quote:Originally posted by McDirts: Did my Great Great Grandad have that? No. He had a Sub-Saharan African slave to fan him down when he began perspiring, but that's not the point.
He would probably have been in a tiny minority of the upper class, though. Never before has your average schlub had so much kickass shit for so little. I'll bet he didn't have a flat panel TV and surround sound system.
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quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: I'll bet he didn't have a flat panel TV and surround sound system.
I have neither of those. Is that how you define a society with a level of luxury unprecedented throughout the history of humanity? Flat panel TV's?
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No, ralph. It's just an easy way to refer to modern consumerist society's obsession with and delight in certain commodities and lifestyles.
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quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: I agree, but the greed and self-interest of the system are also the reasons why most of us have jobs, why most of us can afford plenty of clothes, why we have easily affordable TVs, cars and all the rest of it.
I reason I can't play x bocks is because I can't afford a TV
quote:Originally posted by ralph: Is that how you define a society with a level of luxury unprecedented throughout the history of humanity? Flat panel TV's?
quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: I'll bet he didn't have a flat panel TV and surround sound system.
I have neither of those. Is that how you define a society with a level of luxury unprecedented throughout the history of humanity? Flat panel TV's?
It's an example of a needless expense, so yeah it's a luxury. Other factors I had in my head were things like availability of healthcare, clothing, education. Things like how easy it is to afford fish and meat and fuel. Or you could think about it in terms of waste. The amount of people that can throw away the amount of stuff we do gives you a clue about how pampered we are.
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quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: It's an example of a needless expense, so yeah it's a luxury. Other factors I had in my head were things like availability of healthcare, clothing, education. Things like how easy it is to afford fish and meat and fuel. Or you could think about it in terms of waste. The amount of people that can throw away the amount of stuff we do gives you a clue about how pampered we are.
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Yeah you're absolutely right, people are more affluent today than they have been at any point in hostory. But there's a limit, right? A point at which greed overloads the system and it all goes tits up. It's all well and good me sitting here with a healthy bank account and HD screens up the arse, but when potentially hundreds of thousands of people up and down the country are facing the prospect of a long and difficult unemployment, I think it's only fair to turn around and say that the people in a position to manipulate the financial state of the country haven't acted in the interests of society as a whole.
This swanky lifestyle of ours comes at a hefty cost - most of the things which we think that we own, we've paid for with credit. This is fine when you're able to pay your creditors, but when you're not, then things go very wrong very quickly. This is true on all levels, from individuals all the way up to multinational corporations. If you fail to adequately protect yourself against the threat of sudden change, then I think you deserve a certain level of criticism. Especially if you created the threat in the first place, and the cost of your mistake is the livelihoods of several thousand people.
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also this bloody £50 000 safety limit on funds in Banks? Even Coutts? What the fuck?? You tell me how I'm supposed to break 475 mill into handy £50 000 chunks? Eh? Exactly. No one thinks of the little people. It's not like I can invest it in Sugar Plantations in the Indies anymore is it?
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Trust me, it's really hard to be sympathetic when people moan about how hard it is to invest their multiples of £50,000. Posts: 710
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I've got some in Bullion, but then where do you store the bars? Exactly. It's a bloody nightmare. Dig a bloody great hole somewhere in the estate and bury the bloody lot of it, that's what I'm going to have to do.
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Aren't the lot of you employed? Try not being employed and then you can bitch about it. Both me and the husband are unemployed right now. And it sucks ass not having money. The husband being an electrician and there not being any construction work. At least he can collect unemployment, I can't. Not yet anyway.
So yeah. The economy sucks. More than likely it'll get worse before it gets better. I don't know what people are supposed to do in the mean time. Stay positive? Go back to school? Keep hoping the government continues extending the unemployment? A just got another 20 week extension. After that, there's a 13 wk extension. What happens after that if the construction industry is still in the shitter? Move in with my mom? No way.
quote:Originally posted by Amy: Aren't the lot of you employed? Try not being employed and then you can bitch about it. Both me and the husband are unemployed right now. And it sucks ass not having money. The husband being an electrician and there not being any construction work. At least he can collect unemployment, I can't. Not yet anyway.
