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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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</head>
<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Freewrite: Snow Snow Snow</h2>
<p>
"Well, it's time to go to bed", I thought. So I decide to let the dog out one last time.
</p>
<p>
It's probably around 5 in the morning. Still pretty dark, but the suns coming up. It was beautiful out. Unfortunately though, it was beautiful because snow was pouring out of the clouds in droves. The last time I was outside it looked like winter was over. Now there is 15cm of snow on the ground. Fuuuuuckkk. It's going to suck when I wake up.
</p>
<p>
Around noon I lay awake. Thinking about this great idea I have for an article, thinking about how much getting out of bed to go to the bathroom is going to suck.
</p>
<p>
"I have some bad news," I hear someone say. "We need to plow the driveway." Fuck, that's right. Snow.
</p>
<p>
I get dressed and put on my warm under-layers and set to work. Thank the lord for plows.
</p>
<p>
This particular plow has a plastic <em>cage</em> that attaches to the plow to protect the driver. Shortly after getting the plow going it's too warm and I start sweating, my under-layers are awesome. The plow can handle everything the sky was throwing at it, but not when the road plows trap everything in with 1.5 meter drifts.
</p>
<p>
My poor truck, that had no snow around it yesterday, was now blocked in thanks to the plows. I suppose I should be happy they didn't hit my truck. I saw the plows plow someone in who was trying to shovel out her truck. The plow blade came within a half meter of her. Fuck you city.
</p>
<p>
After 45 minutes my plastic cage is becoming too difficult to see through, fuck it. I took the cage off, and discarded my coat. I was too well dressed for this anyway.
</p>
<p>
I don't usually mind snow, but when suddenly everything is buried, I'm glad I've decided to move someplace where it doesn't snow quite so much. Even without the move, this is more incentive to work from home. Where so long as I have electricity and internet, I can pay the bills.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
So I thought of a couple great articles to write, so next week is a crowd project. But the next week... Back to something real to write about. Enjoy all.
</p>
<p>
Note: Despite this being a freewrite, I still run a spell check. No use in leaving typos in.
</p>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/my.css">
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
</title>
</head>
<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Review: Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball</h2>
<p>
I was rather skeptical that I would enjoy a trackball style mouse at all, but not wanting to limit my experiences (and who doesn't like getting new tech?), I picked up the Logitech M570.
</p>
<p>
<a href="http://sudotask.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mouse_top.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-305" src="http://sudotask.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mouse_top-300x202.jpg" alt="mouse_top" width="300" height="202" /></a>
</p>
<p>
I've been using this trackball for about a month now and I have had no issues with the wireless. Better yet, Logitech claims 18 months of battery life, so you don't have to worry about it going out on you at the worst possible moment. Well, actually you probably still do, but at least it will only happen once a year.
</p>
<p>
The M570 is surprisingly comfortable to hold, but if you are new to trackballs, like I am, then it may take a few days before you find what grip works best for you.
</p>
<p>
On the second day of using this device I started noticing some pain in my thumb. I was considering returning it at this point, I don't want a RSI in my thumb, but I decided to switch back to my good ole mouse and wait it out for a bit.
</p>
<p>
Something new that I hadn't noticed before. Now that I've had a taste of what it was like to not use my wrist to control my pointer, I started to notice quite a bit of discomfort.
</p>
<p>
I went back to the M570 and still had a bit of pain in my thumb, but instead of switching back to the mouse, I decided to simply take more breaks from the computer until my thumb could get used to using it for longer periods of time.
</p>
<p>
This worked well for me, but if you experience any pain while using a mouse or anything else, pay attention. You don't want to mess up your hands or wrists.
</p>
<p>
So yes, Logitec made a good device, surprise surprise right? Well, I believe it's important to talk about trackballs in general, since they are foreign to many people.
