WTF-Beta

This is about living conditions in London in the 1880's. It says synthetic or altered content, but I have seen any yet.

At 3:00 the narrator talks about slumming. I thought this was interesting.

The rich would take guided tours of the slums.

Link to video

I had friends at school who would "go slumming" and take me with them.

Two students were heirs to fortunes. There were only 500 students so it was impossible not to know these things.

One was an heir to the Eckerd fortune (See: Ruth Eckerd Hall).

The Eckerd family owned the 4th largest drugstore chain in the South until they sold it to Merrill Lynch.

There are no more Eckerd drug stores. There used be everywhere and they were paired with Albertson's grocery stores by contract. They were still there when I was in school.

This student and I were friends. He had a crush on me. We were never in a relationship, but had a good time together one semester.

Ruth Eckerd was his grandmother.

The other was an heir to the Holt publishing fortune. This student and my friend were roommates.

Then there were the garden variety kids from private schools who had trust funds.

I would recount my adventures "slumming" and it was interesting, and I did have fun, but I won't because it was just a bit of harmless amusement, and nothing worth recounting.

The first thing that stood out to me in this video was men paying a nominal amount of money to sleep holding onto a rope.

This happened in the US during the great depression as well.

I'm going to finish watching this video, but the bottom line is that poverty in Victorian London was wretched, and the environmental quality included streets full of sewage and horse manure, and air that was a cloud of industrial toxins.

I happen to be very good at speling. 🤪

Not really. English spelling is difficult I think due to the variety of its various origins.

️ the video.

He refuses to kiss the princess because or ostensibly because he doesn't have consent. That's great!

This reminds me that for the human species, it's the females, not the males, who standout for rare beauty and for extraordinary presentation, generally.

The WWI era, for instance, had "great beauties."

There are still "great beauties" even though this term is anachronistic.

Elizabeth Taylor was a great beauty.

Diana, Princess of Wales was one.

I've always said that handsome men and pretty boys (a term of art meant to describe only males over the age of consent, to be clear) are a dime a dozen.

"all right" is more formal and common but "alright" is also perfectly acceptable providing the person using it is using it intentionally. It's a judgment call. In the way you are using, "alright," "alright" is definitely the choice I'd make. It's informal and fits the sentiment of your sentence.

I found Piano World because I wanted to window shop pianos. Of course, I also wanted to learn about them.

I knew I couldn't afford a piano, and even if I could have, I was renting apartments and houses, and moving every few years, including moving between islands.

Plenty of people, of course, own pianos in Hawaii. But it's also true that the tropical climate is brutal.

There are authorized dealers in Hawaii. There are tuners. But, of course, nobody can change the fact that the climate makes remote islands in the Pacific a difficult place to own a piano.

I knew people over the years who did own pianos.

The best piano I saw was a Steinway grand in Hana, Maui that belonged to a woman who had brought it to Hawaii from California.

She didn't play it. Nobody played it. She didn't take the time and spend the money to take care for it.

I can understand why. It would have been like Sisyphus rolling his ball up a hill without end.

The humidity in Hana is brutal. It would and did turn any part of a house that wasn't exposed to constant air flow into a situation of complete mold infestation.

So, fast forward. I'm living in a sub-tropical climate. The climate isn't a disqualification.

I'd like to buy a new piano. It doesn't have to be a grand piano but I want an instrument of excellent, extraordinary quality.

I plan to settle when I move. My plan is to own real estate. I've moved around North America and the Pacific my entire life. I'm not interested in moving.

I still can't afford a piano just now but what money I will have and what money I will have in trust will all be in investment accounts except small amounts I will keep in a checking account and my primary trustee will keep in one.

So, it's not our of the realm of possibility that I could afford a piano in a few years.

It's been a dream of mine since forever.

Are their any brands and models that anyone would like to recommend for me to consider?

I plan to look at the brands' official sites and get a look at what's available how much different pianos cost.

I want to get specific figures to replace what I'm thinking- "a lot."

I recently bought an Oneida setting for four, of a minimalist style, not overly-heavy, of their best alloy. I try to limit myself to having one place setting out of the box.

It's paired with one Corelle soup/ salad bowl (bigger than a cereal bowl) and two full size plates.

I have a set of eight clear regular sized glasses, ridges for your fingers to fit, too thin glass, just heavy enough bottom.

I'm bring all of it with me when I move and use it until I can replace it.

The Oneida isn't the quality it used to be.

