In other news today...
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@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
I stopped at a sketchy gas station once for a Snickers and a Coke and the person in front of me appeared to not have two nickles to rub together and ended up dropping ~$250 on fucking scratch off tickets. I can only assume that was most of her wages for the week.
My wife used to work at a newsagents, which killed any desire she may have had to play the lottery. People would come in every week and spend a decent amount on tickets. One time, someone won a fairly large amount, so my wife got quite excited for them. They showed no enthusiasm and just said "put it towards next week's"
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@jaloopa said in In other news today...:
@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
I stopped at a sketchy gas station once for a Snickers and a Coke and the person in front of me appeared to not have two nickles to rub together and ended up dropping ~$250 on fucking scratch off tickets. I can only assume that was most of her wages for the week.
My wife used to work at a newsagents, which killed any desire she may have had to play the lottery. People would come in every week and spend a decent amount on tickets. One time, someone won a fairly large amount, so my wife got quite excited for them. They showed no enthusiasm and just said "put it towards next week's"
Yeah. I have seen that also. People winning $500 and then "letting it ride" by buying more tickets instead of 2-5 weeks of groceries (depending on size of their family).
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@scholrlea
I very much "suffer" from this sort of addictive behavior on video games. Not quite to the point where I can't control it at all, but I have to really consciously think about it.Hence why I keep myself far away from alcohol and gambling.
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It occurs to me that I forgot to mention Exceptionalism as a factor.
I shouldn't really need to mention it, in this context or any other when discussing human thought patterns, for the same reason one shouldn't need to mention the existence of air when discussing terrestrial weather patterns, but Exceptionalism is recursively pervasive.
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@scholrlea said in In other news today...:
@karla Truth is, being bad at math rarely comes into it, because what most people who play the lottery are bad at is life.
Agreed. I was mostly playing on the joke that the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.
And yes, I know what I am talking about, because I tend to throw some money away on it from time to time, usually at the points of my life when I can least afford it. I know damn well that I won't win, but the idea that I might win, and more importantly, the idea that I have nothing more to lose and that piss-poor odds of success are better than no chance of success at all (i.e., that nothing else I might do has any chance of digging me out of the financial - and more importantly, psychological - hole I am in), is very effective at short-circuiting what little capacity for rational thought I possess.
Plenty of people who do realize, on an intellectual level, that they will never win, still gamble anyway (the lottery is just the form that is most accessible to the desperate) because the real power behind gambling is twofold: it gives small payouts just often enough to trigger a conditioned reaction even for those who haven't won any themselves, and it appeals to those who see their lives as effectively already over (often quite correctly, even for those as young as the Florida Man in question) by seeming to offer what is, in effect, a real-world Phoenix Down.
I've read that one of the worst things that can happen is to win the first time someone plays (in any gambling mechanism).
My 7th grade math teacher taught us the important lesson of gambling by the 2 pocket rule. Spending from first pocket and winnings in second pocket and never spend the winnings.
(I might add that a similar reasoning applies to a lot of drug dealers, as well as to the types who join groups like ISIS: their thinking usually is, "I'm already as good as dead, I might as well going out in a blaze of glory". Street dealers generally don't fear going to jail because the odds are they will live longer in prison than on the street - most street dealers expect to be dead long before the cops know about them.)
I don't think they expect to be dead but it is more of a live fast lifestyle. It is also reason the same population reproduces way too quickly.
Source: I've known** a few drug dealers in my day.
These are both very, very powerful motivators - indeed, current thinking about operant conditioning, and especially variable interval reward conditioning, is that behavioral addictions such as gambling addiction are literal, physical addictions rooted in a physiological release of the neurotransmitter dopamine when the 'reward' is achieved (whether it is a $50 lottery win, a feeling of accomplishment in beating a level in a video game, or getting less-harsh-than-usual treatment from an abusive partner).
Similarly, desperation can drive someone to do things a lot stupider than playing a $2 lottery twice a week when they can't afford it.
And trust me, there are a lot of people who can't afford food because they are spending $50 on each drawing. The human brain is seriously fucked up sometimes.
Also, the lottery has a such a brain-rapingly high potential payout for such a seemingly minuscule investment (because no one in human history has ever considered how much they have spent on a lottery in the past for any reason other than to apply the Gambler's Fallacy towards justifying their decision to spend even more), that it overrides the good sense of even those who realize it that they would be more likely to find a gold bar lying out on the sidewalk.
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
**Both Biblically and otherwise
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@scholrlea said in In other news today...:
most street dealers expect to be dead long before the cops know about them
Is this actually true outside of Chicago (or maybe other big, inner city environments)? Let's also take into account the recent (as in last decade or so) penchant of Mexican cartels going into "safer" suburban / exurban / rural markets and staying out of more rivalrous (and therefore dangerous) inner city markets.
