Last I looked this week....the numbers look pretty good.

Market is up...consumers spending and other numbers is up and looking good...

I don't see all the doom and gloom ya'll keep throwing out there like chicken little....?

most likely resulting in a decades long crash of the US economy.

So many people predicting doom and gloom .....yet last numbers I've seen show the US economy doing very well, market up, consumer index looking good, etc....

To me, the future is kind of 'scary' in this way: we will all become consumers. There won't be any outstanding people, who have a trait that many people adore. There will be no Humphrey Bogart, nor a Michael Jackson. There will just be AI's cranking out material, and the top 0.1% of randomly generated "art" will be appreciated. Somehow, it "feels" de-humanizing

I dunno...I mean, AI can't perform a live concert....unless everyone gives up on going to see live performances ,...music from people won't die...

Until today, vacuum tubes are virtually extinct other than for restoration of old equipment.

Well, tubes DO still sound the best for audio related amplifiers and pre-amps.....for stereo and for guitar amps.....

Stereos that "glow" rule!!

I prefer subtitled movies

It's simpler for me...I just don't watch any foreign movies....if it isn't in English, I just move on....

His reply is a wonderful example of the way in which conservatives have become irredeemably stupid in the past few years.

Not really, it's that I've grown up my full life so far, accustomed to a certain level of lifestyle, convenience and preferences....and most of that without the government telling me how to live my life or force my purchasing choices....

I just want to keep it the way I grew up....and see no benefit to changing that, nor voting for that type change.

Your one ICE car will not make a noticeable difference but the collective emissions of the approx 1.5 billion cars is making a significant contribution to: the climate crisis; air pollution that causes asthma; etc - which will kill millions. So regulations on every one of us is to benefit everyone on the planet.

"I" don't care....I meant, Im getting older, and I've grown up with ICE vehicles all my life and my length and quality of life certainly haven't suffered in any perceptible way.

All this climate crap is WAY overblown IMHO. If you want sacrifice for the sake of the all mighty climate, please feel free...you be you.

but I don't need and do not vote for govt to force me to live a certain way or buy certain things, etc.....

I've been put in similar situations as OP: Given a completely foreign task, one that isn't a well-defined "go here, and do this" and outside of my area of expertise, then sent on my merry way with zero support or instruction. It's asinine to expect anything other than a less-than-optimal result when doing that.

Well, welcome to the real world since circa 1 BC...

Pretty much ALL of life comes without detailed instructions...from parenting to jobs...you can always ask your peers and friends,, but jump in head first and do your best.

That's how the rest of us do it....this is not rocket science.

Jeez....how are there so many people that have no people skills, and are fucking scared to try almost anything?

Believe it or not, yes, that's how it is for some of us. Or you can "stay technical," see your career plateau, then decline as people see you're clearly not headed anywhere and you get older and older than your next new manager.

Sounds like a YOU problem.

Don't stand there and whine how the world isn't subservient to you and your needs and foibles...

Grow a pair and get out of your comfort zone and try to learn new skills, yes...even PEOPLE skills....just like humans have since the beginning of time...

Or just sit there and whine because the world doesn't change to suit you....your choices and level of living.

My being able to buy high flow shower heads and toilets is NOT killing my neighbors.

Hell, even my ICE car vs an EV being mandated is not going to shorten your life in any statistically revlavent manner.

The Fed govt is not there to tell me how to run my life or what I can buy....we need to clamp down on the overreach by pretty much all of the federal agencies that intruder into the daily life of the average citizen.

A cornerstone of American freedom used to be captured in the phrase "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose". When someone pollutes the air everyone breathes, they're doing a lot more damage than punching you in the nose, and their rights have to be weighed against your rights.

Forcing me to not be able to buy and used incandescent light bulbs,, or low water use toilets or any of the myriad of things that have served us just fine in the recent past is not swinging a fucking fist at your nose.

The EPA and other govt entities have gotten WAY too intrusive and interrupted markets etc.

If you don't like the pollution in one place, feel free to move...different states may have different qualities and regulations you might find that suits you better, but the Fed level ruins everything for everyone....

I don't get what all this "engaged" stuff is all about...I'm getting paid to do a fucking job...give me money and I"ll do it and look forward to leaving to enjoy my life.

This is the same type shit I just don't get and think is a waste of time at work....same with "company culture", "values statements", etc....

Why not save the cost of this internal company marketing bullshit and pay me more. THAT is what will make me happy and motivate me more.

Let's face it, if I won the powerball tomorrow with enough to never work again...I'd leave fucking skid marks out the door....if I even bothered to come in and say good bye....

I"m not at work to be "engaged"...or make friends, etc.

My REAL friends and life are outside those company doors...I'm only there because you pay me...period.

For the slightly neuro-diverse and dramatically inexperienced amongst us, that 30 minute call is a half days work. First I need to do the training course on what that call is about and how to run it. Then I need to prepare, I've got to think of some "upbeat" talking points because the training says I need to throw a couple in here and there. I'll need to think about what I want to say, and what I might say if I get asked a range of questions. Then I'll need to have the actual call, and then will need to write up all the things that happened in it, update the bajillion trackers and "flags" in the various systems I'm supposed to update, and then frankly, I'll need some "cool down" time to get over the whole ordeal.

I'm gonna have to look up WTF "neuro-diverse" is...but if you are having THIS much problem with pretty much common everyday type interactions with people....maybe you need to look for a different position/job.

You have to 'study' to figure out chit chat when talking to co-workers?

Seriously...do you have to study to talk to friends before you go out?

Anyway....we're not talking rocket surgery here....

The question I have is...WHY?

I mean, is this because Google intends to start serving pr0n/Adult Content or something and they need to restrict access to something that's coming?

Hey...whatever it takes to remove the 'teeth' that these unelected govt. agencies have on the every day American life, to me...is mostly a good thing.

This removes from the EPA the ability to dictate how one lives or what one buys....a power that has gotten far to extensive and intrusive the past few decades.

The EPA has a place....but needs to be put back into its place and not have the huge influence and effect on our economy and individualism as it has grown to have.