</p>
<p>
Things I've learned since using the trackball:
</p>
<p>
<ul>
<li>Mice hurt my wrist, guess I just didn't notice it before</li>
<li>A lot of skin comes off on trackballs, they need to be cleaned fairly often. Especially those of us with dirty hands</li>
<li>My mouse accuracy is terrible. I am still much faster with a mouse when it comes to a general area, but the trackball feels easier for precise movements</li>
<li>Buying a trackball makes me want to buy more trackballs. Looking forward to picking up a finger style trackball when I have the spare funds</li>
<li>Being able to have my laptop on my lap and a mouse on the arm of a recliner is amazing</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Thankfully cleaning isn't too terribly difficult.
</p>
<p>
<a href="http://sudotask.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mouse_bottom.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-304" src="http://sudotask.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mouse_bottom-300x203.jpg" alt="mouse_bottom" width="300" height="203" /></a>
</p>
<p>
I just use a pen to press the ball out and then clean off all the little bearings with a finger. When I'm satisfied I just stick the ball back in and remember how amazing it is when its clean.
</p>
<p>
Would I recommend a trackball? Anyone who has access to a track ball, both thumb and figure style, should try them out. I wouldn't tell a guy he should drop $40 on a new device if he is happy with what he has.
</p>
<p>
That said, if you find that a standard mouse is uncomfortable or inconvenient, give the M570 a try. There are not a lot of options in the trackball world these days, but for $40... I'm satisfied.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
Hmm. Being a review where I let myself use words such as "you" and "I" it feels awkward even bothering with my end of article commentary. Anyway, trackballs are pretty awesome. Try em out if you can, but if you can't, and you are still interested in one, the M570 is pretty awesome.
</p>
<p>
So what do you think? Do you see a trackball in your future? Discuss below!
</p>
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Should Cooks Wash Their Hands? A Prefered Indifferent.</h2>
<p>
Discovered via <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/108290759057490500986/posts/cN5yh2WoaZU" target="_blank">this</a> google+ post, senator Thom Tillis is questioning whether government should regulate food service hand washing policies.
</p>
<p>
Most people take one look at this idea and think, "What the fuck is wrong with our government," but we must look deeper into it. Should people wash their hands before serving food? For safety? Yes. Should employers enforce that their employees wash their hands before serving food? To keep customers happy? Of course. However, government shouldn't be forcing the hand. The market should.
</p>
<p>
Senator Tillis apparently believes that it should be up to the establishment, but they should still post a sign in the case that they choose not to enforce their employees to wash their hands. As Jon Stewart says, if you take away the regulation for hand washing, but then go ahead and enforce regulation to have a sign... That doesn't help the problem of regulation. It is still regulation.
</p>
<p>
Many establishments will likely continue to have hand washing policies, but some places may choose to relax, or remove, these policies. What is the result? People will likely get sick. Dysentery is a horrible thing to have.
</p>
<p>
So enough negative, what positive effects could this have? When John gets sick after eating at "The Rusty Bucket", chances are he will tell all his friends to avoid that place like the plague. Market balance.
</p>
<p>
Companies will likely enforce hand washing policies regardless of regulation. Is this the same result as have regulation in effect? No. The end result perhaps, but at least this way it's taken care of with freedom. Not with the exchange of freedom for the illusion of safety.
</p>
<p>
Remember the Jack in the box e. coli outbreak of 1993? While they were in compliance with the law, undercooked meat was still responsible for at least four deaths. The response? Many law suits and regulatory change in required temperatures for beef.
</p>
<p>
Were the regulations necessary? Jack in the Box lost many customers, money in lawsuits, and nearly went bankrupt. However, while the new regulations were first only in Washington state, what did Jack in the Box do? They mandated a new cooking temperature nation wide. Why would they do that? To prepare for future federal regulation? Hell no. They wanted to stay in business.
</p>
<p>
What if we get rid of the regulations? What about the customers? How many people need to get sick before we give up and go back to regulations?
</p>
<p>
Freedom should never be given up for safety. As in the Jack in the Box reference, people will boycott companies who get people sick. People will become more aware of what they eat, and who they let prepare it.
