food cold for around a day or so without power? depending on how well you filled out the empty spaces of course
you should buy a new one, probably going to save money in a few years too
Dad's birthday. I plan on replacing his old iPhone 4 phone that is showing signs of exhaustion.
Since iPhones are way too expensive and I hat the iPhone 5, I decided now would be the right time to switch him to the android world.
Why now? Because Orange just out a new version of visual voicemail that integrates well in the call history.
Since my dad is a tech noob to the core, he uses a smartphone as a phone, so visual voicemail really is a key feature, not having it is like having a piece of crap.
So I carefully check specs on many smartphones, check they all have android 4.2 for visual voicemail integration.
I get a Liquid E2 from acer, nice build, screen, reasonnably fast and fair priced.
The only problem is that visual voicemail doesn't work on it!!!
Now I'll have to wait God know when for an update either from Acer or Orange (or both...)
Why is that Google smart guys never ever forced visual voicemail solutions. They've had the api for years, but no one cares... go figure.
So now I have a piece of crap to offer as a birthday present, great.
I also purchased an android phone a while ago for one specific feature, where after purchase the feature didn't work properly. Luckily it wasn't for a present, and it costed $100 only.
edit: actually.. I might root it with cyanogenmod to see if that fixes it. Would rooting work in your case David?
When you get anything from Acer, it's guaranteed a feature or two will not work.Quote:
Originally Posted by David75
Acer has a pretty poor reputation as an electronics/computer company. I would personally never buy or recommend it to anyone.
CWM, root and SDcard partition switch already done, no change. My guess is the dialer is different from the nexus, or they got rid of some APis that did not work and/or were taking space by their standards... since after all there's only 4G of user+system space.
There's no custom rom available yet, and the present is tomorrow. I could always change the rom later, but no visual voicemail till then.
Regarding Acer, well I knew for laptops at least, a long time ago. That device is rather good, just that tiny software feature that doesn't work and jutifies my posting here ;)
It's almost 11 PM and it's still 100 F outside.
Right after the Treyvon-Zimmerman verdict, a bunch of idiots here in Houston decided that it was a good idea to completely block a highway in protest. I was unfortunate enough to be on that highway during the protest, so that resulted in my being an hour late to a meeting with a client. I had to wake up at 6 am today, my first day off in 2 weeks to do a reschedule meeting with said client.