eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 28, 2019, 12:13:

Mr. Tact wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 18:13:

eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 15:02:
Then you have to do something against it. Do you think the Europe magically appeared from a singularity with a good health-care system? It was a 200 year battle and not everything is good with our systems but it sure beats going bankrupt over something laughable as a rabies shot.

Everything starts with you. Write your local political dudes and girls and everything else that you are fed up with this and want it to change, and that you make your vote dependent on this. Without action, nothing will change, in fact it will likely get worse.

Yes, I agree ..

Well then you are on the right track, but just remember, if you think "someone else is gonna do it" then that someone else is likely thinking the same thing.

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us”
Jerry Garcia (1942-1995)

The system is unfortunately broken pretty badly. Most (if not all) legislators are beholding to some kind of constituency, be it corporations or some other well funded political action group. It is far too common to see legislators vote for a bill which polls show 70+% of the population is against. And for reasons beyond my understanding, many people seemingly fail to recognize when their representatives preach one thing and do another.

And that doesn't even take into account the gerrymandering which allows a party to get 45-49% of the votes state wide, but end up with 60-70% of the legislature seats. (yes, this happens)

Mr. Tact wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 18:13:

eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 15:02:
Then you have to do something against it. Do you think the Europe magically appeared from a singularity with a good health-care system? It was a 200 year battle and not everything is good with our systems but it sure beats going bankrupt over something laughable as a rabies shot.

Everything starts with you. Write your local political dudes and girls and everything else that you are fed up with this and want it to change, and that you make your vote dependent on this. Without action, nothing will change, in fact it will likely get worse.

Yes, I agree that is the way representative government is supposed to work. The problem is while I might be able to change things in my state, that doesn't help with the other 49. And enough of those other states are under the control/influence/whatever of the people who think the ACA (let alone the European health care system) is a terrible idea. We have been battling it for decades. It took that long to get the ACA which has been under constant attack since the GOP took power. It was a single vote away from being totally repealed. We'll probably get there eventually, but it won't be easy and it won't be quick and after we have it, we'll have to closely defend it for a decade until a large majority of the population finally figures out, "Oh, this is a good idea."

Well then you are on the right track, but just remember, if you think "someone else is gonna do it" then that someone else is likely thinking the same thing. The only reason corrupt arseholes can take over your political systems is because people don't give enough of a fuck.

Same for Article 11 and Article 13 of the current EU copyright reform.

Sepharo wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 18:30:

Kxmode wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 13:46:
I was thinking about Star Wars and in particular "the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force." The way I see it this was never about Anakin. It was always his son, Luke.

Vader killing Palpatine created an imbalance in the force (both master and apprentice died), and the pendulum swung towards the dark side. Luke tried to fix this imbalance by rebuilding the Jedi order, but the corruption and betrayal of Ben stalled things. Ultimately, reestablishing the Jedi order will bring balance to the force. However, Luke can no longer accomplish this, so the task belongs to Rey. I don't know how Episode 9 is going to address this. She has a limited understanding of the force, but is it enough?

Whatever happens, bringing balance is a crucial aspect of the lore. As Obi-Wan stated, the force is "an energy field created by all living things" and in doing so, "it binds the galaxy together." Without that balance, the galaxy gets thrown into chaos. The force is like climate change at the moment in the story. Unruly, raw, and leaning heavily to the dark side.

However, there are force neutral individuals and species who can tap into the good and dark sides of the force without either overtaking its wielder. Perhaps, in the end, the story will veer towards that as an evolutionary next step. That would mean for thousands of years the Jedi and Sith have remained stuck in a perpetual early stage. With the Sith, it is apprentices constantly killing their masters for power and promotions. With the Jedi, it is their orthodox adherence to an ideology that forbids ANYTHING that could lead an individual on a path to the dark side; including basic emotions like love and attachment. These are less about the people and more about the influence of the sides of the force that they choose. Both extremes on opposite ends.

That may explain Luke's statement about the "Jedi needing to end." Perhaps he finally saw the futility of established sides. To end the Jedi, or not reestablish them, perpetuates instability. If the force is indeed a living breathing entity, then it will compensate by nullifying the influence of the power thereby making both sides neutral to the user. Only then can the force exist in symbiosis without the threat of extinction.

And that is when the force finally reaches a balance. It saved itself.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my musing.

