dusqi
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Posts posted by dusqi
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In the UK the drinking age is 18. It disappoints me at university that everything is centred around drinking. Almost all events start or end in a pub/club. I understand that in America it is widespread that university students drink, however at least it means that official events aren't centred around it.
Ideally I'd say that freedom to drink should be granted at 18 years old when one is free to do everything else that a legal adult can do, but it does seem to have had the effect here that drinking has become a major part of our culture.
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sworddude; you are without a doubt the most boring person I have ever read the opinions of. do you not depress yourslef? Is your world just several shades of gray?
His world is pretty good, just gotta talk with him better. No, this doesn't mean I want to swap lives Sworddude....
Damn, thought I was close there.
Dusqi, there is a limit on restriction parents can place, which can be found to be reasonable, I have spoken out against unreasonable parents, not going to a midnight showing is a reasonable restriction however.
A complete ban on drinking for example, is, in my opinion, unreasonable. Allowing their child to drink, within reason, makes it no longer a forbidden substance, therefore, making it seem less attractive (like the apple in the story of Adam and Eve). My parents would allow me to drink, underage, in their presence, they always have, I just chose not to. Parents should be there to instil good values and morals in their children, to better prepare them for life in the future. This involves placing a few rules for their own good.
That all being said, as long as you are not a paying tenant, what rights do you have to complain? If the kids find it so unreasonable, they can move the hell out of their soft lifestyle and experience the hardships of the world. Where they have nowhere to go, and no money. Makes a few restrictions seem like heaven, does it not?
Argue with my stance all you like, but kids need rules and restrictions.
OK, I see that we are of a similar opinion really. I also agree that kids should not be running feral and that kids need morals and values and parents have to make rules. Perhaps we just disagree about this instance, I think that a midnight showing is not dangerous or immoral. I would not have a problem with my kids doing that once in a while (I'd have more of a problem with them drinking underage than you say you would have). Although it would be inconvenient to have the kid coming back at 3am, if it was once in a while then, as I say, a parent should expect to make sacrifices when they decide to have a kid in the first place.
I repeat though that a child does have the right to complain, and saying that they can just move out is just another way of forcing them to do what you want since it's unlikely that moving out is actually an option for them. As soon as you decide to have a kid, you should expect it to live in your house until a certain age, and that means that since you've invited that kid into your life you should expect to make sacrifices for it.
That's why I'm not planning to have a kid any time soon. I am too selfish to deal with a teenager that wants to make come home at 3am when I'm trying to sleep. But a parent chose to have a kid and they should put up with it.
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I've said it before on here. As long as you live under their damn roof, you follow their damn rules. They don't want you to go to a midnight showing? Then you're not going. It's as simple as that.
Your kids are going to hate you, and they will have good reason to do so. The "it's my roof" argument is rubbish because the parents were the ones that decided to have the child, and this includes the expectation that it would live with them for 16+ years. The child didn't have a say in that. When parents decide to have kids, they should assume that the kids will make decisions that they would not, and they should assume that they will have to be flexible in catering for many of these decisions. Parents are bringing up an independent being, not a clone.
Asked my parents. They said I can go. Let me skip swimming the next day. :thumbsup:The theatre we are going to is doing something special for midnight release. We'll be pre-ordering tickets.
Excellent. 8-)
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In my honest opinion I would not be at all surprised if there is someone reading this post and is one of them people who distribute child porn (or one of the other problems on the internet).
They're everywhere!! :ohnoes:
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The majority of animals are no different from computers, unfortunately. They're intelligent and their brains are amazingly complicated, but in reality their concept of existence is limited to reacting to whatever stimuli are presented.
Agree with this. When I sat in lectures about what animals can and can't do, it's pretty crazy just how stupid they are.
I think if another animal's died that they just assume it's in a really heavy sleep.
That assumes that they knew that the other animal was alive in the first place. I think they do not.
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I think that there's scope for trying new things, because I don't think that many people have a good idea of their own personality. You might find that you try... archery, or fencing, or martial arts, or swimming, or something... and that you really enjoy it. But if you go into it with the mindset that you're only doing it to be cool, then you'll never enjoy it.
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The majority of the wealthy citizens are wealthy because of hardwork.
The majority of people on benefits are there because of misfortune and because they have to be.
The rich, and we as Americans (Biased) :thumbsup: , are the most charitable people in the world. Charity I believe will help much more than welfare ever could.Because that worked so well in the 19th century. Charity just means that specific groups get help, the ones that the rich people like - it gets used to push a social agenda. No money for homosexuals, no money for atheists, no money for democrats, etc. Benefits should go to all who need them.
And about reformation.. Has anyone seen the tax code? How about we just burn it and start over. Flat tax anyone? How about a fair tax?The system should be simplified. However not in the way that the "fair tax" website suggests. A flat tax implicitly assumes that it is just as difficult to go from earning $1m to $1,010,000 as to go from earning $10k to $20k.
Additionally, by eliminating all of those frauding the entitlement system, we could more than pay for an universal healthcare or expand coverage that already exists.How many people do you think are frauding it?? The cost of decent universal healthcare is high. If you have any evidence that fraud of the benefit system is of such a great magnitude that it would pay for universal healthcare coverage then you might convince me and many others.
