AugustusFerdinand's recent activity

  2. Comment on Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, US officials warn in ~finance

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Issues: This only covers the taxpayer funded bailout and returns on it, not any of the knock-on effects of mass layoffs, retirement funds becoming trash, homelessness, etc. that were the ripples...

    Issues:

    1. This only covers the taxpayer funded bailout and returns on it, not any of the knock-on effects of mass layoffs, retirement funds becoming trash, homelessness, etc. that were the ripples of the 2008 crash that didn't get a bailout.
    2. The bailouts have a direct link to the massively overpriced housing market we are currently within. Adjusted for inflation, the median house price in the US hovers around $200k. Every time it has creeped too far above that, there's been a correction (that some would call a "crash") back to the norm. 2008's bailouts stopped this correction and has led to the disgustingly overpriced market we have now that is well above pre-2008's idiotically inflated prices.
    3. The bailouts may have provided some semblance of economic stability in a couple of key areas, but it wasn't as far reaching as it could/should be and ultimately resulted in very specific areas being rewarded for their bad actions instead of punished.
    4 votes

  3. Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    There's also a subset of people that associate price with value and simply won't bother with something cheaper even if it is better, especially when it comes to art/handmade items. An example of...

    There's also a subset of people that associate price with value and simply won't bother with something cheaper even if it is better, especially when it comes to art/handmade items.
    An example of this is within one of my hobbies: blacksmithing
    There is an upcoming high end art show/festival that my local blacksmithing group has been invited to attend. Most exhibitors at these shows, this one included, have to pay to attend. This show in particular requires the exhibitors to be invited to attend and then pay for the privilege.
    We are being paid to be there, sell our wares, and we're not even demonstrating (actually making anything on-site).
    The first year this happened, items were priced as they usually are for us at one of these shows, that is to say very reasonably and rarely at an actual profit (most of the time we're just trying to continue to fund the hobby, not make a business out of it). The first year, nearly nothing sold.
    One of the other exhibitors came by on the last day and made a comment along the lines of "This kind of crowd won't pay that kind of money, if you're coming back next year, triple your prices."

    Next year comes around, again invited and paid to attend, follow advice (it had been validated a bit by asking around to other exhibitors at similar events); same items offered, what is usually $30-50 at a "normal" art show/festival, for what amounts to trinkets for a blacksmith to make, is priced at $150.
    Everything sold out.

    12 votes

  5. Comment on A rare burst of billions of cicadas will rewire our ecosystems for years to come. The arrival of Brood XIX and Brood XIII will send shockwaves through forest food webs. in ~enviro

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    I believe you, stranger things have happened, just honestly couldn't tell if you were joking or it really is a thing.

    I believe you, stranger things have happened, just honestly couldn't tell if you were joking or it really is a thing.

  6. Comment on Behold, the $400 red pineapple in ~food

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    I wonder if they're attempting to prevent this by not including the crown... It's quite easy, if time consuming, to grow a new pineapple from an old pineapple's crown.

    I wonder if they're attempting to prevent this by not including the crown... It's quite easy, if time consuming, to grow a new pineapple from an old pineapple's crown.

    9 votes

  7. Comment on Fear the Mad Catz - The worst video game controllers ever in ~games

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    A shorter (10 minute) TL;DW video from LGR 6 years ago if anyone here doesn't want to dedicate over an hour to this video or find Rerez's personality unappealing. LGR's video focuses on the...

    A shorter (10 minute) TL;DW video from LGR 6 years ago if anyone here doesn't want to dedicate over an hour to this video or find Rerez's personality unappealing. LGR's video focuses on the company and not the individual products that this video does.

    17 votes

  8. Comment on A rare burst of billions of cicadas will rewire our ecosystems for years to come. The arrival of Brood XIX and Brood XIII will send shockwaves through forest food webs. in ~enviro

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    I can't tell if you're serious or not as the video in the link specifically mentions, multiple times, that there are no cicadas on the pizza.

    My city really embraced these bugs. We had shirts and I believe you even used to be able to order a pizza with them on it. First bug I ever ate was one of these bad boys deep fried and covered in Grippos seasoning. Good times.

    I can't tell if you're serious or not as the video in the link specifically mentions, multiple times, that there are no cicadas on the pizza.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of May 6 in ~news

  10. Comment on The Devil went down to Georgia in ~lgbt

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link

    For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on The Day Iceland Stood Still | Trailer in ~life.women

  13. Comment on The Day Iceland Stood Still | Trailer in ~life.women

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Here's a quick Vox video on this I watched last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9OsIj32w7U Also looking forward to this more in-depth documentary.

    Here's a quick Vox video on this I watched last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9OsIj32w7U
    Also looking forward to this more in-depth documentary.

    3 votes

  14. Comment on HADES II Early Access has started in ~games

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades; IF there was ever a developer that makes me doubt my stance on Early Access, it'd probably be Supergiant. However, my stance remains. I don't do preorders and I...

    Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades; IF there was ever a developer that makes me doubt my stance on Early Access, it'd probably be Supergiant.

    However, my stance remains. I don't do preorders and I don't pay for incomplete products, so I don't do Early Access. Steam's recent change/clarification of their refund window only cements it further as playtime in Early Access will result in no refund if the game ends up not being to your liking or isn't playable. A few months in Early Access with someone popping in for a few minutes at a time to see if XYZ is better/fixed is more than enough to hit the two hour limit and make it non-refundable.

    There's nothing to gain buying into Early Access. The full game will release when it's ready, the only thing you're getting with Early Access is paying them to do their QA testing.

    9 votes

  15. Comment on Protesters unaffiliated with CCNY, Columbia made up nearly half of arrests: police in ~life

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    I mean... yeah. Protestors don't need to have a direct affiliation with a protest to be supportive of it or participate in it. A person doesn't have to be Black to participate in Black Lives...

    I mean... yeah. Protestors don't need to have a direct affiliation with a protest to be supportive of it or participate in it.
    A person doesn't have to be Black to participate in Black Lives Matters protests.
    A person doesn't have to be a Columbia student to be there in solidarity with the Columbia students.

    37 votes

  18. Comment on What your next water heater will look like in ~enviro

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    It's "free" in quotations. Nothing is free. They pay a higher rate during the day and the actuaries that created the plan know that overall they'll profit or break even by offering a plan with...

    It's "free" in quotations. Nothing is free. They pay a higher rate during the day and the actuaries that created the plan know that overall they'll profit or break even by offering a plan with "free" nights.

    Source: I also live in Texas, these plans have been around a long time, math.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Whistleblower who accused Boeing supplier of ignoring defects dies in ~transport

    AugustusFerdinand
    Link Parent
    No, we're not. We're talking about Spirit AeroSystems. One is a shitty low buck airline, the other is a $4B builder of airplanes that the whistleblower worked for.

    Because we're talking about a company with a market cap of 500m, not a state actor?

    No, we're not. We're talking about Spirit AeroSystems.

    One is a shitty low buck airline, the other is a $4B builder of airplanes that the whistleblower worked for.

    6 votes

  20. Comment on What your next water heater will look like in ~enviro