Why can't people follow the #1 rule?

yupididit said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I think people do have to show more compassion. Gas just doubled in cost. Housing is stupid expensive. Some people won't be hurt at all. Uber and Door dash drivers actually saw their cost of doing business double. A lot of people here in Dallas already spend more that half of their income on rent. Some of us won't be at the autocross this year because of the higher entry fees and and cost of the gas to get there. Some people will be so bad off that they have to decide between filling their gas tank and buying groceries. Some people will be missing credit card payments because their gas bill just doubled.

I talked to somebody today who said, "When I was in Europe last summer we paid $7 a gallon. It still isn't so bad here". I thought to myself, wow, you can actually afford to go to Europe.  

I know somebody who recently stuck a gun in his mouth and ended it all because of student loans, credit card debt, old age and a lack of seeing any kind of future not filled with misery. The last time I mentioned that here, somebody talked about drinking his Chardonnay in California while telling me forgiving student loans is just wrong. Mrs. Snowdoggie has friends who are trust funders who will still be going to expensive restaurants when gas hits $7 a gallon and they will complaint about the service at the expensive restaurants. They still yap about who's dating who and the cost of swimming pool maintenance.

There are a lot of dicks out there. There are also a lot of people who are so stressed out they are just time bombs waiting to go off. It's not a good situation. Times are a whole lot worse now than they used to be for many people. Be careful who you talk to and how you talk to them.

 

Your postings the last few days have been very negative, pessimistic about the future, cynical, depressing and overall low on good vibes.

Are you ok? Would you like to talk? I'm here for you. 

Thanks for the offer. I don't know. I was planning to go autocrossing this year. Put it in my budget. Now the doubling of gas prices plus the $40 entry fees means I would be able to afford it. I won't be driving much for dog rescue anymore either. Just to work and back.  That is as depressing as hell. I am also in a situation where every effort to improve myself goes nowhere. I am overeducated and underemployed and I really don't want to talk about it further. Let's just say that age discrimination exists.

How in the hell can gas prices double in a week? What kind of crazy world do we live in now? A few years ago I was in the middle of having to put my elderly mother in a nursing home, we were having money problems and suddenly I lost my job. The therapist I was seeing at the time told me that since my job was ending I would have to bring her cash before each session. I started laughing. I didn't know where money from groceries and the house payment was coming from, much less bringing cash to pay her. That was my last session. Ever. Our mental health system is a joke.

I am getting to the age where I could just go to sleep one day and not wake up the next morning. Guys younger than I am who used to post on this board have died. I really wonder what I have to look forward to. Inflation? Not being able to afford anything. Prices just keep going up and up and up. Salaries don't. The world is crazy. Not me.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

yupididit said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I think people do have to show more compassion. Gas just doubled in cost. Housing is stupid expensive. Some people won't be hurt at all. Uber and Door dash drivers actually saw their cost of doing business double. A lot of people here in Dallas already spend more that half of their income on rent. Some of us won't be at the autocross this year because of the higher entry fees and and cost of the gas to get there. Some people will be so bad off that they have to decide between filling their gas tank and buying groceries. Some people will be missing credit card payments because their gas bill just doubled.

I talked to somebody today who said, "When I was in Europe last summer we paid $7 a gallon. It still isn't so bad here". I thought to myself, wow, you can actually afford to go to Europe.  

I know somebody who recently stuck a gun in his mouth and ended it all because of student loans, credit card debt, old age and a lack of seeing any kind of future not filled with misery. The last time I mentioned that here, somebody talked about drinking his Chardonnay in California while telling me forgiving student loans is just wrong. Mrs. Snowdoggie has friends who are trust funders who will still be going to expensive restaurants when gas hits $7 a gallon and they will complaint about the service at the expensive restaurants. They still yap about who's dating who and the cost of swimming pool maintenance.

There are a lot of dicks out there. There are also a lot of people who are so stressed out they are just time bombs waiting to go off. It's not a good situation. Times are a whole lot worse now than they used to be for many people. Be careful who you talk to and how you talk to them.

 

Your postings the last few days have been very negative, pessimistic about the future, cynical, depressing and overall low on good vibes.

Are you ok? Would you like to talk? I'm here for you. 