No, but they pay about 40% of the federal taxesThe top 1% of homes own around 35% of the wealth - http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesameri ... ealth.html
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I think humans as they are now are inherently unhappy creatures. It's possible that over millions of years that evolution might balance our brain chemistry more correctly, but as it stands, the characteristics that make us dominant also make us miserable. Intelligence has a terrible price.
I would replace "evolution" with "science" in your sentence (and hopefully fewer than "millions of years"). I'd say that the greatest cause of misery is evolution and the general world of survival of the fittest - and I don't think that evolution will ever change that. The best way I can conceive of humanity rising above its hard and bloody evolutionary history is to firstly understand it, then reject it as being inevitable, and finally to overcome it. I'd say we're currently working on Stage 1.
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I do not drink. I am genuinely interested in why people brag about how many shots they can drink. Why not have a contest where you punch yourself in the face repeatedly? Presumably it would also leave you disoriented that day and unwell the next day, but would save you money.
I ask a similar question when people have contests to see who can eat the spiciest food.
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Concerning welfare in general, it astounds me that Americans don't have universal health care and apparently don't want it. Apart from the moral idea of the richest country in the world being happy to chuck someone out on the street who needs medical attention, there's a good selfish reason I wouldn't want the American system. I have contents insurance for my possessions, but I know that if I ever wanted to claim on it there's a good chance that the insurance company would find some excuse not to do so from the small print in the contract. So I could never rely on an insurance company to cover something as important as my medical care. They'll screw you over and leave you dying without giving a second thought (e.g. "this condition was pre-existing" or "you only have cover for this medicine for a year, afterwards you have to pay for it yourself").
Here in America you will never be denied life saving operations. You have $0 in your bank account, that is fine, we will save your life.
I believe the majority of Americans would not mind helping out the truly down and out. But it seems, too many a time, that people abuse the system. Most of us work hard for our money, just as we do for our runescape skill levels. I believe it would be like saying, "Hey, you have all of your skills to the max level of 99. How about we take a few of those levels and distribute them to someone else. They haven't put in nearly the amount of hours that you have developing their character, nor have they put in as much effort and hardwork. But hey, they deserve it." I would hedge the bet that most would be against this; I would. It seems that every solution the government has, just creates more problems. Our government, in America, seems a little imcompetent at times. My generation has developed, because of this, a sense of entitlement. I showed up to work, where's my money. I logged on to runescape, where's my free gp and xp. What has been done to earn it? Not nearly enough.
You are labouring under the erroneous assumption that America or anywhere else is a meritocracy. You are being exploited by the wealthy and powerful who not only take advantage of you but even make you think that that's all you are worth and so all you deserve.
Anyway, I have never met someone who likes being on benefits. I have only seen these mythical creatures in the media, which only finds the most extreme cases to publicise. Given the leaner welfare that America has, I imagine that the proportion of people who rely on benefits in America is less than in Europe. Beyond this, even if we assume that there is a significant number of people on benefits who do not deserve them - is their deadweight greater than that of the rich people who dodge taxes, use tax havens, and other methods of "abusing the system" to avoid paying their share? "The top 1 percent of households, averaging $800,000 of income, received 15 percent of all pretax money income." Source. Do 1% of households do 15% of the work in the USA?
I think that the Runescape economy has many opportunities for people to make comparisons between it and the offline world, however benefits is not one of them. If you go without some Runescape xp, it will not affect your life or the opportunities that your children have. If you have little food or have to work two jobs then that presents very real problems.
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It's a Tragedy of the Commons. If everyone took an interest in politics and voted, we'd all be better off because then politicians wouldn't be able to get away with so much and everyone would give their potentially valuable input. But for the individual it's better not to put the time in because your one vote is very unlikely to change the outcome of the election. It ends up that few people bother to vote, because most people follow their self interest.
I never understood the argument that if you don't vote you can't complain. If you look at the outcome after an election and find that even if you had voted it wouldn't have changed the result, then I'd say that you're still entitled to complain.
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Hahaha, sorry, this just reminded me why being a child/teenager sucked. Everything was so petty and niggling and generally immature.
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As some have mentioned about the UK, it annoys me when your parents' income is taken into account when considering how much you should get. Just because a parent is earning a decent amount, that's no guarantee that their child is getting any of it. It's at least slightly understandable when it comes to 16-17 year olds in sixth form since they are still living with their parents, but for 18+ year olds at university they are independent adults and should definitely be considered as such when it comes to grants and loans.
The last time I looked into it, if you got married then they'd take your own income and that of your spouse into account when deciding grants and loans for uni, rather than that of your parents. So I suggest that everyone going to university in the UK gets married then divorced after leaving university. :thumbup: Stupid system.