So yeah. The economy sucks. More than likely it'll get worse before it gets better. I don't know what people are supposed to do in the mean time. Stay positive? Go back to school? Keep hoping the government continues extending the unemployment? A just got another 20 week extension. After that, there's a 13 wk extension. What happens after that if the construction industry is still in the shitter? Move in with my mom? No way.
Sorry. Just venting.
I know how you feel Amy - I have to still try and sort out my unemployment and am unsure if I will even get it - the problem is that if I don't there is nowhere I can just turn to like yourself and move somewhere. I managed to attain a weeks work for the 16th but paying next to nothing (I'll end up with about 300 quid after tax for doing 40 hours work - something 12 months ago I would earn easily in a day) but after that it isn't looking too promising to be honest. I did have a chat today with a good mate of mine who reiterared the only thing is to just keep applying for work, no matter how off the mark it is from your skills and something is bound to turn up in the end. I have applied for more than 60 jobs in the last two months, and although the feedback has been lacking, I just have to keep going - maybe just under the impression that maybe people will get sick of seeing my CV and just give me a job out of pity or boredom - a sad way maybe of getting out of the rut, but I am sure persistance will pay off in the end.
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Good luck to you too, Waynster. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I'm looking at school again. I'm thinking about applying to Rowan U., but we shall see. I got into Rutgers, so I can't see why I wouldn't get into Rowan. I need to do something with myself. :sigh:
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Don't know if it interests you Wayne (or anyone else) but I know of a sound engineer job going which pays £30k+ and they're not looking for any specific experience other than enthusiasm. Oh and it would probably include some IT systems/network work too.
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Ralph PM'd me the other day to ask if it was true that English Corporations hired people specifically to actually suck cock and how could he apply? I told him he had the wrong end of the stick and he tried to make out like he knew it was a joke all along, but he actually got quite arsey with me.
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quote:Originally posted by Keef: Don't know if it interests you Wayne (or anyone else) but I know of a sound engineer job going which pays £30k+ and they're not looking for any specific experience other than enthusiasm. Oh and it would probably include some IT systems/network work too.
Cheers Keef - if it's Holland based I'd be up for it as certain commitments mean I have to remain here for the foreseeable - let us know eh?
quote:Originally posted by Keef: Don't know if it interests you Wayne (or anyone else) but I know of a sound engineer job going which pays £30k+ and they're not looking for any specific experience other than enthusiasm. Oh and it would probably include some IT systems/network work too.
I know someone who would chew his arm off for the job, who is more than qualified and knows his IT stuff. England? Info? mikeeteevee @ gmail.com
quote:Originally posted by New Way Of Decay: I know someone who would chew his arm off for the job, who is more than qualified and knows his IT stuff. England? Info? mikeeteevee @ gmail.com
I really hope the interview process involves arm chewing so that we can prove once and for all that NWOD is LYING TO TMO AGAIN.
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Yeah, no job is worth chewing your arm off for. Unless it was like... super-bionic arm tester. Then I would. If I was going to get chainsaw and machinegun attachements and stuff. And loads of sweet bitches. Then I defintely would. Anyone who chews their arm off for a £30k a year IT job is a fucking idiot, though. Seriously. Also, it's going to put employers off, more than anything. The kind of guy who chews his arm off is going to wind up doing other stupid shit, like selling the company for some magic beans, or seeing if the computers can still run after they've been filled with hot jam.
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Nothing yet, but I don't think anyone expected the magic beans to be a get rich quick scheme. I learnt from my mistakes, and I fully expect to have a beanstalk with treasure at the top anytime in the next 6-9 months
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