What made you smile today?

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Amazon sounds awesome. They need to come to Australia sometime. :(

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Amazon is the online Walmart... running Mom and Pop stores and local retailers out of business because they cannot compete with Amazon's prices and free shipping. When you order from Amazon you don't have to pay sales tax unless you're in California (I think), so you save even more.

While it's nice to save money now, you're supporting a monster that will makes things more expensive and quality of life worse in the long run.

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Originally Posted by XanBcoo

I was checking off students' papers today with a red pen making whip sounds whenever I made a check mark. Got called a dork by this one girl who meant it as a strange compliment.

"I just said you were a dork, Mister."

She said it's cool that a teacher can be "that way".

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That sounds like one super rewarding job. We all should strive for careers that do more than just make us money.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Amazon is the online Walmart... running Mom and Pop stores and local retailers out of business because they cannot compete with Amazon's prices and free shipping. When you order from Amazon you don't have to pay sales tax unless you're in California (I think), so you save even more.

While it's nice to save money now, you're supporting a monster that will makes things more expensive and quality of life worse in the long run.

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Things will only get expensive if Amazon becomes the sole player. As long as there is at least one more competitor, Amazon will be forced to stay competitive. Driving mum and pop shops out of business is a side effect of increasing efficiency that is often found in capitalist economies. Those that simply don't perform well enough to accommodate the market must go.

Supermarket chains did that years ago.

As for quality of life worsening, that's where government instruments such as effective progressive income tax are supposed to play their parts. I've heard that the USA doesn't tax the higher brackets enough for this to effectively redistribute wealth.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Amazon is the online Walmart... running Mom and Pop stores and local retailers out of business because they cannot compete with Amazon's prices and free shipping. When you order from Amazon you don't have to pay sales tax unless you're in California (I think), so you save even more.

While it's nice to save money now, you're supporting a monster that will makes things more expensive and quality of life worse in the long run.

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You mean the monster that has a "See All Available Sellers" button as an option for products listed on their site, those other sellers often being Mom and Pop Stores or local retailers with access to FedEx or the USPS?

Half the things I bought for Christmas gifts came from Amazon Affiliates, many of whom operate small stores in their local areas. Over three-quarters of the hard to find books I've bought in the past two years came from an Affiliate (Texas, Washington, Oregon, Missouri, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Florida, etc.)

Face it, Amazon is keeping a lot of these people in business, not the other way around. Amazon drives chains out of business (Borders for the most recent).

Btw, you'd pay sales tax in Kentucky, where most of the items shipped to me directly from Amazon come from. Any place where Amazon has a physical presence. If the States get their way, we'll all be paying sales tax soon.

I've only used Amazon UK, and although I've used it for a bunch of times, both Amazon directly or the affiliates (one of them being as far as a bookstore in NY), I've only resorted to Amazon after noticing nobody is selling what I was looking for or the item was grossly overpriced in my parts. I don't feel bad at all, having had no choice.

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

You mean the monster that has a "See All Available Sellers" button as an option for products listed on their site, those other sellers often being Mom and Pop Stores or local retailers with access to FedEx or the USPS?

Half the things I bought for Christmas gifts came from Amazon Affiliates, many of whom operate small stores in their local areas. Over three-quarters of the hard to find books I've bought in the past two years came from an Affiliate (Texas, Washington, Oregon, Missouri, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Florida, etc.)

Face it, Amazon is keeping a lot of these people in business, not the other way around. Amazon drives chains out of business (Borders for the most recent).

Btw, you'd pay sales tax in Kentucky, where most of the items shipped to me directly from Amazon come from. Any place where Amazon has a physical presence. If the States get their way, we'll all be paying sales tax soon.

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Hey good for you buying from some smaller shops to make yourself feel less like a corporate shill. Amazon's prices still undercut most of those sellers and they also have free shipping which most of the small shops can't afford to do. Amazon is putting all competition out of business.

Heard from the CEO that my company's booth is currently the most popular attraction at CES. I smiled.

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Originally Posted by Assertn

Heard from the CEO that my company's booth is currently the most popular attraction at CES. I smiled.

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That's pretty awesome, until you remember Jersey Shore is currently one of the most popular shows on TV.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

That's pretty awesome, until you remember Jersey Shore is currently one of the most popular shows on TV.

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If I had equity in Jersey Shore, then that would make me smile, too.

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Originally Posted by Assertn

If I had equity in Jersey Shore, then that would make me smile, too.

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That would make me ashamed to the point I'd sell all my earthly possessions and join a monastery. But it seems we have different standards in life.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

That would make me ashamed to the point I'd sell all my earthly possessions and join a monastery. But it seems we have different standards in life.

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Never thought I would agree with you twice in one month Ani, but I so share the sentiment.



However I don't agree with you about Amazon, in some ways they are supporting Mom and Pop stores. But it all depends on the type of store (product being sold) and what's the local. Also Amazon charges tax on states too;

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The amount of tax charged depends upon many factors, including the identity of the seller, the type of item purchased, and the destination of the shipment.
Items sold by Amazon.com LLC, or its subsidiaries, and shipped to destinations in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington are subject to tax.
For sales tax purposes, electronically delivered products (e-books, e-documents, and electronically delivered software) are considered to be shipped to your credit card billing address.
No sales tax is charged when purchasing gift cards; however, purchases paid for with gift cards may be subject to tax.

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...?nodeId=468512



What made me smile today was reading a book and laughing for the first time in a long time without a care in the world.

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Originally Posted by dragonrage

What made me smile today was reading a book and laughing for the first time in a long time without a care in the world.

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What book are you reading?

The Infernals- John Connolly

http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread...l=1#post505764


http://www.amazon.com/The Infernals
Amazon, free shipping, almost half the price of Barnes and Nobles. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Got my watch that can calculate offsets for worldwide cities, survive 20 atmospheres' worth of pressure, resist mud, impact and bacterial contamination, recharge itself in the sun, stay running on that power if I'm trapped in a caver underground for months, show me the temperature, the way to the north pole.. and the goddamn moon phase.

edit: Oh, and the time.

I may not be superman, but I sure as hell feel like it with this on. Do feel like I need to be a bigger man to compliment it though. The watch face spans 90% my wrist. I wear it on third hole.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9...hockg93001.gif

Nice watch, I have almost exactly the same one except without the red trim and COMP button. I don't even like wearing a watch but I wear this one. I'm on the 4th or 5th notch, so I see what you mean about feeling small while wearing it.

Got my new desk set up at the office, courtesy of my new employer.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...43043041_n.jpg

Dual 27" imac with 8gb of ram :D

apple whore. Who's the Indian looking guy at the far end of the photo?

I dunno, some pc guy

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Originally Posted by dragonrage

apple whore.

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He's paid well to use Apples. I think I'd stoop to use one as well under those circumstances.

You can't develop app for iphone/ipod/ipad without mac sadly(Well you can, but you must be pretty lucky with your's normal PC's config to install macOS).

You have a point and Apple systems and products are very well integrated. Just hate that they nickel and dime you for everything. But have to say that they are responsible for a lot of commonly used technology now which explains their rapid growth. Nice set up Assertnfailure, don't like the wallpaper though, too generic. Good luck.