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@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
Snipped from an e-mail sent to about half of my company's All Users mailing list by the resident gambling addict the first time PowerBall and Mega Millions both went over $500M at the same time... (also, no idea why he didn't use All Users, since he mention bombed the main channel in Slack for it too)
Hello all,
I’m going to get a lotto pool together. Jackpot is up over $500 million. Entry is $5 per person. I’ll buy tickets Friday at lunch – all quickpicks. I’ll take a picture of the tickets and send it out.
If we win anything under $100, the money will be reinvested in more mega millions or scratch off tickets. If we win anything over $100, we will split the money equally.
Emphasis his, because I had given him shit over using the term invest in the Slack message he had sent to gauge interest.
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Deaf mum sues Little Mix promoter because she couldn't understand concert
A deaf mother of a Little Mix fan is suing the group's promoter because she could not understand the concert she attended.
Shitty site but the headline is much more
than on better ones.
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@izzion said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
Snipped from an e-mail sent to about half of my company's All Users mailing list by the resident gambling addict the first time PowerBall and Mega Millions both went over $500M at the same time... (also, no idea why he didn't use All Users, since he mention bombed the main channel in Slack for it too)
Hello all,
I’m going to get a lotto pool together. Jackpot is up over $500 million. Entry is $5 per person. I’ll buy tickets Friday at lunch – all quickpicks. I’ll take a picture of the tickets and send it out.
If we win anything under $100, the money will be reinvested in more mega millions or scratch off tickets. If we win anything over $100, we will split the money equally.
Emphasis his, because I had given him shit over using the term invest in the Slack message he had sent to gauge interest.
LOL
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@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
I think it's alright on occasion. At my work a few years ago we would do a lottery pool when the jackpot got pretty high, and in practice this meant a couple bucks per person, maybe 5x a year. Nobody was putting themselves in the poor house doing it.
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@atazhaia said in In other news today...:
@masonwheeler said in In other news today...:
Firefox’s continued Quantum transformation—more multithreading, tracking protection
The open source stalwart continues to make large performance improvements.
The purpose of this change is to make the browser better able to sustain high frame rates. To hit a constant 60 frames per second
TIL that browsing the web now has the same FPS requirement as high-end gaming.
OMG is that why in-game mouse cursors lag behind the actual mouse? And that scrolling on Firefox feels so much like that?
I'm enlightened and astounded!
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Adult cam site CamSoda will offer ‘virtual intercourse with real people’ using sex dolls and VR
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CamSoda ambitiously promises it’ll be the “ultimate sensory experience.”
*TFA contains an image of a half naked rubber lady so possibly nsfw
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@boner "We’ve had a number of [users]. All of them were blown away". Eh.
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Cops: Maine man punches self in face to avoid sobriety test
BELFAST, Maine -- (KRON) -- Police in Maine have accused a man of punching himself in the face three times to avoid a sobriety test.
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@hungrier said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
I think it's alright on occasion. At my work a few years ago we would do a lottery pool when the jackpot got pretty high, and in practice this meant a couple bucks per person, maybe 5x a year. Nobody was putting themselves in the poor house doing it.
Oh, I'm sure...but it is the equivalent of:
Here burn this $5
Because especially when the jackpot gets that high, your chances of winning get even less.
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@karla said in In other news today...:
when the jackpot gets that high, your chances of winning get even less.
No, your chance of winning is the same but your chance of being the sole winner is reduced
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@karla said in In other news today...:
Because especially when the jackpot gets that high, your chances of winning get even less.
How does that work ?
Do they add numbers you can choose
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@timebandit said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
Because especially when the jackpot gets that high, your chances of winning get even less.
How does that work ?
Do they add numbers you can choose
OK I derped. I'm thinking like a raffle there are more entries. Shows you how much I play.
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@jaloopa said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
when the jackpot gets that high, your chances of winning get even less.
No, your chance of winning is the same but your chance of being the sole winner is reduced
Yeah, see my previous comment in reply to @TimeBandit
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@karla said in In other news today...:
Oh, I'm sure...but it is the equivalent of:
Here burn this $5
Basically, yeah. Nobody was counting on winning the thing, it was just a diversion.
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@hungrier said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
Oh, I'm sure...but it is the equivalent of:
Here burn this $5
Basically, yeah. Nobody was counting on winning the thing, it was just a diversion.
I'd have more fun with the burning then. I like fire.
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@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
Ugh.
