Once it was a hallmark of wealth to be fat. Today, it's kinda the opposite. Times change.

And while letting a professional handle a job you could only do worse may be a wise decision, I happen to have met a lot of "professionals" who only meet the "I do it for money" definition thereof...

Just one? Ok: Cell phone ring tones.

That's the kind of marketing I can go for. Less so the search engine crippling, but being recommended by people using it (and not getting paid for recommending stuff).

By today's standard, you're rich. So am I, actually. When I look around me and consider how well I'm off compared to others...

I can survive on one income. I also like my job and have the luxury to even choose where I want to work at, and where I simply refuse to work. I live in a rather large apartment (mostly because I couldn't find another one in the area where I CHOSE to live in).

That's luxury today for most people. Having a CHOICE.

You really don't notice how condescending and patronizing you sound? Really?

...provided it ain't Summer. Have you ever been in such a place? Trust me, in a warm summer night, anywhere else is nicer.

So Franklin was against the American way of life too?

Won't somebody please think of the Founding Fathers?

They would. But we're not willing to pay 10% more on the cheap crap they produce for us.

That's ... that's ... .that's COMMUNISM!

In China? Not really. If you're being conditioned that following the rules is good while thinking for yourself is bad and can even get you in trouble, you eventually end up with a mindset like that.

But don't worry, they're already exporting that success model. We're getting there. And, frankly, when I look around me, how people pay for "services" that hardly qualify as a service because they're too closed minded to even fathom how they could do it themselves for free and at little if any expense and effort, I dare say we're already there.

How very un-American! He could have sold it for 800 bucks, and instead he hands it out for free!

He's been living in Commieland for too long!

That's the "risk" (among others). But at least you'd test it on a group of people where you can actually see more than just whether the crap kills them.

Then again, it could have the unwanted side effect to unveil prematurely that the crap doesn't do jack but line the pockets of its maker...

The problem is that this doesn't offer them a "way out", that whole shit ensures they stay down in the gutter. 'cause, well, you don't think they get paid according to the risk to their health, do you? They get paid just enough for them to get by and keep them dependent. It's drug pushers we're talking about. Legal drug pushers, but why does anyone think they're in any way morally better than the average drug cartel. Paying the bums more than absolutely necessary not only costs more than it has to, but it also potentially threatens your "test bed", because if someone managed to climb out of the gutter on your money, you'd lose one guinea pig to test on.

The Dream was that you can make a mistake but start over and claw your way back to the top. Forget it. The ugly reality is that once you're in the gutter, you stay in the gutter. You make a legal mistake and you'll be labeled for life. You make an economic mistake and you permanent credit history will ensure you'll never ever get a loan again. And once you're in the gutter, that's where you'll stay for the rest of your natural life.

I don't have my people tested for drugs. For more than one reason. First and foremost, I fear they could find something. Actually, I'm pretty sure they'd find something with one or two of the guys.

Then, why the fuck should I care what they do in their spare time? I'm neither their mommy nor their nanny. I care about them coming to work sober and being able to do their job. That they do. So where's my interest in anything beyond that?

That's swell. Abusing religious laws to fight religious bullshit.

Would it make me the devil if I can't help but giggle?