Everything is Shit: Tracking the Great Enshittening

[gmr548 16,576]

33 minutes ago, immamac said:

American GDP in general is a scam. I wonder if all credit derived payments were removed from GDP how actually fucked it would be. 

Like where is all the actual cash that is in the money supply vs all the debt that is treated as cash. I think most revenue is all based on literally made up money. 

All money is made up.

[StassneyHorn 6,575]

Counterpoint: John Mulaney has never had a real fucking job, was raised by parents who are some of the best lawyers in Chicago, educated at the best schools (one literally at the end of the block from me, St Clements, 0.2 miles),  and his parents payed for/allowed his lifestyle.

Half of people in credit card "debt" pay it off in less than a month.

Pull your hair out.

[kevwun 15,774]

I just got woken up by a blue alert on my phone for a dude in hall county which is in the fucking panhandle.  I am in Port A.  Thanks alot assholes.

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,277]

24 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I just got woken up by a blue alert on my phone for a dude in hall county which is in the fucking panhandle.  I am in Port A.  Thanks alot assholes.

Same but in Houston, thought something actually serious was happening like a refinery disaster or Putin/Kim/Xi letting nukes fly but no… was some dumbass “blue alert”…like the cops state wide would give a shit and all sign up to get woken up at 4am if I got shot…

[Dbeasy 15,047]

On 10/2/2024 at 8:42 AM, immamac said:

Yeah, I was just elaborating for those who want to know what YCombinator is all about. 

I spent 25 years in the venture capital/startup world. When I first started, it was a brilliant concept that launched powerful fantastic companies that changed the world in a positive way. 

It then quickly became essentially a Ponzi scheme to get rich by dumping crap companies on all of us. One of many ways to do that was by taking advantage of index investing, which buys companies regardless of their quality.  VC’s and founders know full well they are pitching fraud, but don’t care. Investor beware. WeWork was a great example, and now VC’s have funded that grifter yet again. Capitalism is partially broken right now. 

[WBT 20,561]

48 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I just got woken up by a blue alert on my phone for a dude in hall county which is in the fucking panhandle.  I am in Port A.  Thanks alot assholes.

 

22 minutes ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Same but in Houston, thought something actually serious was happening like a refinery disaster or Putin/Kim/Xi letting nukes fly but no… was some dumbass “blue alert”…like the cops state wide would give a shit and all sign up to get woken up at 4am if I got shot…

You don't turn all of that shit off as soon as you get a new phone?  That's on you.

[kevwun 15,774]

I have everything turned off except emergency alerts.  A local manhunt that happens hundreds of miles away ain’t an emergency.

Edited October 4 by kevwun

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,277]

3 minutes ago, WBT said:

 

You don't turn all of that shit off as soon as you get a new phone?  That's on you.

I mean I wouldn’t mind getting actual useful alerts for actual emergencies happening near where my phone is located so no I don’t turn them off… but stupid ass “blue alerts” might be the thing that gets me to do it 

[HenryJames 66,041]

[Parliament 14,255]

[Deej 76,759]

Whenever a blue alert goes off on my phone in the middle of the night, I'm like...

[elfenix 34,231]

On 10/2/2024 at 12:03 AM, huge said:

I don’t use Reddit properly.

All they do is email me their advice column section.

I don’t care that your sister called you a whore on your wedding day!

Also no one cares about incubators outside of techbros and dilettantes.

Reddit.com/r/NSFW

Reddit.com/r/gonewild

On 10/3/2024 at 1:32 PM, immamac said:

American GDP in general is a scam. I wonder if all credit derived payments were removed from GDP how actually fucked it would be. 

Like where is all the actual cash that is in the money supply vs all the debt that is treated as cash. I think most revenue is all based on literally made up money. 

The thing about a fractional reserve system is that most money is just entries in a ledger. 

 

Also most large firms have to use accrual basis accounting.

 

My well-regarded business law professor said accounting was lying by another name.

[Ted Lange 16,084]

Blue Alert aka Copganda 

[Hook1997 5,354]

On 10/3/2024 at 2:06 PM, gmr548 said:

All money is made up.

What?  We’re only 36 trillion in debt!  We lead that race by a huge margin compared to any other country and the EU.  The dollar is a total house of cards that would collapse in a second except for the fact that so many other countries count on its trade.  So we just keep printing more Monopoly money when we need more. 

Edited October 4 by Hook1997

[elfenix 34,231]

21 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

What?  We’re only 36 trillion in debt!  The dollar is a total house of cards that would collapse in a second except so many other countries count on its trade.  So we just keep printing more Monopoly money when we need more.  

The debt matters to the extent it drives deficits but otherwise it's just a number. 

Deficit to GDP are more interesting ratios because they're both vectors (debt is a scalar, it would be like comparing miles to mph). Debt to wealth would be an interesting ratio.

The other factor is that the world financial system is basic built on t-bills and when they tried to find something else to use it ended up pretty badly.

 

 

 

One day the Ricardians may be correct but they've had 200+ years of being wrong at this point.

