andyman wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2023 10:45 am So soon after Covid, why is wearing a mask weird?

I've definitely considered wearing one while cycling around cars in the city.

Covid ain't over. My office is shut down this week and we are all working from home because of a Covid outbreak.

andyman wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2023 10:45 am So soon after Covid, why is wearing a mask weird?

I've definitely considered wearing one while cycling around cars in the city.

I wore one the other day because the temperature outside was cold. Usually, I keep one on my person for emergencies.

The only time I consider it somewhat odd is if I notice a person driving alone in a car, but even then it is none of my business.

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2023 12:10 pm

andyman wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2023 10:45 am So soon after Covid, why is wearing a mask weird?

I've definitely considered wearing one while cycling around cars in the city.

I wore one the other day because the temperature outside was cold. Usually, I keep one on my person for emergencies.

The only time I consider it somewhat odd is if I notice a person driving alone in a car, but even then it is none of my business.

Wife: “I’m glad we’re wearing masks. I got a big zit on my face.”

People still wearing masks when it doesn’t seem to make sense is the least of my worries.

Seems every time I go to the post office some old person is there for a single stamp.

Met a friend for the best smash burger in Los Angeles. There used to be a guy that took your order, counter service style. They brought the food out to you. Yesterday we learned (from that guy) that now we order from a screen. OK, fine, but I don't like it. Went to order a double and there is no button for double. He looks over from the other side of a counter, annoyed. "You hit cheeseburger, then you get the option for a double." Not sure how I was supposed to know that. So I order. My friend does the same. We sit. Dude is super annoyed how busy it is, mostly people picking up from apps. (Note: I have noticed a new form of human communication which involves someone with a cell phone walking up to someone and just showing that person something on the phone. I think this means "I paid for this thing I am showing you on my phone. Give it to me now." Fuxache.)

Dude runs our food out, in good time, and says "You guys didn't grab yoru drinks?" "No, were we supposed to?" No answer as he walks away. We watch, thinking maybe he'll bring them. Nope. So my friend goes up and asks if we were supposed to grab them? "Yes, we're pretty busy right now," looking further annoyed. Again, how are we supposed to know this? We've been coming here for years and drink have always been handed to us.

I write all this because, as you are all aware, tipping is expected at time of purchase, not after the meal. I'm tired of this bullshit terrible service with the expectation of an18-22% tip. It's pervasive, this expectation that tipping is just part of going out no matter how shitty the service. Do your job adequately, and don't be a dick, and you'll get your 18-22%. If you don't have a tip jar for cash, fuck you. I'm not tipping first ever again.

enframed wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 2:32 pm I write all this because, as you are all aware, tipping is expected at time of purchase, not after the meal. I'm tired of this bullshit terrible service with the expectation of an18-22% tip. It's pervasive, this expectation that tipping is just part of going out no matter how shitty the service. Do your job adequately, and don't be a dick, and you'll get your 18-22%. If you don't have a tip jar for cash, fuck you. I'm not tipping first ever again.

I don't mind this so much, but I mostly go back to places who've proven to have good, consistent service. If they do piss me off, I'm gonna be pissed about the whole experience and not just the fact that I tipped up front (and won't go back for a while, or possibly ever).

I'm rooting for restaurants and cafes, but in the last few years I've gotten better at doing basically everything at home, so if I spend $17 on a fuckin' sandwich + NA drink + tip it better blow me away. The 12" pizza I like down the road rings up to nearly $25 now and has come out a little dry on recent trips..

So I just rejoined Facebook today.

After setting up my profile (before friending anyone or liking any businesses), my first news feed was, literally, all "recommended posts" from scantily clad women. After 20 minutes of attempting to hide them and telling the Facebook algorithm that I wanted to see less of them, I'm still predominantly seeing them.

Is this what Facebook has become?

jfv wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:37 pm Is this what Facebook has become?

I haven't had a profile in years but sometimes I'll look up Group pages for events (publicly viewable), and doing that a couple weeks ago was treated to a lovely full penetration scene as the prominently displayed post. I think the mods have since abandoned it, and went back to an old fashioned email list instead.

All these platforms have gotten shittier after a string of tech layoffs earlier this year, which has also made job hunting super fun yay.

penningtron wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:58 pm

jfv wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:37 pm Is this what Facebook has become?

I haven't had a profile in years but sometimes I'll look up Group pages for events (publicly viewable), and doing that a couple weeks ago was treated to a lovely full penetration scene as the prominently displayed post. I think the mods have since abandoned it, and went back to an old fashioned email list instead.

All these platforms have gotten shittier after a string of tech layoffs earlier this year, which has also made job hunting super fun yay.

It might be an interesting social experiment to open new Facebook accounts with various names, locations, and genders and then record what is the predominant half-naked types that the Facebook algorithm returns. Using my information, Facebook seems to think I prefer a very specific race and ass size.

EDIT: my daughter is so much smarter than me, thank heavens for her. I've spent two hours following hundreds of pages and blocking/hiding hundreds of recommended posts with half-naked people, thinking that would change the algorithm's recommendations, and it wasn't solving the issue. Daughter suggested to "like" as many individual posts as possible with other content that I wanted to see and it finally has started working. This seems so ridiculously obvious to me now but it wasn't at the time.

jfv wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:37 pm So I just rejoined Facebook today.

After setting up my profile (before friending anyone or liking any businesses), my first news feed was, literally, all "recommended posts" from scantily clad women. After 20 minutes of attempting to hide them and telling the Facebook algorithm that I wanted to see less of them, I'm still predominantly seeing them.

Is this what Facebook has become?

Facebook constantly tries to get me to follow Reels, no matter how many times I try to stop it.

YouTube has gotten even worse, though. It recommended some video in which a guy visits a poor area in West Virginia, which I guess came up because of some of the photography channels I watched. I clicked on it and watched maybe five minutes. Almost immediately, YT began inundating me with this shit, much of which feeds into right-wing fears of cities. “I visit the most DANGEROUS and CORRUPT and VIOLENT ‘hoods in Chicago. In 4K.” I blocked every single channel they pushed on me.

All algorithms love the Grateful Dead, I’ve found. I can listen to Duke Ellington on my YT app all day, and maybe the algorithm will toss me a track or two later. But if I even so much as mention the Dead, every single app in the universe pushes their live videos, shitty bear-logo merchandise, and so on. The algorithms behave like real Deadheads (“You just haven’t heard the right live tape!”) I’m convinced it’s because all the fuckers behind them live in the Bay Area.