Super Bowl 4K fail

[RolloTheGreat]

Less prepared for downturns!? Apple has scores of billions stockpiled.

And?

Do you think things would be different for AMD if they had billions stockpiled and could have maintain their R&D? (or even ramped it up) Stay in the mobile market instead of selling good tech for peanuts? Not make contracts with Middle East investors?

You can't have too much stockpiled.

[RolloTheGreat]

Yes, the businesses will require their stockpiled billions when there are no consumers left able to purchase what the businesses create.

People need to work in order to have money to spend.  If they have no money to spend companies go bankrupt because nobody is purchasing their goods.

It isn't quite as simple as you would like to make it out to be Rollo.  Business does not exist in a vacuum outside of the rest of society.  It cannot be all about greed or else the greed will end up destroying business.

You think businesses are thinking about "Gosh, if we pay people more, they'll have more money to spend at other companies and that will help society!"



More like, "Our analysis of the labor market for the drones in department X shows a salary range of $Y to $Z. How close can we stay to $Y to minimize turnover, and how can we get the people making $Z due to longevity to retire or move along without breaking any laws?"


If they could get away with it, it would be more like, "How can we pay them 1/2 $Y and trick them into thinking they're really making $Z?".

[RolloTheGreat]

Yes businesses will end up being the architects of their own destruction, I shall watch with amusement.

I wouldn't laugh too hard GStan. Where do you think all your money comes from? The tooth fairy??

[BenSkywalker]

 Corporations are not people

Correct.

and do not make their own decisions.

Are you trolling, or are you truly that ignorant? Corporations have shareholders, boards, executives, officers and managers. The ultimate power lies with the shareholders. So these shareholders are the ri......... no.

https://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AAPL+Major+Holders

There is the most profitable corporation in the world. No person owns more then ~$100 Million worth of their stock. The top mutual fund, by comparison, holds about $11 Billion in Apple stock. Mutual funds are overwhelmingly funded by the middle class. Looking at the single biggest offender in the world of outsourcing for profits leads back to the middle class pushing for those decisions. 

Taxing the rich for what now?

If you are using the fact that the middle class is part of the global 1%- which is the only way your argument is anything but laughable, then it comes back to why are you moving jobs overseas?

I'm not trolling, I just know what the fuck I'm talking about. The rich are doing what the shareholders tell them to do. That's a whole lot of the middle class.

Hiding behind the corporation and saying "not my fault" is an outright lie and anybody who does so should be jailed for at least 25 years in solitary confinement.

Remember the economic meltdown of 2008? Do you recall people screaming for jail time for executives for their failure to comply with their fiduciary duty? That was a popular line with the leftists/populists. You know two of the automotive companies in the US were involved in that collapse. You know what would have been the most fiduciary responsible thing for them to do? Move more jobs to developing nations.

Your side of the political spectrum was calling for sending people to jail not that long ago for not moving *ENOUGH* blue collar jobs overseas. 

If you people had a fucking atoms worth of integrity, you would be pushing to reform the tax code to make it beneficial for corporations to keep jobs in their origin nations. Your country isn't as bad as the off the fucking cliff loony right wing Canadians with their rim job for corporations, but you tax corporations 25% less(10% absolute) than they are taxed in the US(although, to your credit, still twice as high as Canada). It is disturbing that you still tax people more then corporations, but I guess the understanding of economics is rather limited in that region of the world.

How about this- allow corporations to keep 100% of the employment costs of everyone making a living wage or higher in profit, tax free- while raising the absolute tax rate outside of credits into the 60%-70% range? The problem with making such a move is you would need to get the rest of the developed nations on board.

[BenSkywalker]

Shareholders are people (even if they are investment funds or other corporations there are still people on the other side managing and benefitting from the funds), so it is people controlling corporations!

Not necessarily *RICH* people is the fucking point. I posted a link to the financials of the greediest corporation in the world- and it isn't held by a handful of rich, it is held by millions of the middle class.

It is extremely simple.

Stupid simple. So simple any four year old from a civilized nation could wrap their head around it.

and no matter how much you and Rollo squirm and worm and lie and troll you won't be able to escape the facts.

I linked financial reports from the SEC, what facts do you have? Put some numbers down to back up your moronic bullshit.

