The Vent and Rant Thread

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hemmi

I use my bank's ATM so no fees to get a little cash each week. I think I've actually been to my bank twice in the last 5 or 6 years. Everything's direct deposited and I pay everything online. My bank has an ATM at the grocery store I shop in each week for when I need cash.

Well because of hubby's job, he got to know the tellers pretty well.

Now the funniest one happened years ago, I went to deposit my paycheck. The teller asked if I was on the account. My name wasn't printed on the deposit slip. I said yes, I'm his wife. She replied I didn't realize he was married.

We have been on direct deposit for years. I have all but the water and his cell either online or automatic payments. Water I pay about 6 months in advance and his cell is also every 6 months.

[Hitch]

I'm actually involved, in a thread, on a certain forum (not here), about someone who felt that his book received "slanderous" reviews.

His book is explaining WHY THE EARTH IS FLAT.

No, I'm not making this up. I am absolutely, positively gobsmacked to learn that in this day and age, in first world countries, there are morons who actually BELIEVE this. I mean...what, they've never been up in plane, at 41,000 feet? They think the moon landings, video from the shuttles, etc., are, what, all faked? They think that there's some "magic" explanation, for why you cannot see Paris, with a telescope, from NYC?

I am...I am nearly speechless. I fully understand that there are people--a surprising (to me) lot of them, as it happens, that believe things that I don't. I get that. Not discussing THAT here. Those folks are talking about a concept that, by definition, cannot be proven nor disproven--by their lights.

But the FREAKING FLAT EARTH? There are actually adult humans, with allegedly normal education, that believe this?

Honest to sh*t, the impact of the Net on the world cannot be overestimated, in a very NEGATIVE SENSE. There are people telling other people--"disbelievers," to GROW UP, and watch so-and-so's videos, which PROVE thatthe earth is FLAT.

Speechless. Effing speechless.


Hitch

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I'm actually involved, in a thread, on a certain forum (not here), about someone who felt that his book received "slanderous" reviews.

His book is explaining WHY THE EARTH IS FLAT.

No, I'm not making this up. I am absolutely, positively gobsmacked to learn that in this day and age, in first world countries, there are morons who actually BELIEVE this. I mean...what, they've never been up in plane, at 41,000 feet? They think the moon landings, video from the shuttles, etc., are, what, all faked? They think that there's some "magic" explanation, for why you cannot see Paris, with a telescope, from NYC?

I am...I am nearly speechless. I fully understand that there are people--a surprising (to me) lot of them, as it happens, that believe things that I don't. I get that. Not discussing THAT here. Those folks are talking about a concept that, by definition, cannot be proven nor disproven--by their lights.

But the FREAKING FLAT EARTH? There are actually adult humans, with allegedly normal education, that believe this?

Honest to sh*t, the impact of the Net on the world cannot be overestimated, in a very NEGATIVE SENSE. There are people telling other people--"disbelievers," to GROW UP, and watch so-and-so's videos, which PROVE thatthe earth is FLAT.

Speechless. Effing speechless.


Hitch

And you're SURPRISED??!! When a 2013 Harris poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe in ghosts.

According to Mark Morford,

Six percent of Americans believe in unicorns. Thirty-six percent believe in UFOs. A whopping 24 percent believe dinosaurs and man hung out together. Eighteen percent still believe the sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly 30 percent believe cloud computing involves... actual clouds.

I've stopped being shocked, or even particularly surprised at the rampant and arrogant stupidity exhibited by a whole layer of the American public. This is what happens when you fail to educate your kids, and continually underfund schools and libraries.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And you're SURPRISED??!! When a 2013 Harris poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe in ghosts.

According to Mark Morford,


I've stopped being shocked, or even particularly surprised at the rampant and arrogant stupidity exhibited by a whole layer of the American public. This is what happens when you fail to educate your kids, and continually underfund schools and libraries.

Charlie:

I can kinda roll with things that are supernatural. Ghosts. Unicorns. Fairies. I am very explicitly NOT discussing the Supernatural, for obvious reasons.

BUT, there is nothing supernatural, about GLOBES. Or the shape of the earth. It's not imaginary. There's no component, of the earth being round, that is open to debate, or unproven fantasies, or unprovable negatives, like "such and such doesn't exist." Like...ghosts, or demons, or the like.

The "sun revolves around the earth" I put down to horrific educational standards that are more willing to pass those that are failing than retain them and teach them. Fine. I mean, at least those people probably still think that they're globe-shaped, going around each other.

Cloud computing, I just put down to silliness. Or deliberate goofing.

But, REAL, honest-to-god, so to speak, FLAT EARTHERS?


For some reason, this just REALLY gets up my nose.

Hitch

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I'm actually involved, in a thread, on a certain forum (not here), about someone who felt that his book received "slanderous" reviews.