There's a, for lack of a better term, "nature" focused understanding of the force. This is what Qui-Gon was all about and why he butted heads with the Jedi Council (and wasn't on it). In my opinion that was what Luke was on about in Last Jedi, that's what the prequels were about... Basically the self-appointed "good/light" Jedi were full of hubris, the "light side" became too much about dogma, and then they were played and defeated by the (currently) more natural dark side. In TLJ Luke found hope again, but when he reached for the "dogma" the jedi books, Yoda showed up and burned that mutha down. I'm thinking that, since passing on Dagobah, Yoda has had some time to talk to Qui-Gon and realize the errors of the Jedi Council (much as Luke did) and now think about the force much more like Qui-Gon. etc. etc. ramble over

I think the "burn it all down" theme is a comment on the original series. The classic Jungian (Campbellian?) hero's journey does not sit well with modern Hollywood values.

And I'm calling it now. Episode 9 will have the Lego Movie ending (i.e. The resolution of the "all is lost" moment will be that suddenly all the oppressed people of the galaxy will realise they have force powers which they then use to either kick the new orders ass or possibly use some force analogy of passive resistance to stop them).

All I know is that if I could come back as a pup I would want to belong to you Blue! You are a good daddy!

We love spoiling the hell out of our two.

Roald Dahl's heartbreaking letter on daughter's measles death

Kxmode wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 13:46:
I was thinking about Star Wars and in particular "the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force." The way I see it this was never about Anakin. It was always his son, Luke.

Vader killing Palpatine created an imbalance in the force (both master and apprentice died), and the pendulum swung towards the dark side. Luke tried to fix this imbalance by rebuilding the Jedi order, but the corruption and betrayal of Ben stalled things. Ultimately, reestablishing the Jedi order will bring balance to the force. However, Luke can no longer accomplish this, so the task belongs to Rey. I don't know how Episode 9 is going to address this. She has a limited understanding of the force, but is it enough?

Whatever happens, bringing balance is a crucial aspect of the lore. As Obi-Wan stated, the force is "an energy field created by all living things" and in doing so, "it binds the galaxy together." Without that balance, the galaxy gets thrown into chaos. The force is like climate change at the moment in the story. Unruly, raw, and leaning heavily to the dark side.

However, there are force neutral individuals and species who can tap into the good and dark sides of the force without either overtaking its wielder. Perhaps, in the end, the story will veer towards that as an evolutionary next step. That would mean for thousands of years the Jedi and Sith have remained stuck in a perpetual early stage. With the Sith, it is apprentices constantly killing their masters for power and promotions. With the Jedi, it is their orthodox adherence to an ideology that forbids ANYTHING that could lead an individual on a path to the dark side; including basic emotions like love and attachment. These are less about the people and more about the influence of the sides of the force that they choose. Both extremes on opposite ends.

That may explain Luke's statement about the "Jedi needing to end." Perhaps he finally saw the futility of established sides. To end the Jedi, or not reestablish them, perpetuates instability. If the force is indeed a living breathing entity, then it will compensate by nullifying the influence of the power thereby making both sides neutral to the user. Only then can the force exist in symbiosis without the threat of extinction.

And that is when the force finally reaches a balance. It saved itself.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my musing.

There's a, for lack of a better term, "nature" focused understanding of the force. This is what Qui-Gon was all about and why he butted heads with the Jedi Council (and wasn't on it). In my opinion that was what Luke was on about in Last Jedi, that's what the prequels were about... Basically the self-appointed "good/light" Jedi were full of hubris, the "light side" became too much about dogma, and then they were played and defeated by the (currently) more natural dark side. In TLJ Luke found hope again, but when he reached for the "dogma" the jedi books, Yoda showed up and burned that mutha down. I'm thinking that, since passing on Dagobah, Yoda has had some time to talk to Qui-Gon and realize the errors of the Jedi Council (much as Luke did) and now think about the force much more like Qui-Gon. etc. etc. ramble over

eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 15:02:
Then you have to do something against it. Do you think the Europe magically appeared from a singularity with a good health-care system? It was a 200 year battle and not everything is good with our systems but it sure beats going bankrupt over something laughable as a rabies shot.

Everything starts with you. Write your local political dudes and girls and everything else that you are fed up with this and want it to change, and that you make your vote dependent on this. Without action, nothing will change, in fact it will likely get worse.

Yes, I agree that is the way representative government is supposed to work. The problem is while I might be able to change things in my state, that doesn't help with the other 49. And enough of those other states are under the control/influence/whatever of the people who think the ACA (let alone the European health care system) is a terrible idea. We have been battling it for decades. It took that long to get the ACA which has been under constant attack since the GOP took power. It was a single vote away from being totally repealed. We'll probably get there eventually, but it won't be easy and it won't be quick and after we have it, we'll have to closely defend it for a decade until a large majority of the population finally figures out, "Oh, this is a good idea."

jdreyer wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 15:59:
As much as I liked aspects of the Last Jedi, I feel the story has no unified vision. Especially with JJ helming the final one, I really think it's just going to be an action fest with little depth.