[BenSkywalker]

Very few average people hold shares in anything except through superannuation portfolios (which are managed for them 99.9% of the time).

Click the link.

Superannuation portfolios are what is driving this level of greed you think would somehow be dealt with by taxing the rich- that is idiocy.

Construct the tax code to make it financially *viable* to keep jobs in a civilized nation- that helps solve the problem instead of throwing a temper tantrum about the fucking kid who has more toys then you do which doesn't solve a fucking thing.

I think that's the biggest difference between you and I when it comes to politics, I want to see things done that will help people. You simply want to use it as a tool to hurt.

[RolloTheGreat]

Very few average people hold shares in anything except through superannuation portfolios (which are managed for them 99.9% of the time).

Click the link.

Superannuation portfolios are what is driving this level of greed you think would somehow be dealt with by taxing the rich- that is idiocy.

Construct the tax code to make it financially *viable* to keep jobs in a civilized nation- that helps solve the problem instead of throwing a temper tantrum about the fucking kid who has more toys then you do which doesn't solve a fucking thing.

I think that's the biggest difference between you and I when it comes to politics, I want to see things done that will help people. You simply want to use it as a tool to hurt.

What I bolded is the proverbial "heart of the matter" with GStan and a lot of people.

"Waaahhh! People have more money than me! They should give their money to the people I decide they should give it to, I know what is best for their money! Waaah!"

People like me think that government can only assist or impede creation of jobs via their powers of regulation, import/export tax, income tax.

Given my choice, social welfare programs would also be routed through business to subsidize low end jobs for unskilled labor to make off shoring those positions less of a slam dunk choice.

Raising taxes and minimum wage are a death spiral for an economy, people like GStan are too obtuse to see the big picture. All about the short term gain at the expense of the long term stability and growth, in his fevered little brain the answer to diminishing jobs due to higher taxes and wages would likely be,"Easy! You just raise taxes again!"

[RolloTheGreat]

Your way doesn't work otherwise there would be less unemployment and more prosperity and less poverty than there is now.  These things have gotten worse for the 99% in recent times, only the rich 1% have prospered.

Weird. I'm not in the 1% and yet my wife and I both make a lot more individually than we made together back when we bought our first house.

How can our income how grown so much when we're part of your 99%?!?!?

Actually I don't know anyone in the top 1%, and pretty much everyone I know is way better off than they were ten years ago. (or 20)

Shocking.

[BenSkywalker]

Why shouldn't the rich be fairly taxed?

Were we discussing corporations moving jobs overseas? Did we not cover the driving force behind that was the current tax code and the middle class who actually own these corporations? So your solution is to tax the rich more which solves..... what? 

Also you yet again show that you favor corporations over people with this line. In your country, right now, people are taxed more then corporations, and you are calling to increase that gap against the people and in favor of the ones who are actually moving these jobs overseas.

Petty childish temper tantrum.

I never said taxing the rich properly is a magical panacea to solve the worlds financial problems.

It makes them worse. I'll break this down for you. The rich are a lot fucking smarter with money then you are. It isn't close, not remotely. If you increase the taxation on their income they will start to divert significant portions of it to deferred stock options. Over the long term, this will make it so the rich *ARE* the ones who own all the corporations at which point the middle class will get squeezed out of the most desirable investment opportunities *along with* the acceleration of the offshoring of jobs as the wealthy will start calling for the immediate implementation of maximized profits instead of the slow trickle effect we have with the middle class calling the shots. Subsequently, the profit margins of the companies will go up even faster, increasing their wealth even more, all the while you are getting less actual tax dollars out of them because they don't have crap for actual 'income'.  

because conservative governments world wide are attempting to shirk their responsibilities to elderly citizens and deprive them of pensions, that's why.

What government is conservative? You and Sick like to act like the US is, well-

https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SOCX_AGG

If you click on the column for spending on the elderly, then choose per head, current prices in US dollars, turns out the US is just shy of spending on the elderly what Australia and Canada spend *COMBINED* per capita. So yes, maybe in your nut job right wing nations you may have a problem with that. We spend *WAY* more then what you see in your nation on our elderly. Oh yeah, we tax our corporations more then our people too.