Concerning welfare in general, it astounds me that Americans don't have universal health care and apparently don't want it. Apart from the moral idea of the richest country in the world being happy to chuck someone out on the street who needs medical attention, there's a good selfish reason I wouldn't want the American system. I have contents insurance for my possessions, but I know that if I ever wanted to claim on it there's a good chance that the insurance company would find some excuse not to do so from the small print in the contract. So I could never rely on an insurance company to cover something as important as my medical care. They'll screw you over and leave you dying without giving a second thought (e.g. "this condition was pre-existing" or "you only have cover for this medicine for a year, afterwards you have to pay for it yourself").
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Interesting demonstration. It is important to put people in the middle of something like this, because everyone thinks that they are different and wouldn't do something so horrible - they'd speak up, etc.etc.
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I read around 4 or 5 books a week. I want to be a writer, so it's just like research for me. Lately I've been doing a lot of re-reading.
I am interested in what you do to keep track of what you've read, since you're taking it more "professional" than most people. Specifically, do you write your thoughts about books you've read afterwards, do you write anything as you go through? Or do you just read?
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OK
Having worked in the "industry" some time ago, I think I can furnish you with the answer.
The difference is based on what happens when the items go stale.
Cakes get hard when they go stale.
Biscuits get soft when they go stale.
Jaffa Cakes are in fact cakes, as the sponge gets hard when stale.
Now the science bit! This is based on the ERH (Equilibrium Relative Humidity) of the various products. Cakes generally have an ERH of 70 - 85%, some as high as 90%. After a time the cakes lose moisture to the air, making them harder.
Biscuits, on the other hand, have a much lower ERH, normaly in the 60%'s. These gain water from the air over time, making them softer.
Hope this helps.
=D> +5 Informative
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5 minutes isn't long to talk. I'd spend most of the time talking about a specific Christian example, just find the worst example you can think of that has good references in the Bible. Then I'd end by saying that this is just one example from Christianity, there are more (list them), there are more in other religions too (list them, especially funny ones), and then I'd say that even if these are the worst examples and the audience may think that much of religion is a positive influence, it's not religious to just pick and choose which bits to follow, the Bible says you should follow it all - and so we have to take the most extreme aspects of religion and decide whether we want them to control our society or not. It's an all or nothing decision with religion.
Visual aid could be a blown up picture of some Christian zealots, depending on what specific example you use. The obvious example is those crazy Christians who think the gays are going to end the world (westboro baptist church). You could even use one of the signs they use ("God hates [bleep]s"). Would be a nice way to get people's attention at the start.
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Interesting, I saw a poster for one of these gold buying places on my highstreet today. Quite a good business idea in these recessionary times. Sadly another way to profit from the poor and ignorant though.
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I agree with people saying that it would probably be cheaper in the long run, wearing the same uniform every day rather than having to buy a couple of week's clothing to rotate around.
I also think that it would reduce teasing because of clothes, even if kids do always find something to tease about (hair styles, jewelery, etc.) I think that children of poor parents would also benefit because they couldn't afford branded clothing.
Something that no one has mentioned is that clothing is just another distraction in the classroom. "What is so-and-so wearing today?", "check out my new shirt", blah blah.
I wore a uniform, as nearly all school students in the UK do, and it simplified my life greatly.
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One way that a UK uni would save you money (and time) is that it is standard to get a degree in 3 years rather than America's 4.
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Life would be better if we all didn't follow a routine every day.
Wake up
Brush Teeth
Get Dressed
Go to School
Come home
Take shower
Go to sleep
Wake up
Brush Teeth
Shave
Get dressed
Drive to work
Work
Drive home
Take shower
Go to sleep.
So repetitive...
I agree with this. One of my life goals is to avoid it, or, at least the bit where you sit at work and in the car watching the clock and wishing your life away.
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It's not worth it, here's why:
- Low amount earned per hour
- Often you start a survey, and half way through they tell you that you're not eligible
- Just not enough of them to earn anything decent
- You typically have to earn a lot of money before they'll send you any of it. This can take up to a year.
Go and wash cars in rich neighbourhoods. If someone asks you how much to do it, ask for a tip - they'll probably give you more than you expect. Once you've washed someone's car once (and well), the likelihood is that they'll let you do it again in future. Not only this, they'll tell their friends and before you know it you'll have a nice little business going.
Better yet, go and learn something and better yourself. It won't help you earn money immediately, but it'll pay off handsomely in future. I think that one reason the kids of middle and upper class parents end up earning more money in the long term, is because they don't scrabble around for every penny in the short term but instead spend their time investing in themselves. I learned web programming for fun as a teenager (I am 23 now), and it has not only earned me money, but it has made my research easier even though I'm studying something completely unrelated to computers (psychology).
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I'm fine with the Queen. She is cheap to keep around, she gets publicity and tourism for the UK, she does her diplomatic bit, she confuses Americans who think she's important.
Bit worried about Charles taking over. I don't want him spouting his rubbish views about organic food and alternative medicine, as if he represents the whole UK.
So I'm happy with the monarchy as long as they don't try to actually do anything.
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(apologies for blatant advertisement, but at least I didn't start this thread!)
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What Should we do?
in Off-Topic
Posted
Get another job offer. Say that you like your current job but in the current economic climate you have to go where there is the most money and so you will have to leave unless you get paid what the other job does. Be prepared to do so.