Sorry, that sounded a lot more snarky than I meant it to. It’s a serious question though, if you believe that God has a plan (which I usually hear phrased as “God’s perfect plan”) then isn’t it hubris to ask God to change that plan for your personal benefit?

Really? I expect that most people who pray would say that prayer is very different from mere hope.

No, desire for an outcome does not equal praying for that outcome. If I desire an outcome I might actively work for that outcome or I might passively hope for that outcome but I won’t be asking a god or fate or the universe to grant me that outcome. Saying “Everyone prays” or “Everyone worships” is lazy thinking.

Maybe, but I still haven’t seen a compelling home automation function. A programmable thermostat and outlet timers seem to fulfill most of the automation functions. And “smart” is even less compelling.

I think there’s a distinction to be made between home automation and “smart” devices. There is no reason that the automation devices in my home need to report to anything not on my own local network. My programmable thermostat doesn’t need to report to anyone other than me. Making them “smart” is not adding value.

Why? Do you think God is going to change his plan because you asked him to?

No, we don’t all whisper “please...” Desiring an outcome? Yes, we all do that. Asking a nebulous force in the universe to grant it to us? No.

“Not interested in things like that...”

What’s the difference between a jazz guitarist and a rock guitarist?

I agree. The Credit Rating agencies don’t charge us interest, and, in fact, don’t get paid by the consumers at all.

Except that the Superbowl isn’t until Sunday and the report has already been released. Couldn’t the press have taken a few minutes out of their breathless bloviating about the Superbowl to take notice?

I think protocol requires that you let it be known in advance that you’re going to be giving a gift so that a plan can be made about what to do with it.

I think protocol requires that you let it be known in advance that you’re going to be giving a gift so that a plan can be made about what to do with it.

So this is the Tide Pod challenge for people who think they’re too smart to fall for the Tide Pod challenge?

I just want to point out that the fact that your food was bathed in microwaves is irrelevant. No one is worried that their baked potato is going to be genetically damaged before they eat it. They are worried that they (or their children) are going to be genetically damaged by the microwaves.

Argumentum ad antiquitatem is just a variant of the argument from popularity. They are both invalid. The fact that something is or was popular has no effect on whether it is a good thing. So, no, history is not handicapped, what is handicapped is unsupported assertions backed up by nothing other than popularity,…

Yeah, I think the recommendation is an hour, of which you just wasted 45 minutes heating it up.

I tend to disagree with the “single letter (not words)“ rule. I would probably go with: There are two “t”s in the word kittens.

I had this problem with a GM car. The buttons on the fob are basically a rubber mat with a conductive pad for each button that closes a circuit on the internal board of the fob.

Just “You” is fine in all of those. “[Do] You want to get a pizza?”, “[Are] You waiting for the store to open?”