</p>
<p>
Having to worry about whether or not company xyz might get us sick, would at least give us back one level of consciousness. Even better, perhaps more people will go back to eating at home. If people were more aware of what they were doing to themselves, chances are they would eat fast food a lot less often.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
So this is a bit of a touchy subject, because people die. Should we regulate to prevent loss of life? Do we exchange freedom for life? I don't think so. Market forces are more than able to take care of any issues that arise. What if I'm wrong? Then the people who choose not to be aware of life around them die. That's part of life. Being aware. If you choose not to do it, you risk yourself and others around you. What do you think about regulation? Are market forces not
enough? Comment below.
</p>
<p>
If you want to see a more raw response from me, feel free to look at the comments of the google plus post introduced at the beginning of this article.
</p>
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Indiegogo: Beggars Welcome! </h2>
<p>
There are plenty of crowd-funding platforms designed for obtaining personal goals such as <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/" target="_blank">gofundme</a> which also happens to annoyingly own the domain <a href="http://crowdfunding.com" target="_blank">crowdfunding.com</a>. That alone is reason enough to avoid investing in their platform.
</p>
<p>
Indiegogo seems to be attracting beggars to their system, and for the sake of humanity, let's pray these people fail. Just on the first page of the Indegogo gaming section there are five people begging for money. Only two of them are remotely worthy funding.
</p>
<h3>Need a new computer</h3>
<p>
First up, <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/9540589" target="_blank">Jordan Abbott</a> who decided he needed a new computer. So what does he do? He claims that he made $1000 from selling his "old items on Ebay," and that he wants another $500.
</p>
<p>
<em> Hmm... How should I make that last $500? I know! <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/need-a-new-computer--8" target="_blank">I'll beg for it on Indiegogo</a></em>
</p>
<h3>A new computer because why not?</h3>
<p>
Next! <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/9540820" target="_blank">Warchief Ketcheson</a>. His <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-new-computer-because-why-not" target="_blank">campaign</a> is even more embarrassing.
</p>
<blockquote>"My computer sucks, and makes me feel sucky, and I'd love to not feel sucky!"</blockquote>
That's phase one of his campaign, phase two? Complain about how his computer "is really loud and keeps [his] dog and [his] family awake at night, and keeps bluescreening."
<p>
Seriously, what the fuck? Warchief Ketcheson, enjoy your shitty computer in the magical lands of "Blackfalds, Alberta, United States" as pulled from your profile. If I'm not mistaken, Alberta is a bit more north than the U.S.
</p>
<h3>Get me started creating games</h3>
<p>
<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/9540052" target="_blank">David Prindle</a> is a bit more borderline. His <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/get-me-started-creating-games" target="_blank">campaign</a> is almost worth consideration, but who the hell is David Prindle and why should I trust him with such a vague project?
</p>
<p>
Prindle claims he would like to start a career making games and that we should all give him money. In return he will be sure to create:
</p>
<p>
<ul>
<li>A 2D Fighting game.</li>
<li>An adventure game with dark comedy.</li>
<li>2 survival horror games based on movies.</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Bastard can't even bother writing out "two" properly. If you are going to ask for money, you need to be at least a bit professional. The one thing this campaign has going for it is promise of YouTube videos:
</p>
<p>
<ul>
<li>Character creation.</li>
<li>Animation creation.</li>
<li>Level creation.</li>
<li>Let's plays (in my free time)</li>
<li>My son playing games.</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Animation and level creation could actually be neat to watch. However, I give a rats ass about your son, and how dare you claim that you <em>might</em> do let's plays? That's what "in my free time" really means doesn't it? If you are asking for money, don't say what you <em>might</em> do, say what you <em>will</em> do. If it's something you are not sure you'll do, don't mention it at all in your campaign.
<h3>New computer for streaming on twitch.tv for HDHR</h3>
</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/9539822" target="_blank">Gábor Balázs</a> is running the first <em>begging</em> <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-computer-for-streaming-on-twitch-tv-for-hdhr" target="_blank">campaign</a> to be somewhat legit.