Conservative governments are beholden to lobbyists and rich people and formulate their policies based on what the lobbyists and rich tell them to do, not what is good for the citizens who voted for them.

You will find reality paints a very, very different story. Overwhelmingly corruption spawns and thrives on the left in government. The right are constantly trying to *reduce* government control, while the left is pushing to expand it. Pretty hard to have rampant corruption when you have a skeleton operation, pretty damn easy when you are obscenely bloated. I'm not saying proportionately either one is worse than the other, but one wants to be five times the size. Even if they have half the corruption per person, you still end up with double the total.

[BenSkywalker]

No reality doesn't paint a different story!

Haha, yeah, it does, and you even said so yourself.

 Name a recent national conservative government that actually reduced the size of government and spent less instead of just saying/claiming that they would!

Exactly. There aren't any truly conservative governments- they are all differing levels of progressives. 

[RolloTheGreat]

It makes them worse. I'll break this down for you. The rich are a lot fucking smarter with money then you are. It isn't close, not remotely. If you increase the taxation on their income they will start to divert significant portions of it to deferred stock options. Over the long term, this will make it so the rich *ARE* the ones who own all the corporations at which point the middle class will get squeezed out of the most desirable investment opportunities *along with* the acceleration of the offshoring of jobs as the wealthy will start calling for the immediate implementation of maximized profits instead of the slow trickle effect we have with the middle class calling the shots. Subsequently, the profit margins of the companies will go up even faster, increasing their wealth even more, all the while you are getting less actual tax dollars out of them because they don't have crap for actual 'income'.  [/color][/color]

Gstan formulating his response:



Starts at 2:05!

[SickBeast]

Exactly. There aren't any truly conservative governments- they are all differing levels of progressives. 

That's nonsense. There is nothing progressive about them. They are neo cons, plain and simple.

[RolloTheGreat]

Simple way to fix the rich, tax their assets (land, shares, super etc)as well as their income.  People on normal modest incomes and with normal modest assets exempted from the asset test.

I was not aware they are broken?

Oh you just mean you want the government to steal their money instead of yours. Wouldn't have guessed that.

[BenSkywalker]

That's nonsense. There is nothing progressive about them. They are neo cons, plain and simple.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_go...by_country

Is that you trolling again, or do you have a single thing to back you up? As of 2011 the US was pushing $6 Trillion in government spending, you are going to try and pretend that is neo con? Seriously? What countries are neo con?

I hope you have done some homework. Proper budget analysis breakdown, percentage of GDP consumed by governmental agencies, bureaucratic overhead and efficiency of funds dispersed- and aren't just running your mouth off like what appears to be a typical uneducated non American.

Simple way to fix the rich, tax their assets (land, shares, super etc)as well as their income.

That is pushing communist levels, you have passed outside of the socialist realm. For the record, we have broken this down, *YOU* are rich by global standards. Remember to smile when the UN shows up to start taking your possessions away.

[RolloTheGreat]

Simple way to fix the rich, tax their assets (land, shares, super etc)as well as their income.

That is pushing communist levels, you have passed outside of the socialist realm. For the record, we have broken this down, *YOU* are rich by global standards. Remember to smile when the UN shows up to start taking your possessions away.

GStan, I would like you to sell your gaming computer and Yaris and send the proceeds to Burundi and Malawi. They need your assets, the per capita income there is only $250..

You want to practice what you preach don't you?

You have so much, they have so little. Think about it GStan- if you sent just $2500 a year to Burundi you could double ten people's annual income and keep them from starving.

Lead the way at your simple fix for the rich GStan, start a global trend!

[RolloTheGreat]

You have more to give than I do Rollo, you and Ben can give first!

I'm just a normal battler, nothing particularly rich about me.

Ben and I are not enlightened. We do not understand these global community property theories you have put forth.

Show us the way! When we see how your simple fix works to solve the problem of global poverty we will probably have a contest to see who can give more to the poor.  

We ended up having more to give by selfishly believing we were working for ourselves, and keeping the money we earned. I can't speak for Ben, but my wife and I hoard the annual income of several Burundi guys every month.

It's in direct conflict with your economic theories, but we were told by less scholarly individuals to save for our retirement and provide a good lifestyle for our families.

[RolloTheGreat]

You need to learn by doing!