 

 

Ultimately all money has to be made up. Gold is a useful industrial commodity and it goes well with Persian skin tones but its value as money is only far beyond those things because a bunch of people agree that's how it should be. Greenbacks are no different. And, unlike gold, greenbacks are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government which only morons try to fuck around with. Along with the biggest and best performing large economy in the world, the second largest nuclear arsenal (and who knows how many Russian bombs actually work) 11 actual aircraft carriers, 10 more ships that pretty much every other country on earth would count as aircraft carriers a fuck ton of nukes, and a seemingly insatiable appetite for consumer goods. 

Edited October 4 by elfenix
No idea why my phone assumes I'm using its as a contraction when I usually use it as a possessive

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

17 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

and his parents payed for/allowed his lifestyle.

paid

[Parliament 14,255]

Zeihan says that throughout History the nation with the most powerful navy had the universal currency.  Rome, Spain, America.  The Navy keeps the shipping lanes open and trade just leans to their currency.  Until some upstart usurps us, the rest of the World hasta use the Greenback.  Whether they any to or not.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

3 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Zeihan says that throughout History the nation with the most powerful navy had the universal currency.  Rome, Spain, America.  The Navy keeps the shipping lanes open and trade just leans to their currency.  Until some upstart usurps us, the rest of the World hasta use the Greenback.  Whether they any to or not.

You left out England between Spain and us.

[Parliament 14,255]

Crap sry.

[StassneyHorn 6,575]

37 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

paid

Take it up with autocorrect

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

4 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

Take it up with autocorrect

Don't tell me what to do.

[HenryJames 66,041]

An Uber, Lyft Loophole Denys NYC Drivers Millions in Pay (bloomberg.com)

[thunderlounge 7,816]

Yeah, fuck paywalls. 

[HenryJames 66,041]

[Hank Kingsley 20,921]

[kevwun 15,774]

This is the thread where I am going to keep bitching about FedEx.  I have had to return 2 laptops to Panasonic in the last couple of weeks for repair.  I had pre-printed overnight labels from them.  The first laptop I had to schedule the pickup 3 times with FedEx.  The first pickup got setup for an address that was 75 miles away somehow  The 2nd one took 2 calls and when they finally showed up they had a completely different name attached to the pickup.  They have to try to be this terrible.  I am assuming the only reason they are still being used for shipping is because UPS and the Post Office can't handle the extra volume.

Edited October 22 by kevwun

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,277]

Have had so many terrible experiences with FedEx over the past few years that I really consider myself lucky when stuff shows up even remotely on time and on same block as where I live when delivered by Fedex... highly consider not ordering from places who use them to deliver goods but sometimes don't get or have a choice... 

[956 Worldwide 34,705]

4 hours ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Have had so many terrible experiences with FedEx over the past few years that I really consider myself lucky when stuff shows up even remotely on time and on same block as where I live when delivered by Fedex... highly consider not ordering from places who use them to deliver goods but sometimes don't get or have a choice... 

 

[Sandman 3,403]

5 hours ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Have had so many terrible experiences with FedEx over the past few years that I really consider myself lucky when stuff shows up even remotely on time and on same block as where I live when delivered by Fedex... highly consider not ordering from places who use them to deliver goods but sometimes don't get or have a choice... 

About 6 months ago, I had a package show up on my porch, delivered by Fedex. It had "Medical Device" printed on the box and was addressed to the former owner of the house. We have lived here for 11 years, so I don't know how the device company fucked that up. Anyway, called Fedex and asked them to come get this thing and they said to schedule a pickup online, so I did. Left the package on my porch for them to pick up. 6 months later, I still have this thing. Hope the old lady is still alive.

[HenryJames 66,041]

5 hours ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Have had so many terrible experiences with FedEx over the past few years that I really consider myself lucky when stuff shows up even remotely on time and on same block as where I live when delivered by Fedex... highly consider not ordering from places who use them to deliver goods but sometimes don't get or have a choice... 

Got to know the guy the next street over since we frequently get each other's deliveries.

[Brisketexan 105,095]

53 minutes ago, Sandman said:

About 6 months ago, I had a package show up on my porch, delivered by Fedex. It had "Medical Device" printed on the box and was addressed to the former owner of the house. We have lived here for 11 years, so I don't know how the device company fucked that up. Anyway, called Fedex and asked them to come get this thing and they said to schedule a pickup online, so I did. Left the package on my porch for them to pick up. 6 months later, I still have this thing. Hope the old lady is still alive.

You mistyped "Personal Massager."

[Deej 76,759]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

Got to know the guy the next street over since we frequently get each other's deliveries.

Kinky

He gets your ED pills and you get his butt plugs?

 

Edited October 22 by Deej

[Samson's Wig 3,191]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

About 6 months ago, I had a package show up on my porch, delivered by Fedex. It had "Medical Device" printed on the box and was addressed to the former owner of the house. We have lived here for 11 years, so I don't know how the device company fucked that up. Anyway, called Fedex and asked them to come get this thing and they said to schedule a pickup online, so I did. Left the package on my porch for them to pick up. 6 months later, I still have this thing. Hope the old lady is still alive.