His book is explaining WHY THE EARTH IS FLAT.

No, I'm not making this up. I am absolutely, positively gobsmacked to learn that in this day and age, in first world countries, there are morons who actually BELIEVE this. I mean...what, they've never been up in plane, at 41,000 feet? They think the moon landings, video from the shuttles, etc., are, what, all faked? They think that there's some "magic" explanation, for why you cannot see Paris, with a telescope, from NYC?

I am...I am nearly speechless. I fully understand that there are people--a surprising (to me) lot of them, as it happens, that believe things that I don't. I get that. Not discussing THAT here. Those folks are talking about a concept that, by definition, cannot be proven nor disproven--by their lights.

But the FREAKING FLAT EARTH? There are actually adult humans, with allegedly normal education, that believe this?

Honest to sh*t, the impact of the Net on the world cannot be overestimated, in a very NEGATIVE SENSE. There are people telling other people--"disbelievers," to GROW UP, and watch so-and-so's videos, which PROVE thatthe earth is FLAT.

Speechless. Effing speechless.


Hitch

Not sure which is worse: flat earth or he expected positive reviews.
Mind blown.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Not sure which is worse: flat earth or he expected positive reviews.
Mind blown.

Exactly. OR, that because they laughed, or corrected him, or, or or, that he thought that they were SLANDEROUS, for refuting the absurdity of it.

God help us all. I'm almost glad that I won't be around to see the Idiocracy in 50 years or so. I remember thinking what a boon to mankind the Net would be; and now, between cellphones and the Net, all we've done is dumb down and polarize people, stripping away any ability that they ever had to distinguish reality from fantasy. To comprehend that just because someone has a different viewpoint doesn't mean that they're morons, or that you should block them or stop reading what they say. It's horrifying. It's as though the onward march of technology makes people stupider by the minute.

I know, I know, I keep saying this, but...Jesus. It is getting worse by the day.

Hitch

[wodin]

BUT, But, but; it IS flat, carried on the back of giant elephants standing on the back of the Cosmic Turtle. Just ask Sir Terry Pratchett... Oh, that's right, you'll have to ask his ghost.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by wodin

BUT, But, but; it IS flat, carried on the back of giant elephants standing on the back of the Cosmic Turtle. Just ask Sir Terry Pratchett... Oh, that's right, you'll have to ask his ghost.

MWAHAHAHAHAHA. Well played, sir!


Hitch

[cromag]

Speaking as someone who has a presence on Facebook and "likes" folks like NASA, Space.com, Science News, etc., you'd be amazed at the folks pushing the Flat Earth concept and insisting (INSISTING!!!) that we sheep must spend our time researching it!

I have remarked on more than one occasion that bandwidth is too cheap!

[PeterT]

Simple proof the world is not flat; if it was cats would have pushed EVERYTHING over the edge

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Simple proof the world is not flat; if it was cats would have pushed EVERYTHING over the edge

THAT is simply perfect. :-) Best thing I've read all day on the FE Bullsh*t.

Thanks for that, Peter.

Hitch

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by cromag

Speaking as someone who has a presence on Facebook and "likes" folks like NASA, Space.com, Science News, etc., you'd be amazed at the folks pushing the Flat Earth concept and insisting (INSISTING!!!) that we sheep must spend our time researching it!

I have remarked on more than one occasion that bandwidth is too cheap!

I almost missed this one. YES, that's the boggling part. I cannot believe the adamancy around this, that we're all just Sheeples, and that they are "in the know." It's...gasp-worthy.

I think I've said this before, but...for most of my career, I was incredibly lucky. I worked with a ton of gifted, highly-successful people. (Of course, truth be told, in RE Development, only the gifted, hard-working survive. The mediocre sink to the bottom and go bankrupt quickly.) That includes amazing architects, engineers, even landscape architects, you name it. On Fridays, when other folks would go out drinking, we'd all hang out at charettes, coming up with creative solutions for various development-related problems. We enjoyed problem-solving--that was recreation for us.

So...even though I always knew that not everyone in the world was a genius, I think that I truly underestimated just how bad it is "out here" in the rest of the world, and the advent of the Net has increasingly brought it home to me. And the more I see it, the more upset I get about it. I realize it's dumb--there's nothing to be done, and god knows, you can't force education or even any type of rational or logical thinking onto people, but I do believe that in a mere 15 years, it's gotten much, much worse--and that, I think, is largely down to smartphones.

I recall reading that one of the forums that I used to find amusing to read, TVWOP (TV Without Pity), which used to host these hilarious TV episode recaps, was nuked by Bravo (which was the final owner), because that sort of "long form communication isn't done any longer." I mean...what?