The Corelle is a bright white color I don't like to look at for more than a few minutes. I like the fact it's light but not the fact it's thin.

I'll find a set of flatware, probably vintage Oneida.

I want porcelain plates. I don't want Fiesta-type tableware because of the weight.

I don't want Corelle.

The glass is perfect but needs to be better quality.

People of all ages have been collecting vintage flatware, dishes, etc. for as long as I can remember.

It's not a hobby of mine, but it's fun looking if you need something.

"Trickle down economics" was proved to be a hoax a very, very long time ago now. Yet it happened when the term was coined, ans has been happening ever since. Even the sometimes vaunted (although less so now) Obama administration engaged in it.

As to cuts-- they can't be "sold." They don't sell. It has to be something like bait and switch, distract, or outright lie.

This why it is said that austerity is "imposed." Yes, exactly.

Social Security, Medicare, etc. are overwhelmingly popular. It seems the politicians have chosen a death by a thousand cuts (sic) approach to attempting to kill them.

There's that debased word-- "curated." Usage will be what it will be and then it will change, etc. But it's a pet peeve of mine, how this word is being used today. A bunch of young people collected old flatware, etc. and have-- "curated collections" to show for it? It's too cute by half.

I don't know there was a French part of Missouri.

Link to video

I can't vouch for this. I didn't watch it. But is says data center emissions are making people ill. I've seen this point made by about 50 sources.

It is definitely rational to oppose them/ the way this is being done.

It's clearly top down and "screw the public" decision making.

Yes, but they also do have toxic emissions making residents of surrounding areas ill.

It's my understanding at least, and I could be wrong, that there isn't enough water or electricity. Also, many parts of the country are experiencing draught. I don't disagree with you on this point.

The Goggle play store offers me an app that lets you make the font any size. Unfortunately, it rearranges your regular screens. An app that took away the phone's interface and replaced it with something else was randomly downloaded on my phone when it had a virus. It was completely unfamiliar to me and impossible to use.

I saw that. I learned about it in a video and the person who made it made an argument that it would be a slippery slope like the federal income tax and would eventually tax the middle class out of their homes. I have no idea if he was right about that or not. The federal government should bring back reasonable income and corporate taxes, imo. I don't see it happening.

To ride under Porsche's (Porsches') domed roof was my childhood goal.

I did it twice.

Once with my '64 Beetle for 10 years.

Once with my '98 (2nd Generation) Audi A6 for 10 years.

Photos & Video: 2000 Audi A6 Photos & Video - Consumer Reports https://share.google/yLUkv7AHxng6L36fF

Yes, I'd buy a new base 911 in a heartbeat if I were a rich man.

I've been lucky with cars. I've had a few I liked a lot.

I can't wait to have my Hyundai.

Link to video

Link to video

@steve-miller and @mik This house doesn't look like it needs renovation to me.

Well, of course, in an alternate universe, if I wanted to buy it, I'd have to hire a home inspector (as well as an attorney).

Then I'd know. I don't know.

I think it's beautiful and I've always wanted an elevator.

An elevator building, here (ones with 3 stories or more have them) would be great.

I even had a dream once that I discovered an elevator in the pantry of my grandparents' house in Tampa.

It went down one floor to a basement (yes, it was nonsense).

I asked my grandmother why she never told me about it. She said I didn't need to know.

What would Jung have said? /r

Bump for wtg. I'd like a local's perspective. I could could Google it. I've only been to Chicago twice. I stayed in Rogers Park both times.

@Rontuner said:

In this endless push to create more cost-effective efficiency, (replace human workers) I wonder in the future vision for society HOW people are expected to survive and be parts of society? I know in the science-fiction world, it was often written that people wouldn't NEED to work anymore yet still had an active part and the means to follow their dreams. I'm not seeing much of that being discussed for our future..

No, no, no. The people are meant to starve to death or be serfs. There are already planned, deliberate population starving events currently (but let's not go there) and plenty of slavery, only entering our "reality" as packaged stupidity- i.e the notion of "conflict free" diamonds as a description of mining diamonds, when there is, in fact, no such thing as, "conflict free," when it comes to the topic of mining, in general, around the globe.

What? Too cynical?

A basic income is a great idea, imho, but let's recall that we're housing some few homeless in garden sheds and then engaging in rituals of virtue signaling.

It's not as if our society is setting high bars.

I wouldn't want to be in any club that would accept me as a member. Oh wait...