Don't be down, look on the bright side: Lens Flares!

~Finis~

Kxmode wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 13:46:
I was thinking about Star Wars and in particular "the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force." The way I see it this was never about Anakin. It was always his son, Luke.

Vader killing Palpatine created an imbalance in the force (both master and apprentice died), and the pendulum swung towards the dark side. Luke tried to fix this imbalance by rebuilding the Jedi order, but the corruption and betrayal of Ben stalled things. Ultimately, reestablishing the Jedi order will bring balance to the force. However, Luke can no longer accomplish this, so the task belongs to Rey. I don't know how Episode 9 is going to address this. She has a limited understanding of the force, but is it enough?

Whatever happens, bringing balance is a crucial aspect of the lore. As Obi-Wan stated, the force is "an energy field created by all living things" and in doing so, "it binds the galaxy together." Without that balance, the galaxy gets thrown into chaos. The force is like climate change at the moment in the story. Unruly, raw, and leaning heavily to the dark side.

However, there are force neutral individuals and species who can tap into the good and dark sides of the force without either overtaking its wielder. Perhaps, in the end, the story will veer towards that as an evolutionary next step. That would mean for thousands of years the Jedi and Sith have remained stuck in a perpetual early stage. With the Sith, it is apprentices constantly killing their masters for power and promotions. With the Jedi, it is their orthodox adherence to an ideology that forbids ANYTHING that could lead an individual on a path to the dark side; including basic emotions like love and attachment. These are less about the people and more about the influence of the sides of the force that they choose. Both extremes on opposite ends.

That may explain Luke's statement about the "Jedi needing to end." Perhaps he finally saw the futility of established sides. To end the Jedi, or not reestablish them, perpetuates instability. If the force is indeed a living breathing entity, then it will compensate by nullifying the influence of the power thereby making both sides neutral to the user. Only then can the force exist in symbiosis without the threat of extinction.

And that is when the force finally reaches a balance. It saved itself.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my musing.

As much as I liked aspects of the Last Jedi, I feel the story has no unified vision. Especially with JJ helming the final one, I really think it's just going to be an action fest with little depth.

Heh, guys are so predictable and funny - and I include myself in that. Went to the gym and worked out, then went for a schvitz in the sauna and hot tub. Couple of guys and myself having a soak, talking about the weather - it's snowing like a mofo here atm, sports, usual small talk bullshit when in walks this smoking hot chick in this tiny bikini, killer hard body, wicked rack, just wow. It goes dead silent. We're all just looking at each other, trying not to stare at her. And every time you look at another one of the dudes you can see your both saying, 'Holy shitballs! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!' It was just super funny.

Mr. Tact wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 14:30:

eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 14:27:
So that hospital is scamming people pretty damn hard in literally every way. No way that cost them 48k

There isn't any adult who doesn't realize that. It doesn't stop it from being a common problem in the USA.

Then you have to do something against it. Do you think Europe magically appeared from a singularity with a good health-care system? It was a 200 year battle and not everything is good with our systems but it sure beats going bankrupt over something laughable as a rabies shot.

Everything starts with you. Write your local political dudes and girls and everything else that you are fed up with this and want it to change, and that you make your vote dependent on this. Without action, nothing will change, in fact it will likely get worse.

eRe4s3r wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 14:27:
So that hospital is scamming people pretty damn hard in literally every way. No way that cost them 48k

There isn't any adult who doesn't realize that. It doesn't stop it from being a common problem in the USA.

Beamer wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 13:06:

Mr. Tact wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:29:

Simon Says wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:22:
"Cat Bites The Hand That Feeds; Hospital Bills $48,512"

That shit can only happen in the US... LOL, this is so fucking ridiculous.

Yeah, it is pretty stupid. I was just listening to a story on the local public radio station about how in Illinois (it was a state focused show -- I'm guessing the problem exists outside Illinois also) the price of insulin has sky rocketed in the last decade. One example they gave was a woman who with insurance, pays $1,200 a month out of pocket for her insulin to treat her type 1 diabetes.

Our entire damn medical system is set up for this. Medical Billing is a highly paid profession, with an entire huge industry set up around teaching them how to bill more for the exact same services. Medical Billing is super confusing, and ones that know how to game it the most can make the most money. Because insurance is set up to pay the least and fight everything, so doctors need medical billers that will overcharge for everything, and insurance needs to fight everything and find a way to get it back to a reasonable-ish amount.

If someone enters that chain in the wrong way, here because of emergency, it goes haywire. If someone doesn't have insurance, and therefore doesn't have people used to this game, they're totally fucked.

Hooray unfettered capitalism.