Also you appear to have mistaken living well for living like a French Monarch in the leadup to the Revolution.....

My cabin is literally a shack- no running water, electricity from generator. I'm afraid to use the furnace or stove because they're so old I think I'd blow the place up. Portajon in the bathroom with bio-blue in it that I have to bring home to empty periodically.

My house is 1800', 3bd, 1.5 bath on a 10,000' lot.





Riiiiighht.

[RolloTheGreat]

Well, perhaps if you had bought a Toyota pickup and kept it awhile instead of pissing money away on luxury toy trucks you might have been able to spend the difference on improving your cabin?

I can afford to fix up the cabin, I just don't because it's not necessary for how we use it. Mainly own it for the land, a private backwoods place to fish, hunt, picnic, canoe, ride dirt bikes.

The point was I don't live like French royalty. 90% of what I spend money on is outdoor recreation, not an ostentatious lifestyle.

[BenSkywalker]

You have more to give than I do Rollo, you and Ben can give first!

I've mentioned this before, I work in distribution. I am *very* good at my job. I get sent all over the region I work in to help them fix the problems they have. For the last six weeks I was sent to a location that was having a problem with shrink(industry term for lost product that becomes unsalable). When I arrived at this facility the shrink level was pushing over 2% regularly, occasionally flirting with 3%. I am now back at my home location with their shrink numbers down to 0.3%. What does that have to do with your lust for taxes?

I stopped a price increase out of that location. When you start looking into distribution, that impacts millions of people. You jack up taxes, I quite my job in an instant. That isn't a joke. I don't work fourteen to sixteen hours a day to pay for some lazy fuck to take my money. I won't. I would quit and take a *MUCH* easier job elsewhere and do the lazy ass bum 40 hour a week bullshit. What does that matter? I'm not the only person like me, far from it. Get the tax rates too high and a whole bunch of people who are the best at what they do will stop doing it. Productivity goes down, your prices go up.

Why would we care? I can make less money and be fine. A few less toys for me I can easily deal with. I won't work as hard as I am now and take home shit because some crack head doesn't want to pull his own fucking weight. 

For the record, total cost of the price increase to consumers would have exceeded $50 million in this fiscal year. That's what I do in six weeks above and beyond your run of the mill employee. Have fun paying more, no skin off my back.

[RolloTheGreat]

You have more to give than I do Rollo, you and Ben can give first!

I've mentioned this before, I work in distribution. I am *very* good at my job. I get sent all over the region I work in to help them fix the problems they have. For the last six weeks I was sent to a location that was having a problem with shrink(industry term for lost product that becomes unsalable). When I arrived at this facility the shrink level was pushing over 2% regularly, occasionally flirting with 3%. I am now back at my home location with their shrink numbers down to 0.3%. What does that have to do with your lust for taxes?

I stopped a price increase out of that location. When you start looking into distribution, that impacts millions of people. You jack up taxes, I quite my job in an instant. That isn't a joke. I don't work fourteen to sixteen hours a day to pay for some lazy fuck to take my money. I won't. I would quit and take a *MUCH* easier job elsewhere and do the lazy ass bum 40 hour a week bullshit. What does that matter? I'm not the only person like me, far from it. Get the tax rates too high and a whole bunch of people who are the best at what they do will stop doing it. Productivity goes down, your prices go up.

Why would we care? I can make less money and be fine. A few less toys for me I can easily deal with. I won't work as hard as I am now and take home shit because some crack head doesn't want to pull his own fucking weight. 

For the record, total cost of the price increase to consumers would have exceeded $50 million in this fiscal year. That's what I do in six weeks above and beyond your run of the mill employee. Have fun paying more, no skin off my back.

In some ways we are brothers in opinion.

I'm a team lead at a software company, my wife is an accounting department manager. We both make a good salary as people who are "good at our jobs".

If they were to jack up our taxes more to do things like "Oh we must buy cat burglars, dope dealers, and Apoppin a Cadillac HMO, they need good healthcare too!" one of us would quit or cut back to get under the income line for the taxation.

Why would any sane person work to pay for benefits for cat burglars, dope dealers, and Apoppin??