"Medical Device."   "Former owner."  It's okay to admit the truth.  This is a safe space.

 

EDIT: Damnit, Brisket beat me to the joke. Should have read the rest of the page before commenting.

Edited October 22 by Samson's Wig

[kevwun 15,774]

I got a call today from the fish processor we used in Sitka back in August.  They filed a claim with FedEx and are mailing me $500 and change check.  They got back all of the overnight costs from FedEx and some money for the salmon since they had insured them.  Suck it FedEx.

[Hornius Emeritus 12,457]

On 10/4/2024 at 5:50 PM, elfenix said:

Ultimately all money has to be made up. Gold is a useful industrial commodity and it goes well with Persian skin tones but its value as money is only far beyond those things because a bunch of people agree that's how it should be. Greenbacks are no different. And, unlike gold, greenbacks are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government which only morons try to fuck around with. Along with the biggest and best performing large economy in the world, the second largest nuclear arsenal (and who knows how many Russian bombs actually work) 11 actual aircraft carriers, 10 more ships that pretty much every other country on earth would count as aircraft carriers a fuck ton of nukes, and a seemingly insatiable appetite for consumer goods. 

Thank you for saying this more eloquently than I can. My dad says "the laws of economics can't be denied."  I always say "the laws of economics are only laws because we all agree that they're laws."

 

[Firemans4Horn 18,046]

We need antitrust to break these companies up.

 

[Dbeasy 15,047]

3 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

We need antitrust to break these companies up.

 

I’m right there with you, but there is one complicating factor. It requires a globally synced initiative with China, Europe and the US. Otherwise, for example, leaving huge monopolies in China just means China companies come to the US and dominate. Or companies play countries off against each other. I’m sure Trump will do a great job at that. Sigh. 

[Firemans4Horn 18,046]

3 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I’m right there with you, but there is one complicating factor. It requires a globally synced initiative with China, Europe and the US. Otherwise, for example, leaving huge monopolies in China just means China companies come to the US and dominate. Or companies play countries off against each other. I’m sure Trump will do a great job at that. Sigh. 

AWS, Amazon.com, Amazon Prime, Amazon streaming, Amazon AI etc… can be separate companies. But AWS profits should not be able to subsidize cheaper gas or overpay for NFL games on their other verticals. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

What’s your problem with cheaper gas?

[Dbeasy 15,047]

1 hour ago, Firemans4Horn said:

AWS, Amazon.com, Amazon Prime, Amazon streaming, Amazon AI etc… can be separate companies. But AWS profits should not be able to subsidize cheaper gas or overpay for NFL games on their other verticals. 

I understand what you’re saying and agree it’s an issue. But China has an Amazon too. They can also do these things. If you just break up U.S. dominant companies, you open the door to global competitors. That’s why they’ve been slow to act over the last many years. 

[thunderlounge 7,816]

Never overlook what a large, misinformed, loyal population base can do when they’ve been programmed for the long game. 

[Captainant 27,655]

44 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I understand what you’re saying and agree it’s an issue. But China has an Amazon too. They can also do these things. If you just break up U.S. dominant companies, you open the door to global competitors. That’s why they’ve been slow to act over the last many years. 

So basically, the global warming/pollution argument, but for Amazon?

[Parliament 14,255]

“Jarvis?”  More like “Hal,” amirite?

 

[Hank Kingsley 20,921]

These fuckers are so lazy they can't even come up with an original name. 

 

[Bill Brasky 1,443]

On 10/25/2024 at 2:58 PM, thunderlounge said:

Never overlook what a large, misinformed, loyal population base can do when they’ve been programmed for the long game. 

advantage Aggy 

[HenryJames 66,041]

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/iphone-apple-intelligence-ai-features-launch/

[thunderlounge 7,816]

Color me surprised. 

[pacman 7,355]

Whelp..

[Captainant 27,655]

55 minutes ago, pacman said:

Whelp..

https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-militia-organizing-election/

What the actual fuck? Wouldn't they be shedding their section 230 safe harbor protections by creating that content as a platform?

 

There have also been some recent instances where Facebook has even auto-generated pages for militias. In May, Facebook auto-generated a page for AP3’s Arizona chapter. In June, Facebook auto-generated a page for “AP3 NM [New Mexico] Training Range.” If you hover over the information widget on the page, Facebook’s explainer reads: “This unofficial page was created because people on Facebook have shown interest in this place or business. It’s not affiliated with or endorsed by anyone associated with AP3 Training Range.” (Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has repeatedly come under fire in the past for auto-generating pages for extremist, white supremacist, and terrorist organizations; a whistleblower first flagged the issue in 2020 in a supplement to an earlier petition filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.)

[HenryJames 66,041]

Robert Downey Jr. Bans Hollywood From Creating Digital Replica: I Will Sue (variety.com)

When host Kara Swisher said that “future executives certainly will” want to digitally recreate Downey on the big screen, the actor responded: “Well, you’re right. I would like to here state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec.”

“You’ll be dead,” Swisher noted, to which Downey replied: “But my law firm will still be very active.”