Dumb things that annoy you

[Sweet Brew]

Spoiler: show

People talk about how rehabilitation in prison is pointless because criminals are just bad people who don't want to better themselves. They point to our insanely high re-incarceration rate as proof. (Like 50%)

Here's an idea - how about paying them more for the work they do in prison? Most prisoners only make like 15 CENT an hour. About 5 bucks a week on a good week. And they have to use that to pay for their necessities like toothpaste, razors, shampoo, ect. (The prison provides 3 hots and cot, they're on their own for everything else.) What little is left over is usually blown on snacks, ramen, and the like.

So when people get out of prison they're just put out on the street with $20 to their name if their lucky with little to no safety net and then we wonder why they end up back in jail. Shockingly enough when people have no way to support themselves they have little choice but to turn back to crime to survive. It's incredibly hard for them to get a job because many employers simply won't hire ex-cons. And a lot of them were disowned by their families so they can't go home. What are they supposed to do? Starve?

Most people in prison are not evil, they're normal people who've only made a mistake. Until people realize that and start treating them as such our prison population isn't going to go down.

My dad spent 3 years state pen and when he got out he showed my nephew how to make the 'prison casserole' that him and several of his buds made each week out of ramen noodles, hot dogs, and cheese. He said it tasted good, but it just shows how destitute the prisoners are. When you are 4 buddies all have to pool your resources to eat top ramen you know you're living on the edge.

I heard about one prison which (like you said) paid the workers there.
But the cool part that made the place unique was that they had a full economy in the prison place, instead of just throwing them in jail and scaring them to never do it again it forced them to live in a society, it forced them to be normal people if they didn't want to sit in a cell all day.

It actually had a lot of people getting out, being friends, and knowing exactly what to do when they got out.
I wish we'd do more of stuff like that, as you said, Criminals are mostly just good people who made a mistake, yeah...you got some scuzzy ones out there, but it's a lot rarer than people think.

I think a lot of criminals would turn their life around if people stopped treating them like criminals and gave them a chance.
Friendship is magic and all.

[Midnight Breeze]

So, apparently IKEA is a Dutch tax shelter now.

I just bought a bunch of furniture from IKEA - I'm long overdue for a new bed, dresser, and nightstand, and I'm pretty sure I'm using the cheapest computer desk known to man (it cost me 20 bucks and Walmart) so I got a new desk and chair, too. Oddly when researching things I notice IKEA is headquartered in the Netherlands...hmm, why's that? Why would the Swidishest company in the world not be headquartered in Sweden?

Apparently IKEA has non-profit status in the Netherlands and pays only 3.5% corporate tax instead of the 18% tax for-profit companies pay. They're considered a "charity dedicated to furthering the cause of architecture and interior design". Yes, the Netherlands considers the most profitable furniture company in the world to be a non-profit. Does anybody else find that a liiiiiiiiiitle fishy? Sounds like a shady tax-dodge if I ever saw one.

The real kicker is that IKEA is subsidized by the Swedish government. Apparently IKEA has become so ingrained in Sweden's national identity that the government pays for its advertising worldwide. So the situation we have here is the Swedish government using taxpayer money to subsidize a company that left Sweden to avoid paying taxes.

Wow...I thought IKEA was supposed to be a patriotic company. Nothing says patriotism like giving your own country the finger after they helped make you what you are.

I have to wonder...does Walmart operate in the Netherlands? And if so, are they considered a non-profit charity dedicated to furthering the cause of worker exploitation and union busting?

[DawnsEmbrace]

Geez, Chish lives in Texas too?  How many people do I know here that live in Texas, wow...

[PrincessButton]

Last night I was working my second job (serving at a bowling alley), when a group on two lanes somehow managed to knock the entire set of pins halfway into the lane! Naturally, I walked down the lane and started cleaning the pins up, shoving each one back. I was kneeling, strattling the middle section between their two lanes, one knee in either gutter, one on the messed up lane, and one on the other lane they had. All of a sudden this DAFT young woman, throws a ball down the lane. Of course this moron is a crummy bowler, and the ball goes straight into the gutter, STRAIGHT AT ME. I was able to lift my leg up and jump out of the way just in time, but I was SO MAD. I wanted to kick that dumb chick out, but of course a server doesn't have that kind of authority. She's lucky I didn't throw a ball back at her!