It's easy for guys like GStan to hiss "Selfish!" because they aren't the ones that see big increases, they don't pay much tax anyway. When you're already paying tens of thousands and in the group of people paying 68% of the taxes as it is,"We need more so some other people can choose not to work at conventional jobs or start their own businesses" seems a little batshit crazy.

[RolloTheGreat]

BTW- the person you're addressing probably does not understand that the 2.7% you saved the company would either be added to prices if the market allows, or subtracted from employee benefits if not.

For guys like GStan the answer is always "the company will make less profit".

They don't understand that that only people who never pay are the ones who can choose not to, even though it should be self evident.

[SickBeast]

I'm not advocating for guys like you to pay more. I think people making more than $300,000 can pay more. That's exactly what we have just done in Canada and it allowed the government to actually give the middle class a tax break. I predict things like this will continue to happen until things get more into balance. Even Donald Trump wants to do something similar to this. I'm guessing neither of you guys make over $300,000.

[RolloTheGreat]

I'm not advocating for guys like you to pay more. I think people making more than $300,000 can pay more. That's exactly what we have just done in Canada and it allowed the government to actually give the middle class a tax break. I predict things like this will continue to happen until things get more into balance. Even Donald Trump wants to do something similar to this. I'm guessing neither of you guys make over $300,000.

LOL- no. My wife and I together don't make $300K.

$300K is the top 1% of single wage earners and the top 3% of households.

That's not a lot of people to tax.

There's a HUGE group of people not paying ANY federal tax though:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2015...187733cf4c

The bottom line: out of 171.3 million tax units this year, 77.5 million—or 45.3 percent—won’t pay income tax.

77,000,000 not paying a fricking dime.

What if we charged them all $100 to live here? You think $8/mo is their "fair share" instead of trying to bleed the really successful few for $1000s more a piece?

That would be $7,700,000,000. (almost $8b) to buy guys like Apoppin and dope dealers some healthcare.

If the poor want free health care for guys like Apoppin starting businesses, or dope dealers in illegal businesses, maybe they should pay the bill instead suggesting others pay it.

[RolloTheGreat]

Oops. I see Obamacare costs about $100b a year, guess we'll have to hit up the poor for a $1000 instead of $100..

If they want to buy Apoppin and dope dealers some health insurance, they shouldn't mind.

[SteelCrysis]

There's a HUGE group of people not paying ANY federal tax though:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2015...187733cf4c

The bottom line: out of 171.3 million tax units this year, 77.5 million—or 45.3 percent—won’t pay income tax.

77,000,000 not paying a fricking dime.

What if we charged them all $100 to live here? You think $8/mo is their "fair share" instead of trying to bleed the really successful few for $1000s more a piece?

That would be $7,700,000,000. (almost $8b) to buy guys like Apoppin and dope dealers some healthcare.

If the poor want free health care for guys like Apoppin starting businesses, or dope dealers in illegal businesses, maybe they should pay the bill instead suggesting others pay it.

Well duh. Those are the retired, the unemployed, soldiers, sailors, and air dudes. There are probably other groups included too.

[RolloTheGreat]

There's a HUGE group of people not paying ANY federal tax though:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2015...187733cf4c

The bottom line: out of 171.3 million tax units this year, 77.5 million—or 45.3 percent—won’t pay income tax.

77,000,000 not paying a fricking dime.

What if we charged them all $100 to live here? You think $8/mo is their "fair share" instead of trying to bleed the really successful few for $1000s more a piece?

That would be $7,700,000,000. (almost $8b) to buy guys like Apoppin and dope dealers some healthcare.

If the poor want free health care for guys like Apoppin starting businesses, or dope dealers in illegal businesses, maybe they should pay the bill instead suggesting others pay it.

Well duh. Those are the retired, the unemployed, soldiers, sailors, and air dudes. There are probably other groups included too.

Sure about that? Military people are exempt, the retired largely are, and 21% of the people who don't pay a dime make $31K-$50K. Millions and millions of people not paying a dime and you guys want to steal from the rich.


http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/29/pf/taxes...ome-taxes/

[SickBeast]

15% of the US population lives in extreme poverty. You expect them to pay taxes? How about giving them access to proper education and health care so that they have a fighting chance of living a normal life. That is why they are impoverished. They are not all slackers as you call them.