It's not bad enough that people think that they can actually communicate, in 140 characters, or enjoy the banality of Facebook; that a blog post longer than 300 words is nowadays too long for the typical person's attention span; that SAT scores are routinely in the 300's, but now, a bloody forum post is considered "long form communication?"

Christ, no wonder people can't think and that it's easy for the easily-swayed to find like-minded groups of dolts, to inculcate into FE theories and other faux "science."

I realize, there's no going back, but I often wonder now if anyone is noticing the serious slippery slope of "dumbing down" that seems to be accelerating like a giant damn Downhill Racer snowball. Is it me? I mean, really, have I reached that point where I'm officially old, and have started yammering about the "good old days?" I don't think that is it, but...what I see is truly scary.

I keep hoping that I was just insulated. That my luck also kept me from seeing it everywhere before, and that the Net has indeed become the great electonic melting pot, and so, I'm able/forced to see the hordes of Sheeples that don't think about anything. That don't think beyond 140 characters, or what a Kardashian is wearing, or what game is on the TV tonight, and so forth. I guess that IRL, we only hang out with people who are largely our intellectual equivalents--it just sort of happens that way--but on the Net, we see everything. We're exposed to it all. I hope that's right, and that it's not genuinely getting so much worse. I really do.

FLAT EARTH. Man, I still can't even type it without thinking that somehow, I'm being punked and pranked. How can that be real? I mean, the movement, obviously, not the bloody FLAT EARTH. Jesus.

Sorry for going on at such length. TY for putting up with it.

/rant

Hitch

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I almost missed this one. YES, that's the boggling part. I cannot believe the adamancy around this, that we're all just Sheeples, and that they are "in the know." It's...gasp-worthy.

I think I've said this before, but...for most of my career, I was incredibly lucky. I worked with a ton of gifted, highly-successful people. (Of course, truth be told, in RE Development, only the gifted, hard-working survive. The mediocre sink to the bottom and go bankrupt quickly.) That includes amazing architects, engineers, even landscape architects, you name it. On Fridays, when other folks would go out drinking, we'd all hang out at charettes, coming up with creative solutions for various development-related problems. We enjoyed problem-solving--that was recreation for us.

So...even though I always knew that not everyone in the world was a genius, I think that I truly underestimated just how bad it is "out here" in the rest of the world, and the advent of the Net has increasingly brought it home to me. And the more I see it, the more upset I get about it. I realize it's dumb--there's nothing to be done, and god knows, you can't force education or even any type of rational or logical thinking onto people, but I do believe that in a mere 15 years, it's gotten much, much worse--and that, I think, is largely down to smartphones.

I recall reading that one of the forums that I used to find amusing to read, TVWOP (TV Without Pity), which used to host these hilarious TV episode recaps, was nuked by Bravo (which was the final owner), because that sort of "long form communication isn't done any longer." I mean...what?

It's not bad enough that people think that they can actually communicate, in 140 characters, or enjoy the banality of Facebook; that a blog post longer than 300 words is nowadays too long for the typical person's attention span; that SAT scores are routinely in the 300's, but now, a bloody forum post is considered "long form communication?"

Christ, no wonder people can't think and that it's easy for the easily-swayed to find like-minded groups of dolts, to inculcate into FE theories and other faux "science."

I realize, there's no going back, but I often wonder now if anyone is noticing the serious slippery slope of "dumbing down" that seems to be accelerating like a giant damn Downhill Racer snowball. Is it me? I mean, really, have I reached that point where I'm officially old, and have started yammering about the "good old days?" I don't think that is it, but...what I see is truly scary.

I keep hoping that I was just insulated. That my luck also kept me from seeing it everywhere before, and that the Net has indeed become the great electonic melting pot, and so, I'm able/forced to see the hordes of Sheeples that don't think about anything. That don't think beyond 140 characters, or what a Kardashian is wearing, or what game is on the TV tonight, and so forth. I guess that IRL, we only hang out with people who are largely our intellectual equivalents--it just sort of happens that way--but on the Net, we see everything. We're exposed to it all. I hope that's right, and that it's not genuinely getting so much worse. I really do.

FLAT EARTH. Man, I still can't even type it without thinking that somehow, I'm being punked and pranked. How can that be real? I mean, the movement, obviously, not the bloody FLAT EARTH. Jesus.

Sorry for going on at such length. TY for putting up with it.

/rant

Hitch

Hitch, I hate to scare you, but things <are> getting worse. Consider. . .

The move to AI and robotics continue to disconnect the need for humans to accomplish from what's necessary to maintain our technological society. So why educate the lesser groups? Let them have their ignorance. They don't know how to really damage the current civilization.

At least that has been the mindset of "those in control" (not me!!!). Give the plebes bread and circuses. It worked for a couple of centuries for Rome, didn't it. . . .