Like come on honey, you're an adult, I shouldn't have to say "hey don't throw balls down the lane when I'm standing in the lane." In retrospect, I sort of wish I had not dodged it, and just let it hit me. That would have been a pretty penny. A shattered kneecap, but a preeeeettttyyy penny. *sigh*

[Chrisgotjar]

Gosh, these darned migrains.

I haven't even been prone to regular migrains but for some reason for the passed two weeks I've been getting migrains pretty much every other day.

Oh the joys of being drug resistant, do any painkillers work? No siree...

[Sweet Brew]

So I tried making a modded Minecraft game as I sometimes do to spice things up and all.
But it seems CoFHcore makes some JAVA Binary SE error or something...
I've been looking for hours and there seems to be no solution...

I might have to update JAVA but that sounds unsafe without a direct update button.

But yeah...Minecraft mods can be fickle...

[Midnight Breeze]

That evil torture device known as the blood lancet should be banned by the government. I had to get vaccinated and have my blood work done to get my wellness incentives. As if the finger stick wasn't enough I hadn't drunk anything in 10+ since I went as soon as I woke up and my blood was as thick as pudding. The technician had to squeeze and jerk on my finger to get the blood out. I'd better hope I never get diabetes because I couldn't stand having to do that every day.

On the plus side all is good as far as my blood sugar and cholesterol are concerned. Although I did notice my cholesterol was up slightly since last year, from 177 to 180. I doubt it's cause for concern, though.

[Sweet Brew]

2 years ago I got my blooodwork done.
I cried...

I know how much those things can hurt.

[DawnsEmbrace]

I'm awake and drinking pure caffeine at 4:00 in the morning.
Would you like to know why?

Because of a very big storm.

[Chromastone64]

This is a stupid one, but what is the font people use in those meme pictures? It's been bugging me for ages and I can't find it out...

[Midnight Breeze]

Another thing - during my body weight screening I got measured as being 5 feet 9 inches tall. I've been thinking I was 5'10 for like...ever. I've been calculating my BMI wrong for years. Turns out it's a pretty healthy 22.4, though.

[Lync Volan]

This is a stupid one, but what is the font people use in those meme pictures? It's been bugging me for ages and I can't find it out...

i have no idea, i just use pizap's meme option

[Rush of MLP]

[Spoiler]I just finished helping my roommate peer-edit a paper of one of his classmates. It was pure torture.

I had been reading it aloud the entire time, but even the correct sentences didn't make any sense. The writer had drawn out every sentence so much that every point they made was just lost in a vast ocean of pointless ramble. They went off topic several times, misinterpreted almost everything about their base topic, and wrote so many run-on sentences that it made my head spin.

At one point i had to put down the essay and rant to my roommate about how one should not use phrases that display uncertainty of a point while writing a comparative essay.

After I finished reviewing, I handed my roommate the paper and said, "I now realize why you saved this one for last." He just nodded and laughed.[/spoiler]

In short, I just wasted an two hours of my life trying to help a roommate with a peer-edit of a paper he didn't want to deal with, just to have him laugh at me. I will never get that time back...

[Peace Keeper]

This is a stupid one, but what is the font people use in those meme pictures? It's been bugging me for ages and I can't find it out...

I believe the font used is IMPACT and it has a black outline with white lettering. I also believe it is in bold, too.

[Midnight Breeze]

I wonder what people are going to call health insurance bought through the federal marketplace after we have a new president. I mean, we can't call it "Obamacare" for ever, can we?

I have a suggestion - how about "health insurance"?

[Sweet Brew]

I wonder what people are going to call health insurance bought through the federal marketplace after we have a new president. I mean, we can't call it "Obamacare" for ever, can we?

I have a suggestion - how about "health insurance"?

We could just say the name of ourself!
Brewcare has a night ring to it, as does Breezecare.

[Midnight Breeze]

We could just say the name of ourself!
Brewcare has a night ring to it, as does Breezecare.

Breezecare would be single-payer, though.

[DawnsEmbrace]

Breezecare would be single-payer, though.

How about something nice and friendly, like oh...I dunno...Embracare?

[Lync Volan]

How about something nice and friendly, like oh...I dunno...Embracare?

Bunnycare

[Rush of MLP]

How about something nice and friendly, like oh...I dunno...Embracare?

What about something practical. Like maybe... Rushcare.