Jump to content

Samson's Wig

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    2442
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Samson's Wig

  1. Getting into UT 40 years ago and prior was easier than falling off a log, especially if you checked a handful of the right social boxes. When the top 10%, now 6% or whatever, rule kicked in sometime in the 90s it got even easier for a stretch. I'm not sure when the turn to exclusivity began, but there aren't many posters here who experience it firsthand, although there are certainly some who have seen their kids go through it. This is the case for most schools perceived as prestigious, frankly. Getting into an Ivy League was not exactly a monumental feat back in 1985. Starting from its early days, Harvard Law would auto-admit any applicant from a state without an accredited law school, which is why you will find assloads of Harvard lawyers over the age of fifty in places like New Mexico, Montana, etc. Obtaining a higher education at a top-tier school used to be more a matter of want-to than anything else. Now it's a fucking death match that parents engage in with other parents on behalf of their kids, and taking state schools like UT and turning them into exclusive ivy-league-esque institutions is hurting way more than it's helping. The State of Texas has limited opportunities for students to receive a quality education at a state university, which is a shame for all of us. Most of this stems from our fractured system, the hoarding of resources in two (but mostly one) of those systems, and a general brain drain in leadership in this state. The current state of politics, combined with the lack of educational opportunities, will drive this place further and further into the mud. Young, intelligent women, in particular, are leaving in droves. This fake bullshit tech-bro school isn't going to change that. The tech industry, and the financial industry that props it up, are the number one enemy of the future of this country, and Texas is hell-bent on being the tip of the downward spiraling spear.
  2. I appreciate that. I'm the pain in the ass in my house, lucky to be here, and well aware of it. I was just being silly.
  3. I think this is spot-on. My post about single people and dogs was purposefully hyperbolically silly.
  4. Did that study focus on evangelicals? Because it seems like it focused on evangelicals. If you believe that once "saved," you've got the eternal bliss green light no matter what, I can see where that would make you less self-reflective and remorseful of harmful actions and more likely to sweep scandals of fellow believeres under the rug as no big deal (see Baylor).
  5. Lost in all of this is that 99% of people who take their dogs everywhere are single people. Please don't mistake this as me suggesting they deserve our pity, for the complete opposite is the case. They already lead quiet, uncomplicated, bliss-filled lives of individual freedom and still insist upon subjecting those of us slogging through the mayhem of sharing our lives and living spaces with loud, opinionated, and unruly spouses and children to their shit and piss-filled little emotional crutches that are never even half as well behaved as they think they are. Fuck these people and their exceptional fucking lifestyles. These are not the people who need a living, breathing teddy bear with them at all times. They have already won. They should feel nothing but comfort as they glide through their days of not being concerned with anything but their own needs and desires. Next time I see one of them I'm going to steal their dog for my own emotional well-being. It only seems fair.
  6. Love this idea, but I won't hold my breath waiting for Texas to "regulate" anything that doesn't involve bathrooms, women's health, or ensuring children aren't educated properly.
  7. I think I see a problem for someone's solution.
  8. The folks who let their dogs off leash where they shouldn't be are nothing but human trash. It's amazing how common it is.
  9. There is also that whole "teach them how to act like a functional human being in public" element that just doesn't apply to dogs, no matter how much dog people want to pretend like they're the same thing as human children. I say this as the parent of two human children and multiple dog children. I love them all, but if the house is burning down and there is only time to save two of them, the human kids are making it out. Yes, kids in public can be a much bigger pain in the ass than some dogs, but tough shit. They have to learn. The dog might enjoy going to Home Depot and pissing on the weed eaters, but there is zero societal benefit for such behavior. Letting kids go to Home Depot and piss on the weed eaters and learn that it's wrong is the only way we get adults who don't piss on the weed eaters at Home Depot.
  10. You've clearly never picked up a product from the bottom shelf in a Home Depot only to find it covered in dog piss.
  11. Most obnoxious vocals of all time? Perhaps not. But damn close. Holy shit. Apologies if that's you, I guess.
  12. Only one of these two is at risk of long-term damage to their career, and that damage is already done.
  13. You're very late to this game. I've owned one for around twenty years. It works. . . fine. I'll take your fuck you and leave you with a recommendation to go learn the basic vocabulary of intellectual property.
  14. MotoGP says, "fuck off rain, at least for this weekend."
  15. I wouldn't share my DNA willingly like that in a million years, but unfortunately, my sister (with whom I share a mother and father, as far as I know) was happy to do so. So I'm fucked, anyway. Having family is great. Until it's not.
  16. A homeless woman recently broke into Paragon Prep (a small private school that moved into the space by El Dorado that formally housed Magellan) while they were on break. She spent a few days shitting all over the place (apparently damn near every room), destroyed tens of thousands of dollars worth of property, and scared the hell out of a bunch of kids when they showed back up for school. I wonder what, if anything, will happen to her. Obviously, she needs help, but she also has no business on the streets and among the public. I suspect the revolving door will be in full service for her.
  17. I can't believe more arrests weren't made for people beating his ass and taking the lighter from him. I'm not sure I wouldn't have done so in that situation. Ruining everyone's day because your manhood is so sensitive you can't follow a simple and reasonable request? Fuck that loser. EDIT TO ADD: I know it's been written here many times before, but this what happens when bus people can afford to fly. Things need to change.
  18. My kid has major bowel issues due to his neurological condition. I could easily see him spending half an hour in a bathroom on a plane if things were not going well. That pilot should lose his license and get fucked. What a bizarre response, and if the reporting is accurate, it sounds like he may be one of those modern-day nazis who feel so emboldened lately. That story make so little sense it's difficult to believe there isn't more to it, but if it went down even remotely as reported it's really scary that a guy with those kind of rage issues could get licensed and hired to fly a commercial plane.
  19. You're right. While I wasn't thinking of the Finns specifically, I should have said Nordic countries or something along those lines.
  20. True. I wonder how much the numbers from that era reflect us climbing out of the Great Recession and seeing a bit of hope for the future for the first time in a while. No doubt people seem to be crankier and meaner now, though. And I agree with the notion above that social media is a big part of all of this.
  21. They do drink and fuck a lot, and I'm probably discounting that more than I should. Gen Z still has it's youngest members who haven't even entered their teenage years yet, so the book isn't written on them yet. Those older Gen Z folks that are part of the numbers you posted spent a great deal of their formative years during Covid lockdown. They're just uniquely fucked.
  22. Expectations. That's all it is. Americans are miserable because we expect to be happy, rich, successful, famous, etc. Basically, we're stupid. Scandinavians consistently rank high because, culturally, they expect the absolute worst at all times and then appreciate being pleasantly surprised when things are just okay. These happiness polls always measure happiness against expectations, and that's why the numbers turn out the way they do. Americans are overly optimistic and therefore constantly disappointed. Scandinavians are extremely pessimistic and therefore constantly pleased. The end result is still Americans being less happy than other nations, but applying an American's notion of happiness to other nations does not paint an accurate picture.
×
×
  • Create New...