I cannot wait to Elf on the Shelf this thing around the house like a garden gnome and terrify my wife, kids, and cat. You’re implying 350 bucks for pure terror is a bad thing? I counter by saying the pure amusement factor is worth more than any dollar amount. Years of entertainment and therapy levels of psychological…

In the 50s, the “environment” was simply the existing barriers between now and what you needed or wanted to build.  You’re right, we know much more now, but we’re still far short of being able to justifiably disapprove about how prior generations abused our natural world. 

Came here to make the same point. If the hotel has unscrupulous people working for it, it won’t matter if you give your CC info at the front desk or over the phone. Not to denigrate hotel employees at all, but if an employee can call and steal your credit card info over the phone, they can certainly do it from the…

I did.

Pretty much all complex organisms are in the business of destroying other types of life. Think about it, think of any animal, it’s spending its whole day killing or leaching off of or digesting some other living thing. I’d urge you to be slightly less morose about being alive.

This is why populations decline. We reach a level of prosperity where all the handbrakes disappear, girls stop being impressed with sweet handbrake turns, and pretty soon we go extinct as a species.

My Jeep god said, “Take it, break it, and build it better”. Never said anything about engines being sacred.

I remember those early reports on how superthin flexible OLED screens were supposed to replace newspapers, that you’d be able to buy a cheap, foldable OLED “thing” (they never explained how exactly it would work) the size of a sheet of newspaper, and every day it would update itself with the latest articles. It was…

I remember those early reports on how superthin flexible OLED screens were supposed to replace newspapers, that…

*Northern* New England... RI... 🤔

This is to tell you all that I will not be posting “lovely lady” awards any longer.  I’ve been doing it for almost ten years and have decided to hang it up. 

I like to troll the annoying people.

horrible advice. horrible. dont ever do this.

See, I like folks who think that. Because after the agent is done rebooking a bunch of obnoxious jerks, I go up there and say please and thank you and don’t treat them like they’re personally responsible for breaking the plane or summoning the wrath of Poseidon, and they tend to give me whatever I want.

Fuck that noise. Yell all you want you’ll get the absolute minimum from me. Treat me with respect and present your case calmly, you’ll get the most I can give, sometimes more than I’m allowed to give. We reward good behavior, not bad.

This. A million times over. The truth is that when you walk up and act like an entitled ass, you are just another asshole and the attendant deals with WORSE assholes than you every day. They will do the minimum needed to make you go away. There are TONS of these people. Typically, the one polite person will stand out…

I’ve found the opposite to be true in many circumstances. Generally, starting out very nice and supportive works; you can always turn nasty if warranted (this has the added effect of putting the agent on tilt, since you started out super nice and understanding).

They’ll give you the bare minimum to shut you up. Then I, a reasonable person behind you, will approach them, bemoan what an asshole you were being and get twice the perks.

I’ve had the opposite experience. I was canceled flying from a small airport to San Francisco due to fog in the bay which makes it so small regional jets cannot land. I listened to multiple people use your method and get nothing but a rebooking from the agents since it was demonstrably weather and outside the…