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

That sort of behavior usually reduces to "I didn't want to be here in the first place", and making "I'm so tired" noises provides a socially acceptable reason to leave sooner rather than later instead of explicitly stating you don't care for the company you're in.

I know, but if that was applicable in this case, most of my family members are always bored and never want to be where they are, even if it's at home on their own couch.

I think it has just become a bad habit for most of them, just as you have people who seem to feel it to be necessary to fart as loudly as possible, whenever, wherever, or spit on the ground every 20 seconds. (Yeah, sometimes you hear, smell and see things like that in public transport. Some people don't care JACK ***** for social behavior.)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I almost missed this one. YES, that's the boggling part. I cannot believe the adamancy around this, that we're all just Sheeples, and that they are "in the know." It's...gasp-worthy.

I think I've said this before, but...for most of my career, I was incredibly lucky. I worked with a ton of gifted, highly-successful people. (Of course, truth be told, in RE Development, only the gifted, hard-working survive. The mediocre sink to the bottom and go bankrupt quickly.) That includes amazing architects, engineers, even landscape architects, you name it. On Fridays, when other folks would go out drinking, we'd all hang out at charettes, coming up with creative solutions for various development-related problems. We enjoyed problem-solving--that was recreation for us.

So...even though I always knew that not everyone in the world was a genius, I think that I truly underestimated just how bad it is "out here" in the rest of the world, and the advent of the Net has increasingly brought it home to me. And the more I see it, the more upset I get about it. I realize it's dumb--there's nothing to be done, and god knows, you can't force education or even any type of rational or logical thinking onto people, but I do believe that in a mere 15 years, it's gotten much, much worse--and that, I think, is largely down to smartphones.

I recall reading that one of the forums that I used to find amusing to read, TVWOP (TV Without Pity), which used to host these hilarious TV episode recaps, was nuked by Bravo (which was the final owner), because that sort of "long form communication isn't done any longer." I mean...what?

It's not bad enough that people think that they can actually communicate, in 140 characters, or enjoy the banality of Facebook; that a blog post longer than 300 words is nowadays too long for the typical person's attention span; that SAT scores are routinely in the 300's, but now, a bloody forum post is considered "long form communication?"

Christ, no wonder people can't think and that it's easy for the easily-swayed to find like-minded groups of dolts, to inculcate into FE theories and other faux "science."

I realize, there's no going back, but I often wonder now if anyone is noticing the serious slippery slope of "dumbing down" that seems to be accelerating like a giant damn Downhill Racer snowball. Is it me? I mean, really, have I reached that point where I'm officially old, and have started yammering about the "good old days?" I don't think that is it, but...what I see is truly scary.

I keep hoping that I was just insulated. That my luck also kept me from seeing it everywhere before, and that the Net has indeed become the great electonic melting pot, and so, I'm able/forced to see the hordes of Sheeples that don't think about anything. That don't think beyond 140 characters, or what a Kardashian is wearing, or what game is on the TV tonight, and so forth. I guess that IRL, we only hang out with people who are largely our intellectual equivalents--it just sort of happens that way--but on the Net, we see everything. We're exposed to it all. I hope that's right, and that it's not genuinely getting so much worse. I really do.

FLAT EARTH. Man, I still can't even type it without thinking that somehow, I'm being punked and pranked. How can that be real? I mean, the movement, obviously, not the bloody FLAT EARTH. Jesus.

Sorry for going on at such length. TY for putting up with it.

/rant

Hitch

oh, there was a Flat Earth conference in the Netherlands just a few weeks ago, by the way. It was full of people who insisted that at least 95% of science was a lie, and Einstein had never existed.

Also, stupid people... I had a job interview earlier this week. Second one, same company.

In the first one, the development/software engineering team was overjoyed with finally finding someone who could do basically EVERYTHING they ever needed: design and write software for micro-controllers in C, for PLC's in Structured Text, and even create web-interfaces in PHP and HTML/CSS/JQuery. Talked about software engineering and architecture for over two hours. They even invited me for the second interview before I was out the door; didn't need to wait for a phone call or an e-mail.

Yesterday I had the second interview with a manager from HR... the most standard and bland interview you could ever imagine. Irrelevant questions about if I was married / had a GF, if she'd move if I moved for this job, if I liked the master I was doing (no, moron, I always study stuff I hate...), if I knew version control (entirely missing the fact there are four systems mentioned in the CV) and so on.

Today I got the message I won't be made an offer because "he wasn't feeling the vibe."

When do fools like them get this? Engineers don't blabber around making small talk or talking about their girlfriends or whatever you need to 'feel it the vibe'. They want to use the stuff they know to CREATE LOGICAL, WORKING SYSTEMS.

Idiot. And in a few weeks, he'll be screaming at the top of his lungs that he 'can't find good, qualified people,' just like all the other CEO's and HR dudes.