[RolloTheGreat]

15% of the US population lives in extreme poverty. You expect them to pay taxes? How about giving them access to proper education and health care so that they have a fighting chance of living a normal life. That is why they are impoverished. They are not all slackers as you call them.

Ummmmmmm Sick Beast....

They already had Medicaid (free healthcare), free primary education with two free meals a day, and all kinds of financial aid plus various incentives to attend college if they happen to not be a white male.

Did you think we just let them rot?

[RolloTheGreat]

I know Ben & Rollo's problem well.  Plenty of richer people in Australia live under the same delusions as them.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/p...mt62w.html

I totally agree with the first commenter on the article:

Here's a mind blowing idea for these so-called "high earning battlers": live within your means. Stop spending on useless stuff you don't need or rarely use.

If you are somehow "struggling" on $200,000 a year, that strongly suggests you have a very bad budget problem and probably a distorted worldview where you think you can have it all.

You'd be surprised to see how much easier things can be if you work out a budget and stick to it.

Here's a mind blowing idea for "working class battlers": Worry less about other people's money.

I had to look up the term "battler", definitely not a group I want to be in.

[SickBeast]

Rollo you are most definitely a battler. I don't think I have ever come across anyone else who fits that mould so well.

[RolloTheGreat]

I know Ben & Rollo's problem well.  Plenty of richer people in Australia live under the same delusions as them.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/p...mt62w.html

I totally agree with the first commenter on the article:

Here's a mind blowing idea for these so-called "high earning battlers": live within your means. Stop spending on useless stuff you don't need or rarely use.

If you are somehow "struggling" on $200,000 a year, that strongly suggests you have a very bad budget problem and probably a distorted worldview where you think you can have it all.

You'd be surprised to see how much easier things can be if you work out a budget and stick to it.

Here's a mind blowing idea for "working class battlers": Worry less about other people's money.

I had to look up the term "battler", definitely not a group I want to be in.

No, we fucking well will not worry less about other people's money - not when the Government down here has been angling to give these rich people income tax cuts and at the same time increase the rate of the GST (goods and services tax) from 10% to 15% - a 50% increase which would impact low income earners far more than high income earners.

How will it affect them less GStan? They pay the same higher GST, and buy more stuff.

They might be able to afford it easier, but they will pay more just like everyone else.

Looks to me like your socialized medicine and education are costing more than the government has, and rather than steal big chunks of money from those who have some they are saying, "We're all going to pay for this.".

Seems fair to me. If people like you want guys like Apoppin (trying to start businesses), prostitutes, burglars, dope dealers, and people who just don't want to learn a skill and flip burgers to have expensive health care benefits, you should have to pay for it too.

Up until now you've just been saying, "Yeah I think those guys that make more money than me should buy guys like Apoppin health insurance.

Who gave you the right to spend their money?

I hope they do something like this here if they keep Obamacare. People need to realize successful people aren't some cookie jar they can raid to pay for their stupid ideas.

[RolloTheGreat]

Rollo you are most definitely a battler. I don't think I have ever come across anyone else who fits that mould so well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battler_(underdog)

A battler is an Australian colloquialism referring to "ordinary" or working class individuals who persevere through their commitments despite adversity.[1][2] Typically, this adversity comprises the challenges of low pay, family commitments, environmental hardships and lack of personal recognition.[3] It is a term of respect and endearment intended to empower and recognize those who feel as though they exist at the bottom of society.

I don't have low pay, and I technically wouldn't even have to work to be middle class. Statistically speaking I'm at the top of society, although I'm at the bottom of that lot so I'm in a weird no man's land of too poor to be rich and too rich to be middle class.

[RolloTheGreat]

BoFox, everyone has their own way of spoiling themselves.  Mine is to get two sweet spot video cards every two years or so.  I don't care about their eventual resale value - I don't resell them.  They lose 100% of their value the day I buy them.

This is hardly extravagance in the grand scheme of things, and is absolutely nothing compared to Rollo's extravagances.  Not even the two times I purchased high-end graphics cards (8800 GTX & GTX 280's) counts as extravagant.

You could however argue that the 30" 2560x1600 monitor I bought was extravagant given the amount of GPU power required to drive it well.  This is something I have since corrected.