Thanks for the offer. I don't know. I was planning to go autocrossing this year. Put it in my budget. Now the doubling of gas prices plus the $40 entry fees means I would be able to afford it. I won't be driving much for dog rescue anymore either. Just to work and back.  That is as depressing as hell. I am also in a situation where every effort to improve myself goes nowhere. I am overeducated and underemployed and I really don't want to talk about it further. Let's just say that age discrimination exists.

How in the hell can gas prices double in a week? What kind of crazy world do we live in now? A few years ago I was in the middle of having to put my elderly mother in a nursing home, we were having money problems and suddenly I lost my job. The therapist I was seeing at the time told me that since my job was ending I would have to bring her cash before each session. I started laughing. I didn't know where money from groceries and the house payment was coming from, much less bringing cash to pay her. That was my last session. Ever. Our mental health system is a joke.

I am getting to the age where I could just go to sleep one day and not wake up the next morning. Guys younger than I am who used to post on this board have died. I really wonder what I have to look forward to. Inflation? Not being able to afford anything. Prices just keep going up and up and up. Salaries don't. The world is crazy. Not me.

I agree that the current world and local situation sucks. Try reading Enlightenment Now by Pinker.  It won't solve your problems or end your concerns but it may make you feel a little better about the "progress of man". I think there's a free PDF download available.

M2Pilot said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

yupididit said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I think people do have to show more compassion. Gas just doubled in cost. Housing is stupid expensive. Some people won't be hurt at all. Uber and Door dash drivers actually saw their cost of doing business double. A lot of people here in Dallas already spend more that half of their income on rent. Some of us won't be at the autocross this year because of the higher entry fees and and cost of the gas to get there. Some people will be so bad off that they have to decide between filling their gas tank and buying groceries. Some people will be missing credit card payments because their gas bill just doubled.

I talked to somebody today who said, "When I was in Europe last summer we paid $7 a gallon. It still isn't so bad here". I thought to myself, wow, you can actually afford to go to Europe.  

I know somebody who recently stuck a gun in his mouth and ended it all because of student loans, credit card debt, old age and a lack of seeing any kind of future not filled with misery. The last time I mentioned that here, somebody talked about drinking his Chardonnay in California while telling me forgiving student loans is just wrong. Mrs. Snowdoggie has friends who are trust funders who will still be going to expensive restaurants when gas hits $7 a gallon and they will complaint about the service at the expensive restaurants. They still yap about who's dating who and the cost of swimming pool maintenance.

There are a lot of dicks out there. There are also a lot of people who are so stressed out they are just time bombs waiting to go off. It's not a good situation. Times are a whole lot worse now than they used to be for many people. Be careful who you talk to and how you talk to them.

 

Your postings the last few days have been very negative, pessimistic about the future, cynical, depressing and overall low on good vibes.

Are you ok? Would you like to talk? I'm here for you. 

Thanks for the offer. I don't know. I was planning to go autocrossing this year. Put it in my budget. Now the doubling of gas prices plus the $40 entry fees means I would be able to afford it. I won't be driving much for dog rescue anymore either. Just to work and back.  That is as depressing as hell. I am also in a situation where every effort to improve myself goes nowhere. I am overeducated and underemployed and I really don't want to talk about it further. Let's just say that age discrimination exists.

How in the hell can gas prices double in a week? What kind of crazy world do we live in now? A few years ago I was in the middle of having to put my elderly mother in a nursing home, we were having money problems and suddenly I lost my job. The therapist I was seeing at the time told me that since my job was ending I would have to bring her cash before each session. I started laughing. I didn't know where money from groceries and the house payment was coming from, much less bringing cash to pay her. That was my last session. Ever. Our mental health system is a joke.

I am getting to the age where I could just go to sleep one day and not wake up the next morning. Guys younger than I am who used to post on this board have died. I really wonder what I have to look forward to. Inflation? Not being able to afford anything. Prices just keep going up and up and up. Salaries don't. The world is crazy. Not me.

I agree that the current world and local situation sucks. Try reading Enlightenment Now by Pinker.  It won't solve your problems or end your concerns but it may make you feel a little better about the "progress of man". I think there's a free PDF download available.