They did that at my old job last year when the Powerball jackpot went above $1B. A lot of really intelligent people put money into that pot. I wasn't one of them.
Spoiler: we didn't win, so I came out ahead.
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@boomzilla said in In other news today...:
Cops: Maine man punches self in face to avoid sobriety test
BELFAST, Maine -- (KRON) -- Police in Maine have accused a man of punching himself in the face three times to avoid a sobriety test.
Is this guy originally from Florida or something?
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@karla said in In other news today...:
I've read that one of the worst things that can happen is to win the first time someone plays (in any gambling mechanism).
On one occasion in high school, I was playing nickel blackjack with friends. (Edit: First time I'd played; friends taught me.) I was winning when it was time to do something else, and I didn't want to quit; IIRC, I was up by $0.45 and wanted to make it an even $0.50. I lost. Fortunately, I had enough sense to figure out that gambling was something I should stay away from. If only I had that much sense about other things...
@izzion said in In other news today...:
I very much "suffer" from this sort of addictive behavior on video games.
I haven't played computer solitaire in years, because it's just so easy to keep clicking the New Game button. I'd play to the point that when I went to bed afterwards, while trying to fall asleep, I'd have level-3 closed-eye hallucinations of computer-style playing cards.
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@masonwheeler said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
Ugh.
They did that at my old job last year when the Powerball jackpot went above $1B. A lot of really intelligent people put money into that pot. I wasn't one of them.
Spoiler: we didn't win, so I came out ahead.
Did you ever pay to go to a movie that was kind of disappointing? That sort of lottery ticket buying is entertainment money. Also, insurance in case they do win so that you're not the only person at work on Monday.
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@boomzilla said in In other news today...:
Did you ever pay to go to a movie that was kind of disappointing?
I have, on occasion. I'm able to afford it with the money from all those lottery tickets I don't buy.
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@masonwheeler Sucker.
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1700 Millions years ago, some part of Canada said "NO way I'm gonna be part of the cold North America" and migrated to Australia
1.7-Billion-Year-Old Chunk of North America Found Sticking to Australia
Rocks from opposite sides of the globe reveal that part of Australia was once attached to North America.
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@timebandit I can see why it wouldn't want to be part of Canada, but Australia? It's warmer, but I'm not sure I'd really call it an improvement.
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@hardwaregeek Actually, it was the criminal part and it didn't decide for itself. That's where the rest of Canada sent it.
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@hardwaregeek said in In other news today...:
It's warmer, but I'm not sure I'd really call it an improvement.
When you experience -27° Celcius (-16 Fahrenheit), it is.
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What is wrong with that? Get back to me when it gets cold outside.
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@dragoon said in In other news today...:
What is wrong with that? Get back to me when it gets cold outside.
You live in Antarctica ?
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The Guy Who Played Barney the Dinosaur Now Runs a Tantric Sex Business
He started his current practice in 2004, and finds clients any number of ways, from word of mouth to converting women he’s met on Tinder into believers.
I fuck you
You pay me
Condoms block the energy! No, really:
A full session with tantra massage specialist and spiritual healer David Joyner lasts three to four hours and costs $350. For that price, female clients—the only kind he accepts—can expect to receive a ritual bath, chakra balancing, and a massage. Also on the menu: cosmic, mind-blowing orgasms.
...
For clients, this "higher and more blissful state of awareness" is often best achieved through penetrative, ideally unprotected sex, according to Joyner. Condoms "block the energy,” he says, and he prefers not to use them.
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@boomzilla That's a weird shape for a purple dildo
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@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
I just noticed that he claimed the jackpot through an LLC, but forgot to anonymize the ownership so everyone has his name anyway.
If I ever won the lottery, I wouldn't even tell my mother.
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@antiquarian said in In other news today...:
@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
I just noticed that he claimed the jackpot through an LLC, but forgot to anonymize the ownership so everyone has his name anyway.
If I ever won the lottery, I wouldn't even tell my mother.
Likewise. Which is even more of a reason his life is going to go to shit. Every chick who would not give him the time of day in high school is going to be looking him up. He will have "friends" coming out the wazoo.
If I ever won the lottery I would claim it through and LLC with the business address as my lawyer's address and pay him to go get it for me. In our case any increased spending on luxury goods could be adequately explained away by just saying the businesses are doing well. If we retired we could just say we did so via selling said businesses. My wife and I would be the only people (with the exception of the lawyer) that knew we had won. That sort of thing changes how people interact with you and not for the better.
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NSA Deletes “Honesty” and “Openness” From Core Values
The National Security Agency quietly altered the mission statement on its website, removing several commitments.