If the worst criticism/accusation of extravagance people can level at me is possession of SLI'd sweet spot cards I will rest very easily indeed.

GStan, why do you think people risk their assets to start businesses?

Why do you think they go through expensive and difficult university programs like electrical engineering that make Tape U look like kindergarten?

Why do you think they take expensive and difficult university programs like medicine and dentistry, then spend hundreds of thousands to open an office?

So they can live like guys that went to Tape U, and save the rest of their money for the government to take and dole out to the poor?

People do extra work, risk assets, and work through higher educational requirements to buy the "extravagances" you revile. They have no reason to be criticized or "accused", they are just people who did more than you did to earn the extravagances. No one would bother if there was no reward.

[SickBeast]

BoFox, everyone has their own way of spoiling themselves.  Mine is to get two sweet spot video cards every two years or so.  I don't care about their eventual resale value - I don't resell them.  They lose 100% of their value the day I buy them.

This is hardly extravagance in the grand scheme of things, and is absolutely nothing compared to Rollo's extravagances.  Not even the two times I purchased high-end graphics cards (8800 GTX & GTX 280's) counts as extravagant.

You could however argue that the 30" 2560x1600 monitor I bought was extravagant given the amount of GPU power required to drive it well.  This is something I have since corrected.

If the worst criticism/accusation of extravagance people can level at me is possession of SLI'd sweet spot cards I will rest very easily indeed.

GStan, why do you think people risk their assets to start businesses?

Why do you think they go through expensive and difficult university programs like electrical engineering that make Tape U look like kindergarten?

Why do you think they take expensive and difficult university programs like medicine and dentistry, then spend hundreds of thousands to open an office?

So they can live like guys that went to Tape U, and save the rest of their money for the government to take and dole out to the poor?

People do extra work, risk assets, and work through higher educational requirements to buy the "extravagances" you revile. They have no reason to be criticized or "accused", they are just people who did more than you did to earn the extravagances. No one would bother if there was no reward.

So basically you are saying you live life like a dog, Rollo, learning and performing tricks for your master in hopes of being rewarded? What a sad way to live life!

Actually I went to school twice for different careers and I did it both times to find a rewarding and fulfilling job that I like. It was worth it both times. I don't feel like I have some sort of "master". And I will tell you that I have a wonderful job now that I'm very good at that I will probably be doing until I retire with a great pension. So I would recommend university to anyone with the drive and the desire to do so. It has nothing to do with a "master". If you want to talk about masters and slaves you are middle class just like the rest of us.

[RolloTheGreat]

So basically you are saying you live life like a dog, Rollo, learning and performing tricks for your master in hopes of being rewarded?  What a sad way to live life!

LOL, who gave you that backfiring simile? Apoppin, the only guy in our little circle living "free from the master" on his homegrown vegetables & reviewer perks?

Riddle me this GStan-

If my life is the life of a dog, what is yours?

You pretty much described life for every person on the planet who is not retired and independently wealthy GStan.

[RolloTheGreat]

Actually I went to school twice for different careers and I did it both times to find a rewarding and fulfilling job that I like. It was worth it both times. I don't feel like I have some sort of "master". And I will tell you that I have a wonderful job now that I'm very good at that I will probably be doing until I retire with a great pension. So I would recommend university to anyone with the drive and the desire to do so. It has nothing to do with a "master". If you want to talk about masters and slaves you are middle class just like the rest of us.

Doesn't matter- you're a dog!!

Lick the master's hand! Lick it!

Only by graduating from Tape University are you freed from the shackles of your wretched bondage.

Avert your eyes when you type a response to GStan- dog!

[SickBeast]

What a childish response.

[SteelCrysis]

I think it's funny, and no more childish than what he normally writes.

[SickBeast]

That's the problem, this is his normal. I don't find it funny. It's annoying. All it does is it gets gstanford all worked up and then these two just go at it on here back and forth with personal attacks and nonsense.

[RolloTheGreat]

That's the problem, this is his normal.  I don't find it funny.  It's annoying.  All it does is it gets gstanford all worked up and then these two just go at it on here back and forth with personal attacks and nonsense.

You have no sense of humor.

I cracked up reading that again, and I wrote it.

Even you posted the whole master/dog thing is a pretty big stretch, I just used parody to illustrate how big.