Price in Germany, 1 dosage, immunization against rabies (you need active and passive immunization for a bite, so that's a second dosage about the same price, only passive for immunization)
68,01 € (no, there are no zeros missing here, rabies vaccination is DIRT cheap because it's so common a thing for hospitals and for any animal handlers even dog owners.

And if you were bitten your medication insurance is covering at least half of that. If you just want to get immunized it costs you that full price.

Has to be applied instantly after a bite and can immunize you even then, no cure is known if you fail to get immunized instantly after a bite.

So that hospital is scamming people pretty damn hard in literally every way. No way that cost them 48k

Goddamn. 14!!! I remember Gunnar being the "new" puppy. Jesus, that can't be right, can it?

I was thinking about Star Wars and in particular "the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force." The way I see it this was never about Anakin. It was always his son, Luke.

Vader killing Palpatine created an imbalance in the force (both master and apprentice died), and the pendulum swung towards the dark side. Luke tried to fix this imbalance by rebuilding the Jedi order, but the corruption and betrayal of Ben stalled things. Ultimately, reestablishing the Jedi order will bring balance to the force. However, Luke can no longer accomplish this, so the task belongs to Rey. I don't know how Episode 9 is going to address this. She has a limited understanding of the force, but is it enough?

Whatever happens, bringing balance is a crucial aspect of the lore. As Obi-Wan stated, the force is "an energy field created by all living things" and in doing so, "it binds the galaxy together." Without that balance, the galaxy gets thrown into chaos. The force is like climate change at the moment in the story. Unruly, raw, and leaning heavily to the dark side.

However, there are force neutral individuals and species who can tap into the good and dark sides of the force without either overtaking its wielder. Perhaps, in the end, the story will veer towards that as an evolutionary next step. That would mean for thousands of years the Jedi and Sith have remained stuck in a perpetual early stage. With the Sith, it is apprentices constantly killing their masters for power and promotions. With the Jedi, it is their orthodox adherence to an ideology that forbids ANYTHING that could lead an individual on a path to the dark side; including basic emotions like love and attachment. These are less about the people and more about the influence of the sides of the force that they choose. Both extremes on opposite ends.

That may explain Luke's statement about the "Jedi needing to end." Perhaps he finally saw the futility of established sides. To end the Jedi, or not reestablish them, perpetuates instability. If the force is indeed a living breathing entity, then it will compensate by nullifying the influence of the power thereby making both sides neutral to the user. Only then can the force exist in symbiosis without the threat of extinction.

And that is when the force finally reaches a balance. It saved itself.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my musing.

This comment was edited on Feb 27, 2019, 13:57.

Simon Says wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:22:
"Cat Bites The Hand That Feeds; Hospital Bills $48,512"

That shit can only happen in the US... LOL, this is so fucking ridiculous.

I was just thinking how happy I am to live in Canada. But if I ever needed a liver/lung transplant I'm glad the USA is there to take my 600,000$

You could put rubber protectors on the steps, that'd help his footing, though at 14 years old I do think maybe he shouldn't be walking stairs anymore. It's never good for a dog to begin with, and at that age, it's likely quite a strain.

Of course, if he's used to going upstairs for 14 years, he's not going to want to stop now.

Mr. Tact wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:29:

Simon Says wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:22:
"Cat Bites The Hand That Feeds; Hospital Bills $48,512"

That shit can only happen in the US... LOL, this is so fucking ridiculous.

Yeah, it is pretty stupid. I was just listening to a story on the local public radio station about how in Illinois (it was a state focused show -- I'm guessing the problem exists outside Illinois also) the price of insulin has sky rocketed in the last decade. One example they gave was a woman who with insurance, pays $1,200 a month out of pocket for her insulin to treat her type 1 diabetes.

Our entire damn medical system is set up for this. Medical Billing is a highly paid profession, with an entire huge industry set up around teaching them how to bill more for the exact same services. Medical Billing is super confusing, and ones that know how to game it the most can make the most money. Because insurance is set up to pay the least and fight everything, so doctors need medical billers that will overcharge for everything, and insurance needs to fight everything and find a way to get it back to a reasonable-ish amount.

If someone enters that chain in the wrong way, here because of emergency, it goes haywire. If someone doesn't have insurance, and therefore doesn't have people used to this game, they're totally fucked.

Hooray unfettered capitalism.

Beamer wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 12:15:

RedEye9 wrote on Feb 27, 2019, 10:39:
It was just a matter of time before Texas joined the likes of Florida, both Washington's (state & DC) and Arizona in showing the level of ignorance our elected officials can spew.

My boss just came by and said "wow, some Senator just said 'liar, liar, pants on fire!'" I responded that I could probably pinpoint the state within 4, but was guessing Arizona.

I was right.

God, our Congress is children.

The congress is less popular than Trump.