"My new favorite book of all time." Bill Gates

Wow. Looks like it would be worth reading.

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

If you ever need to talk, any type of assistance etc place don't hesitate to message me. I check my emails multiple times a day. I'm sure other members of the board are also as willing to help or talk. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

It is a good read. I often recommend it to my friends & aquaintances when they're grumbling about how bad things are, but I'm a "the cup's half full" person.

I understand why people are struggling and angry. I am a pretty happy go lucky guy generally and the events of the last two years are getting me down.

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

Duke said:

Driven5 said:

10 Commandments in 7 words:

I am God. Don't be a dick.

And I submit the first 3 words are not necessary.

It depends how you read those first three words. If you read them as you're the one in complete control of how you act versus there being an external supernatural entity, they matter quite a bit. 

True enough.  However, the remaining umpteen thousand words of the Bible make it pretty clear that's absolutely not the interpretation they were going for.

But this isn't the thread for that topic, so I'll just tip a nod to you and say, "You're right."

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

There are a lot of #1 rules out there, I always thought it was "use more bacon".

But yes, not being a dick would be pretty nice for a change. I heard about the shopping cart test the other day, it a way to measure if you are an a-hole. Returning a shopping cart to the store or stall helps the store, helps protect other cars in the lot and keeps spaces clear. Returning one has no reward, no one knows you do it and there is no punishment for not doing it. Its 100% on the honor system with the only reward being the knowledge that you are helping your fellow man. Its a litmus test: if you always return your shopping cart (or trolly for our UK friends) you are not a dick. If you leave it next to your car and drive away, you are part of the problem.  

I have mentioned the shopping cart test on a couple of forums and on FB.  People get pissed and defensive when I bring it up.  

We've all got to own our part in it, but yeah. God please just don't be a dick. I found myself taking glee in "winning" A 'discussion' with one of my closest friends today. I was the dick. I will try to be better, tension be damned. We collectively can do better. I need some time in the woods. 
 

btw: I *always* return my shopping cart. Hahaha

I just heard this morning that gas prices that are already at $4 a gallon are going up even more. Very depressing. 

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I just heard this morning that gas prices that are already at $4 a gallon are going up even more. Very depressing. 

I was discussing this with Mrs VCH the other night.  The underlying issue here is that nobody has any control over what the price of a gallon of gas is, and everybody has made their life decisions (consciously or not) based on gas being more affordable.  We can laugh at the people who bought big stupid trucks all we want, and snicker when they complain about the price of fuel, but if gas had always been, say, $20 for a gallon, we wouldn't be using it in the way we do right now.  So when it doubles in price, in a couple of weeks...yeah, that hits people, and it doesn't seem "fair". 

Of course, nothing in life is fair.  (Fairness, I'm pretty sure, is just a concept made up by elementary school teachers so they have something to teach toddlers)  But at least we can react to most things.  But if your entire life has been arranged around the prospect of reasonably-priced energy, and out of left field that changes, it's going to not only affect you, but have a knock-on effect on the economy.  Fuel demand is incredibly inelastic in the short and medium terms, so folks simply will have to buy less of literally everything else.  They'll eat out less, buy less clothing, take fewer vacations, eat cheaper food...there's almost nothing people won't spend less on (except housing, which is also difficult to change quickly).  This is why inflation causes depressions.  All those industries that got hammered by Covid...they're about to get hammered again by high inflation/ high fuel prices.

On the larger issue of depression...the older I've gotten, the more I've tried to focus on the things I can control, and making them as good as I can.  Saving as much money as possible.  Spending time with family.  Turning off the TV.  Spending time working on the garage, in the garden, on the house.  Just being outside, enjoying a cold beer.  And yes, returning the berkeleying shopping cart, every berkeleying time.  ;-)

volvoclearinghouse said:

Of course, nothing in life is fair.  (Fairness, I'm pretty sure, is just a concept made up by elementary school teachers so they have something to teach toddlers) 

There are a couple of principles that I always sort run back to.  The first of them is that it is fundamentally true that life is intrinsically unfair and there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change that.  Paradoxically, the best thing that you can do with your life's efforts is to try to make life a little more fair for everyone you interact with.