</p>
<p>
In fact, this campaign doesn't even seem to be begging. The funds are being raised to purchase a better computer for someone "who is currently top 5 in the game called osu!"
</p>
<p>
This person may legitimately have a fan base that wants to see him twitch streaming, but he has a crap computer that can't handle it. This campaign is for his fans to fund, not for random people exploring Indiegogo.
</p>
<h3>Rather smash my ps4 than deal with Sony Cust.supt.</h3>
<p>
Well, <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/9541719" target="_blank">el diablo</a>, of all the people that seem to be screaming <em>Give me stuff!</em>, you have the most legitimate <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rather-smash-my-ps4-than-deal-with-sony-cust-supt" target="_blank&quot;">campaign</a> of the roundup. While, el diablo, hardly seems to be a credible name, his story is that he is "just a guy mad at big bad sony taking my money and running from their broken product."
</p>
<p>
He wants video equipment in order to pursue other interests, and in return, depending on the amount of cash raised, he will destroy his Playstation 4 in amusing ways and video tape it. Direct excerpt:
</p>
<p>
<blockquote>£1000 = ps4 gets a bath before bieng[sic] smashed up with a selection of hammers, from regular claw hammer up to sledgehammer.
</p>
<p>
£1500 = ps4 gets soaked in petrol , set alight and then smashed with sledgehammer.
</p>
<p>
£2000 = ps4 gets soaked with petrol, then i will fire lit arrows at it until it is on fire, then proceed to smash it to pieces with an axe.
</p>
<p>
£2500 = ps4 shredded with a chainsaw then set on fire.
</p>
<p>
Im[sic] open to suggestions, on how best to destroy this excuse of a console.</blockquote>
</p>
<hr />
<p>
For the record, I wouldn't fund any of these, except perhaps the twitch.tv campaign. Even then, only if I knew who he was and cared about the game. These are all from only the <em>gaming</em> section this week. Do we want this kind of crap on Indiegogo? Should Indiegogo police their platform a bit more? I believe obvious beggars should not be allowed.
</p>
<p>
What do you all think? Feel free to comment below. Disqus is gone and open commenting is in ^_^
</p>
<hr>
<p>
The comment spam quickly came as soon as I allowed open posting. Comments will be moderated, but no account should be needed.
</p>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/my.css">
<title>
Critical Sarcasm for the knees
</title>
</head>
<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Attack People, Not Ideals</h2>
<p>
Quite a lot of people choose to attack people for their ideals, instead of the ideals themselves. Why?
</p>
<p>
An obvious example would be <a href="http://conservativetribune.com/famous-rocker-humiliates-kanye/" target="_blank">extreemeist media</a>, but we see this everywhere. People who are against Catholics attack the people following it for things of history such as the crusades. Why not attack the ideal? Tell the people, "Hey, these people did some messed up stuff. Why do you follow them?" instead of the more common, "You follow the catholic way of life? You're stupid."
</p>
<p>
The same thing happens outside of politics and religion of course, it happens anywhere people have differing opinions.
</p>
<p>
“Why would you give that game a 6/10? What's wrong with you? “
</p>
<p>
“You don't vaccinate your kids? You kill people. You're fucking stupid. You should vaccinate your kids.”
</p>
<p>
“How the fuck can you say it's not ok for homosexuals to marry? You're a pretentious asshole.”
</p>
<p>
We hear these things all the time. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual (LGBT) movement likes to do shit like this. They attack people for having ideological difference from their own.
</p>
<p>
To be clear, they do not attack the idea of not allowing LGBT to marry or to have equal rights, they attack the person for not believing it should be ok for LGBT to marry. That's fucked up, and we need, as a country, to stop attacking people foolishly.
</p>
<p>
Best case scenario? A person is attacked, they become defensive, no chance of gainful argument. If you feel vaccinations are important, argue against their ideals. Don't attack them and call them <em>killers</em> because they feel they are doing what is best for their children.
