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[quote=spdrun]Trump may be authentic, but he’s an authentic bigot who speaks his mind. No thanks. I feel like he also might be going senile. Not someone whose hand I want on the nuclear trigger.

Sanders, Kasich, or even O’Malley, please.[/quote]

Can a money loving narcissist truly destroy the world and with it all his wealth. Vermin supreme would never destroy the world but I doubt trump would either. Or at least he’d check with his accountants first.

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[quote=yipla]I will note for Hobie, that we should not forget the main reason China’s emissions are so high is that all of US manufacturing has been moved there. They make all our products for us. If we internalized that environmental cost, all our iphones and christmas presents would be a lot more expensive.

So, maybe instead of all Americans blaming China for emissions, we should all stop buying Chinese products and see where that gets us… The results would be painful, I assure you. The blame for Chinese emissions is largely on US consumers, making our per capita emissions THAT much higher than they already are. It would be fair for the US to take on more responsibility given this situation.[/quote]

Do we blame the drug dealer or the drug/consumer addict more harshly. In general, we go after dealers. People are helpless once they’re in the apple store. I heard some guy trying to buy an iPhone the other day that his cards were maxed out but he thought he could scrape together some cash. Sounded like a drug deal… if we really wanted to lower emissions, we’d have to get serious about our intense need to consume. My kids think it’s crazy that I’ve had the same smartphone FOR OVER TWO YEARS!!! Antique.

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[quote=temeculaguy]Kinda early for predictions but i say trump wins primary and election based on the current situation. He is in the lead and has the experts baffled without spending much.

Here’s the rub fellow piggs, most Americans hate politicians and know they are being lied to. Trump may say offensive or even stupid things but even the stupid things feel more genuine than the others. I liked Kasich for his healthcare, Christie for numerous reasons and Rubio for many other reasons. But honestly my favorites were Fiorina and the Doc because they weren’t politicians. Trump is another animal altogether, he says what people think, but afraid to say it. Voting is private, polls aren’t. My thoughts are Trump beats the polls and the polls are in his favor.

Evil as it may seem, after San Bernadino, I saw cair on TV and was sick to my stomach, then saw Obama (who I voted for twice) and was sick again. Cair should be on TV snitching off anyone who even looks radicalized.

This site is a collections of intellectuals and economics geeks, but do not for a minute think we are a majority. Plus Hillary will lose the female vote, I know no women who like her. She stayed with a man that cheated more than a professional cyclist just for public opinion, that will bite her. Funny thing is, I voted for him too, twice, but I have no respect for a woman who stayed with him, he deserved to be an alimony payer despite his attributes.[/quote]

Agree.

There is a feeling now that authenticity in many things is lost, lacking and desireable. Craft beer, selvedge denim and etsy.com are some manifestations of this. Trump simulates authenticity better than others. Therefore he will win the nomination.

I like trump for his appearing to be unfiltered. It feels like it is almost real. I would likely vote for him v. Hillary because I think he’s slightly less likely to go to war.

Trump, sanders and vermin supreme are all in play for me. But…

Isn’t marriage sacred? I don’t blame hillary for staying. I don’t like her for other reasons, but not because bill wanted a random blowjob and she stayed.

She’s a player, not one who is played.

I am pretty sure that no one is real, that everything including the election is a simulated reality, but that it does not matter in terms of election results.

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[quote=flu]If money really is no object, and your kid’s credentials allowed them to attend the school(s), AND if the kid has the ability to complete the degree with reasonable performance (I.E. not flunk out), then I would say send your kid to the most elite university that opens the most doors for him/her, BOTH in engineering AND outside of engineering, provided he/she wants to go there.

The reason is because I’ve seen many cases in which people who thought they wanted to be engineers ended up realizing halfway through their degree they absolutely hate it and want to do something else, and when that happened, who well they turned out depended on how well the school offered Plan B.

Also, it depends on how hard your kid wants to work. If he just wants an easier time and enjoy life too, and stay in engineering, you might want to think twice about sending him/her to Berkeley’s EE/CS program unless he’s just brilliant. I’ve personally think it’s much better to coast through college at a “lesser school” with mostly A’s and enjoy life than to struggle through something like Berkeley with a C-. You’re probably more employable in the former case too…[/quote]

I CONCUR.

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I once opted out of a class action on a moldy washing machine. They wanted to send me a repair certif.

I got the whole price of the machine.

Counsel for the class often sells everyone short, IMO.

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That’s the nature of a class action.

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Kids beater car requires safety. So maybe a turbo minivan?

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I read the link. Sounds like settlement could’ve been better. Seems like a dastardly anticapitalist action on part of cheesy corporations. Payment seems small, wouldn’t even be enough from making the companies. Think twice in t he future about doing it again.

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Saw WASTELAND streaming on Netflix about an artist who goes to world’s largest dump in brazil. Documentary. Absolutely amazing.

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[quote=svelte][quote=scaredyclassic]
Well I spoke too soon…

I m in a great mood. Went for a long hike on the pacific crest trail yesterday with the whole family, eldest is off from college, was freezing, had decent Pho afterwards, everyone was happy together. Why wait for Christmas though for family togetherness or loving mood? It’s either there all the time or it’s probably fake.[/quote]

Glad the mood hit you. And no worries about what you spend on gifts, that’s really not important at all. We have years we spend a lot and years we spend a little, and no difference in the happiness either way. We just go with the flow.