Because I love contradictions the other driving principle I hold is that all unhappiness comes from frustration and frustration is simply the natural reaction of your psyche when your reality fails to meet your expectations.  But then, hey, life's not fair.

Fair isn't equal, and equal isn't fair.  

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I just heard this morning that gas prices that are already at $4 a gallon are going up even more. Very depressing. 

The first meeting of the "should have bought all the old Geo Metro's that were repairable that I could find" club is now in order...

Everything is a double edged sword. Things might suck for awhile, but silver lining...  last gas crunch accelerated technology adaption and acceptance of hybrid technologies and that kind of thing. Then gas got cheap and we stopped making cars in favor of crossovers and SUV's, now this is going to swing the pendulum back to smaller and more efficient. 

Count myself and the wife in the always return the shopping cart (at least to the pen in the lot) group.    Y'all are a good group and it's helpful to know that you're out there.  I don't need to look any further than the response to Bill's Ukraine relief thread for confirmation that good exists in the world.

Apexcarver said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I just heard this morning that gas prices that are already at $4 a gallon are going up even more. Very depressing. 

The first meeting of the "should have bought all the old Geo Metro's that were repairable that I could find" club is now in order...

Everything is a double edged sword. Things might suck for awhile, but silver lining...  last gas crunch accelerated technology adaption and acceptance of hybrid technologies and that kind of thing. Then gas got cheap and we stopped making cars in favor of crossovers and SUV's, now this is going to swing the pendulum back to smaller and more efficient. 

 

I had a bad feeling when Ford stopped selling the Focus and the Fiesta in favor of SUVs and trucks. Will the little hatchbacks really come back? 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

They seem to be working for the Koreans. 

In reply to wae :

There's some good philosophy right there.  I would add that real happiness comes through triumph over adversity.  What causes adversity?  Unfairness.  Therefore, real happiness is a result of unfairness. 

At the end of (If I remember correctly) Brave New World, the protagonist has a choice:  be banished to a tropical paradise, where life will be easy and he will live out his days in peace and tranquility, or be sent to a cold, hard land where life will be struggle and hardship.  He chooses the latter, noting that he could never be truly happy without any adversity.  I think there's truth there.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Oh, I think you're absolutely right!  And that's probably part of what makes folks seem so ready to fight about stuff these days.  What are the stories that inspire us?  Who are the heroes we look to?  Rocky wasn't an inspirational character because he was always the best and never got knocked down and then went on to win.  We want our novels, plays, and movies - and even real life, if we allows ourselves to admit it! - to follow that basic arc of the Hero's Journey.  The hero isn't interesting to us unless he has some flaw or challenge that he has to overcome. 

When we have much of the adversity taken away from us, we get very comfortable and we think that's making life better, but at some point we start looking for a fight.  Like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - we don't have the mental capacity to spare to worry what pronoun someone used or what position your body is in while we're singing a song if we have to walk 5 miles to carry 20 gallons of water to our house every day or worry that our village is going to be sacked by a marauding troop of steppe peoples all of a sudden.  The more comfortable we get, though, the more we work to seek out that adversity to be able to accomplish something.  And it just so happens that as our comfort starts to reach that apex, we get the Internet with all its outrage porn available to us 24x7, complete with a little notification "ding" everytime someone sneezes in the wrong language somewhere in the world.

bobzilla said:

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

They seem to be working for the Koreans. 

And only the Koreans. Ford stopped building the Focus and the Festiva. Honda discontinued the Fit. Mazda stopped importing the Mazda 2. Toyota stopped importing the Yaris. Hyundai and Kia are all that's left. They both list new cars for under 20K. Who knew?

They will be lined up at those dealers next week.

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

I mean, I knew. I've been screaming it from the rooftops for years. If only I could get Hyundai to bring us the i20N 

I have to hand it to yupididit.  I never considered that a majority of the dicks I meet in a given day aren't always dicks, maybe they are having a bad day? Maybe this was the exact moment they finally broke?

I'm still going to get upset by projecting my values on others, but I'm trying real, real hard to see the other side.

In reply to Appleseed :

There's going to be a lot of road rage out there after filling the gas tank. Stay clear of the angry drivers.