</p>
<p>
Or as the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/14/us/colorado-gay-woman-funeral-service/" target="_blank">LGBT community</a>...
</p>
<p>
In summary, the church decided they didn't want to perform a funeral for a lesbian. What happens in response? Outrage.
</p>
<p>
Why? Why is there outrage? Most people already know the church doesn't like homosexuality, so why would this be an outrage? It's like getting pissed off that jalapenos are spicy and not sour. It's a bloody fucking stupid way to think. What's worse? They want apologies. That's fucked up. Most people probably think an apology is warrant, but this is what is going on.
</p>
<p>
The LGBT community is asking the church to apologize for what it believes in. That is way overkill compared to what the church is doing. The LGBT community and supporters want the people to apologize for their ideals. Just let that sink in before you jump on the apology bandwagon.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
What the fuck people? Stop trying to force your beliefs on others. Stop saying that your beliefs are right and others are wrong. If one person thinks homosexuality is wrong... is he the one that is wrong? No. And neither are you.
</p>
<p>
Homosexuality is neither right nor wrong, it just is. Right and wrong are simply attributes people add to ideas. Stop telling people they are wrong simply because your ideals are different from theirs. That's fucked up.
</p>
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-us">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/my.css">
<title>
Critical Sarcasm for the knees
</title>
</head>
<body>
<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Kickstarter: Dillenger E-bike For Under $400 AUD</h2>
<p>
Evidently Dillenger decided to redesign their <a href="https://dillengerelectricbikes.com/shop/electric-bikes/cheetah-folding-electric-bike/" target="_blank">Cheetah folding ebike</a> and decided to run a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1182676007/a-quality-dillenger-folding-electric-bike-for-unde?ref=category" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> for it. It seems like they are only using Kickstarter as a marketing stunt, but nothing wrong with that. Dillinger wants to make an electric bike for the masses, and this fits the bill at $400 (329.02 USD as of 18/Jan/15).
</p>
<h3>Fold up electric bikes are awesome</h3>
<p>
For transportation, fold up electric bikes just make life easier. Just think, instead of using that gas guzzler for running errands around town, just hop on the electric bike and go (weather permitting). Perhaps take a trip into the city, the fold up features will let the bike be easily transported to the city and avoid expensive cabs or stressful driving conditions.
</p>
<p>
With a sub $400 vehicle, this opens up the market for anyone to have cheap, reliable transportation. Sure, no one will likely tour the country on an E-bike, but with its claimed 45K(~28mi) range, a person can go a pretty good distance, especially for those who live in cities.
</p>
<p>
Better yet, e-bikes under a certain speed typically don't need to be licensed, plated, or insured (at least in the USA) which drives costs down even further. Some states of course, may charge fees for any electric vehicle, and given time the taxes will eventually come as electric bikes become more popular.
</p>
<p>
Dillenger's Cheetah reaches speeds up to 20km/h (~12mp/h) with peddle assist, meaning most state laws shouldn't require a motorcycle license. Thinking of peddle assist, the Cheetah does come with pedals, so if the battery dies while out and about, one can always peddle to safety.
</p>
<p>
Vandwellers, boatdwellers, and other alternate home lifestylers will love the convenience of the fold up bike. Park the van near the city; explore the city on bike. When tiredness sets in, start using the electric motor. The biggest problem for these people? Lugging the 28kg(~62LBS) bike in an out of the vehicle.
</p>
<h3>Will this ship?</h3>
<p>
The bike will ship. As noted above, Dillinger already sells the Cheetah, and this redesign is funded already. Dillinger sells many different electric bikes, and they are an already established business. If for some reason, Dillinger were to fail to ship, it would be a horrible black mark on their business that they may have trouble recovering from.
</p>
<p>
Dillinger ships worldwide, and through Kickstarter, according to Dillenger, the bike will cost $399 AUD or "Approx. $323USD, 212GBP, 270EUR."