Per the family togetherness all the time – well you can say that right now cuz your kids are unmarried and childless. Wait until there are other families involved, maybe at considerable distance from your own….Your kids, grandkids, other families, weather and money and job and schedule constraints, on and on. Togetherness gets a lot harder to achieve and really only possible on rare occasions through the year, when businesses shut down and force downtime on the masses. Though I don’t celebrate Christmas per se, I do celebrate the holidays and appreciate the synched downtime that a majority population of one religion affords us.

And I appreciate your humor in the other posts, many in this thread even, that make me chuckle though I usually don’t post a response. Keep on keepin on scaredy![/quote]

That’s true. We will not always be this spatially close..spent Xmas at the inlaws. There were many dozens of returning nieces nephews and other relations crammed in a tiny house, spilling into the yard. I definitely like my little nuclear family way better than any of them! Would be sad to not have my people close. Wife is conditioning them constantly that we may have to move in with them. They seem accepting. So long as we rotate. Of course, they’re not married. Any agreement they make is nonbinding.

I guess what I mean is we shouldn’t force the holidays to be more than they are whatever that is. Low expectations.

We took home several hundred dollars worth of gifts and gave so little. I felt bad. Wife said, don’t worry about it. I like my crazy wife too.

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Well I spoke too soon. My wife went a little crazy and got it in her head to make some homemade type gift thing that actually required a lot of work and some money. I was driving her around late last night, slightly crazed, also I had an expiring rewards certificate at sport chalet that I felt compelled to use because she wanted a particular object and if I didn’t buy it by close of business last night it wouldn’t be free. I am cheap, I guess. And I did exaggerate a bit, often I give the kids cash. Last night we bought them a few small goofy gift things too ata Target filled with definitely not happy or joyous looking late night shoppers. I went to the Ranch 99 asian market while she toiled at the craft store. I saw a really intriguing Asian candy consisting of fake candy hamburgers with a truly disturbing talking hamburger with mittens and socks on on the wrapper.

. Who would like this, I thought.

. She was up late last night finishing up some handicraft. I’m sure it still gets us tagged as super cheap. I looked online for red Asian gift envelopes, and they’re pretty inexpensive. Maybe I’ll buy a bunch of those and surprise everyone next year with money. I only like to give cash as a gift, because it requires no shopping. Also it is so very efficient. It is worth exactly as much as it cost you to the person you are giving it to. In fact, if the giver is fairly well off, it is probably worth more to the recipient. Very efficient. As opposed to an icky sweater.

I did some years back buy 100 used “money bags”, canvas bags for transport of coinage by banks. I have them in the garage. I put money in t hem and gave them to kids to take to birthday parties, also for weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc. . Sort of a modified red envelope thing. The bags themselves are pretty cool, they have the names of banks on them sometimes, or US MINT, and the type of coin in them. Also they can be weathered and worn in nice ways. It is pleasant to think of all the travels they made with all the money in them. What could be better than getting a gift of some cash in a money sack? The bags themselves go for 3 to 7 $ each on ebay, and I hope the people ive given them too keep them…. They’re so useful. if you buy 100 you get a BIG discount.

I use one as a travel cosmetics bag. Also for various storage purposes. I love the way they feel.

I m in a great mood. Went for a long hike on the pacific crest trail yesterday with the whole family, eldest is off from college, was freezing, had decent Pho afterwards, everyone was happy together. Why wait for Christmas though for family togetherness or loving mood? It’s either there all the time or it’s probably fake.

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[quote=FlyerInHi]They are talking among themselves. Cheapskate lawyer they say.

Asians here would tell you that they give cash in red envelopes. Seems like a better way. I was told that the rule is that older married people give money to young unmarried ones. If you’re an old bachelor or an old maid you don’t get anything. Not for Christmas for lunar new year[/quote]

Giving is its own reward. Why get mad at me?

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For a decade or so relatives would give us gifts and we gave nothing.
Finally they stopped
I wonder if they hate us

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[quote=svelte][quote=scaredyclassic]Still disagree.

Children have wonder for everything.

By overstimulating with lights, presents, music etc, we actually reduce their capacity for wonder. They need increasingly bigger doses. A simple dried dandelion stalk no longer suffices.

I suppose it is OK to say merry christmas. Just leave it there.[/quote]

I respect your right to disagree – just think maybe you’re holding your butt cheeks a lil tight.

The way Christians raise children works, the way my family raises children works, and the way you raise your children works. I’m fond of saying that you have to be a severely bad parent to screw up a kid. Kids are very resilient and are exposed to so much outside of their immediate family and neighborhood now that they can quickly adapt to overcome whatever deficiencies we have as parents. Unless the kid isn’t hitting on all cylinders then they were screwed to begin with.

Kids – all kids – have plenty of rough days growing up and will have even more as an adult. Who am I to be scrooge and dissuade them from enjoying Christmas. They’ll turn out juuuust fine.

It just seemed like everyone was trying to be the turd in sjk’s punch bowl in this thread. I’m saying its all good. Enjoy![/quote]

I change my mind. Some days I agree that parents don’t matter so much others I agree with larkin:

They fuck you up, your mum and dad
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
Philip Larkin

Childhood is generally surviveable, and people can seem ok…but when you actually talk to people really talk….they do seem to range from slightly wacky to deeply fucked up…with various abilities to cope.

And it might be their parents who made them a little nuttier than necessary.

Article on tight puritan butt cheeks re: banning christmas:

http://theweek.com/articles/479313/when-americans-banned-christmas

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Maybe this is why I have trouble in real life interactions.

I AM kind of a turd in a punch bowl.

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