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@sockpuppet7 At least, they are being honest about it
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@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
If I ever won the lottery I would claim it through and LLC with the business address as my lawyer's address and pay him to go get it for me.
In the CNN article there was this BS line about how it was really smart for him to claim it through an LLC as that will help insulate him from liability. The person who said that is an idiot. The corporate veil only goes one way. Keeping the money in an LLC alone would be foolish. The guy obviously meant to claim his winnings anonymously and fucked it up. Hell, the LLC was named "Secret 007, LLC". Since it is safe to assume that he is the only member of the LLC then if the LLC got sued (unlikely as it is unlikely to do anything) the LLC could lose the winnings as it is an asset of the LLC. If he got sued he could lose ownership of the LLC and therefore the assets which are the winnings.
The only way to effectively insulate the winnings from liability would be to wrap the LLC inside of an LLP (if your state allows a single-member LLP, a lot don't, you may be able to wrap and LLC inside and LLC?) where the LLC owns the assets and you are part of the LLC, but the LLP (or LLC? Maybe?) controls the disbursement of those assets.
Sounds complicated, right? It is, but as the LLP is not considered an asset as it does not own anything a person can only sue you for ownership of the LLC. But as the LLP controls the disbursement of the assets they are at a stalemate and will accept a low-ball buyout offer or probably a settlement before it ever gets to that point.
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@sockpuppet7 said in In other news today...:
NSA Deletes “Honesty” and “Openness” From Core Values
The National Security Agency quietly altered the mission statement on its website, removing several commitments.
Why were they ever in there in the first place? Those two things are the antithesis of their mission statement.
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@boomzilla I must be a terrible human being for finding this so amusing...
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@scholrlea said in In other news today...:
@boomzilla I must be a terrible human being for finding this so amusing...
Probably true but for altogether different reasons, I'm sure.
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@scholrlea said in In other news today...:
even for those who haven't won any themselves,
I matched 5 numbers once. $850! Am I ahead? Fuck no.
I just buy 1 or 2 tickets maybe 1 or 2x month. Depends on whether I have a couple spare $1 bills in my pocket when I'm at the grocery store. Doesn't matter about jackpot size - hey, I'd still retire if I won the minimum pot! More time for my dog sports!
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@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
We did that at one place I worked - I think about a dozen of us. We each dropped in $10 for a "session" (I think we did 10 separate draws - number of picks on a draw varied by people that were in that day). Any winnings over $1/person were paid out, anything else contributed to future. We kept a running tally and joked about it. We all knew the odds, but figured what the heck - we can afford 10 bucks. I think we started it when one of those mega-pots was pending and just kept at it for a while. (Maybe a year before interest just stopped)
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@dcon said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
We did that at one place I worked - I think about a dozen of us. We each dropped in $10 for a "session" (I think we did 10 separate draws - number of picks on a draw varied by people that were in that day). Any winnings over $1/person were paid out, anything else contributed to future. We kept a running tally and joked about it. We all knew the odds, but figured what the heck - we can afford 10 bucks. I think we started it when one of those mega-pots was pending and just kept at it for a while. (Maybe a year before interest just stopped)
Yours and @Karla's musings reminds me of the old joke about two economists seeing each other at the polling place on election day. They look at each other awkwardly and one says to the other, "If you don't tell anyone I won't either".
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@polygeekery said in In other news today...:
@dcon said in In other news today...:
@karla said in In other news today...:
I'm always amazed when work (of reasonably intelligent programmers) put together a lottery pool.
We did that at one place I worked - I think about a dozen of us. We each dropped in $10 for a "session" (I think we did 10 separate draws - number of picks on a draw varied by people that were in that day). Any winnings over $1/person were paid out, anything else contributed to future. We kept a running tally and joked about it. We all knew the odds, but figured what the heck - we can afford 10 bucks. I think we started it when one of those mega-pots was pending and just kept at it for a while. (Maybe a year before interest just stopped)
Yours and @Karla's musings reminds me of the old joke about two economists seeing each other at the polling place on election day. They look at each other awkwardly and one says to the other, "If you don't tell anyone I won't either".
Sorry, I need to verify if I understand the joke.
@dcon and I both know playing is pointless and the economist both know that voting is pointless?
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@karla said in In other news today...:
@dcon and I both know playing is pointless and the economist both know that voting is pointless?
Exactly.
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@sockpuppet7 said in In other news today...:
NSA Deletes “Honesty” and “Openness” From Core Values
The National Security Agency quietly altered the mission statement on its website, removing several commitments.
INB4 "We were actually just hacked, but won't admit to it"...
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@scholrlea said in In other news today...:
@boomzilla I must be a terrible human being for finding this so amusing...
Isn't that our mission statement?