</p>
<p>
Kickstarter levels are all mostly the same. A $1AUD donation style, $19AUD get a t-shirt, the $399AUD as a limited run, another limited run at $409AUD, and a wholesale option for $3990AUD. The wholesale option nets 10 bikes at the $399AUD price, and they will pay half the cost on shipping. Shipping rates do not seem to be disclosed, assuming they are not included in the pledge levels.
</p>
<p>
NOTE: To ship a current model Cheetah to Illinois, the cost is about $68 via USPS from their US website.
</p>
<hr />
<p>
Yea this thing is going to ship. Why wouldn't it? They are an established company and it would look terrible if they were to botch this. I believe there are shipping costs they will ask for on top of any pledges, but I don't see any mention of this. If this sounds interesting to you go support them on their <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1182676007/a-quality-dillenger-folding-electric-bike-for-unde?ref=category" target="_blank">kickstarter</a>. So what do you all think? At $350ish USD, are you ready to take the plunge?
</p>
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
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<h2>More Studies Please. Mincome.</h2>
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In the United States, we have far too many social services. All these social services cost money in terms of actual money spent on the services, as well as administration.
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Social security alone in 2013 cost the taxpayer approximately $814 billion. In 2012, welfare, not including social security or medicare, cost about $950 billion. By 2024 the Affordable Care Act is expect to cost over $200 billion in today's dollars (currently $38 billion in 2014).
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These numbers are pretty big. With only about 316 million people(2013 estimate), why are we spending over $1.1 trillion on these services?
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For those unfamiliar with the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/23/mincome-in-dauphin-manitoba_n_6335682.html" target="_blank">Canadian Mincome Experiment</a>. Back in the 1970's, the Canadian government funded an experiment to study the effects of simply giving poor people money. They took the city of Dauphin's poor and provided them with a basic level of income.
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Unfortunately, due to changes in government, the project was shut down early, and no one studied the results until 2005. Without going into too much detail, Mincome was a success.
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We need to fund more studies like Mincome in order to find solutions to our growing social programs. What if we simply gave every American citizen over the age of 18, who meets certain low income requirements, $15,000 a year? If every American over 18 qualified, that would be approximately 243 million people, so about 3.6 trillion.
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That sounds like a lot of tax dollars, but remember that we are already spending more than 1.1 trillion, and that doesn't include every American. The advantages, however, could be amazing. All of that $1.1 trillion of social services could easily be replaced by a system such as this, and probably cost less to administer.
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How much paperwork, government jobs, court costs, and other administrative expenses could be removed by rolling all these programs into one service? How many loopholes will be closed?
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Why apply for (and employ people to run) food stamps, housing, income credits, welfare, social security, energy assistance, and whatever else we have when we could apply for one benefit that gives you a base income to cover it all?
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It's hard to find numbers on administration expenses, but at least social security made it easy. They claim to have spent about $3 billion on admin expenses in 2014.
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The amount and complexity of benefits is astounding. So much money is spent on simply having a hundred different service that all are trying to do one part of the same basic thing: provide a way for the downtrodden to get a leg up. Having less systems also makes it easier to focus resources on helping people.
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So what do you think? Should we start funding studies so we can find better alternatives to social services? Perhaps even minimum wage itself could be abolished if we had a minimum base income. The job market would easily balance itself. How many people would work at fast food for low wages if they would get $15,000 by not working at all? The job market would have to compete with the base minimum income in order to stay in business.
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Sources:
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<a href="http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/admin.html" target="_blank">http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/admin.html</a>
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<a href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/12/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2014" target="_blank">http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/12/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2014</a>
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<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html" target="_blank">http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html</a>
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/23/mincome-in-dauphin-manitoba_n_6335682.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/23/mincome-in-dauphin-manitoba_n_6335682.html</a>
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Perhaps Hiatus</h2>
<p>
Turns out that I don't care too much for writing about crowdfunding every week. This week, I'm simply going to take a Hiatus. Next week? Probably another "stream of consciousness" style post, and then probably back something new in crowdfunding. That said, I do want to give an honorable mention to a Kickstarter that looks pretty cool.
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1908899476/avas-demon-book-two?ref=category_popular" target="_blank">Ava's Demon</a>
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I don't know much about it, but apparently this is book two and <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1908899476/" target="_blank">Michelle Czajkowski</a> has already published the first book via Kickstarter. Upon reaching 250K in funds she will be able to hire Studio Yotta, whose animation talents are featured in the kickstarter video, to do awesome.
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Nope, nothin' today. Enjoy!
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Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<h2>Freewrite: I Failed Today </h2>
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So it seems as though I've failed today for my weekly post. Not only did I fail to research things all week when I've had plenty of time, the universe didn't hand anything to me either.
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Typically, ideas wander by me in my day to day life; however, I have to notice them to be of any use to me in a post. Yet, as mentioned at the end of my last post, I'm also not really sure what my niche is. I actually like writing about crowd-funding projects and criticizing them a bit, but looking in the tech sections of Indegogo and Kickstarter failed to peak my interest.
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So what do I do? Well I have a deadline to follow so the show must go on right? Freewrite! Free-writing tends to be fun anyway. Nevermind the fact that what I'm doing right now is more of a <em>Stream of Consciousness</em> than a traditional freewrite. I suppose this writing does have a dedicated subject, it's still a bit all over the place.
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So what do I do next week? Well, I suppose I should really focus on what the hell my niche is. Considering, as I mentioned earlier, I like writing about crowd-funding; perhaps I should focus my efforts there.
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While I throughly enjoy reading about psychology, philosophy, and the daily ridiculousness that is the way humans go about their very lives, I don't seem to be very good at researching it. It is a bit hard to research people without actually going out there and doing it. Perhaps in the future I'll start interviewing people as they buy things.
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So perhaps from now until I change my mind, I shall write about crowd-funding one way or another. Promoting projects that are interesting is a fun way of using critical thinking.
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Why is this project cool? Will they make funding? Are they too ambitious? Will they leave people with more faith in crowd-funding? Or will they destroy it by overspending like DoubleFine has done with one of their <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/03/double-fine-kickstarter-debacle/" target="_blank">campaigns</a>?
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I suppose I'll leave you all with that, a bit short for me, but I'm sure only a few have made it this far through my ramble anyway. Ta.
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tl;dr today I freewrite about failing this week.
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Does anyone here enjoy freewriting? Or perhaps <em>Stream Of Consciousness</em>? If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it. Hmm. Perhaps I should start freewrite Fridays as well as crowd-funded Sundays... Hmm.
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<!DOCTYPE html>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/my.css">
<title>
Critical Sarcasm for the knees
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</head>
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<center><h1>Old Ass Sudotask</h1></center>
<a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com">Go Home</a> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite">Old Site</a>
<hr>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 01-mar-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/01-mar-2015-review-logitech-m570-wireless-trackball.html">Review: Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 22-Feb-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/22-Feb-2015-more-studies-please-mincome.html">More Studies Please. Mincome.</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 15-Feb-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/15-Feb-2015-attack-people-not-ideals.html">Attack People, Not Ideals</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 08-Feb-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/08-feb-2015-should-cooks-wash-their-hands.html">Should Cooks Wash Their Hands? A Prefered Indifferent.</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 01-Feb-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/01-feb-2015-freewrite-snow-snow-snow.html">Freewrite: Snow Snow Snow</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 25-Jan-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/25-jan-2015-perhaps-hiatus.html">Perhaps Hiatus</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 19-Jan-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/11-jan-2015-19-jan-2015-kickstarter-e-bike.html">Kickstarter: Dillenger E-bike For Under $400 AUD</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 11-Jan-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/11-jan-2015-indiegogo-beggars-welcome.html">Indiegogo: Beggars Welcome!</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> 04-Jan-2015 </span>- <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2015/4-jan-2015-i-failed-today.html">Freewrite: I Failed Today</a></p>
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<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2014/index.html">2014</span></a></p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000"> <a href="http://criticalsarcasm.com/oldsite/2014/index.html">2015</span></a></p>
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