I don’t remove responsibility from the people, but don’t pretend that companies don’t spend piles of cash on marketing when it has absolutely no influence on their customers’ purchasing decisions. Also, don’t pretend that marketing isn’t pandering to appeal and not function.

You can buy a bottle of sparkling wine for $20.

So what you’re saying is that marketing provides a sober, unbiased presentatiin of the benefits and drawbacks of the products they’re trying to sell, and people make rational, informed decisions? No, like you said, most people behave little better than monkeys, and marketing caters to that, further skewing the norms and pushing people to buy things based on perceived benefits while ignoring the real drawbacks. Next you’ll tell me the prescription opioid epidemic wasn’t exacerbated by the claims that the new opioids were less addictive and pharmaceutical companies incentivizing doctors to prescribe them more than necessary, a lot of words that boil down to ‘marketing’.

You also ignore the role marketing has to play in convincing people that they need those things. Most people don’t need an SUV, let alone a truck, yet I see plenty of people driving these, and even thinking they’re safer than sedans. But they cost more money, which means more profit, and why would it be surprising that people who sell something with a relatively inelastic market want to maximize profit dollars per sale?

The only thing I like cooked spinach for is spinach dip. It’s acceptable as a layer in things like lasagna, but I won’t complain if it isn’t there.

In your defense, it’s usually denoted MMM.

240v wiring is common in Canada and the US, just not all outlets, and until recently not usually in garages. I expect 240v outlets in garages to be more standard in the future.

But, creepy or no, posting on a public forum and not using throwaway accounts and then being surprised that people actually reference your posting history is hopelessly naive.

Canada is a good candidate for orbital launches, but those require more fuel per kg of payload.

A lot of things happen in the developed world that serve no purpose besides economics. Phones could be made to last twice as long, and aren’t getting dramatically better from one generation to the next. We could build houses to last a century instead of 50 years for little more cash. We could make clothes that last longer, but then fashion would have to take a back seat to function. We have much more efficient lighting, but they are also designed to break more often than they could so more light bulbs can be sold. Cars could be made more efficient, and non-car transportation could be incentivized. We could fix food supply/distribution issues so there is less food waste. We could use more efficient, non-fossil methods of heating and cooling our homes, which should also be better insulated so they also cost less to heat or cool.

We may not be able to have 8 billion people living in the lap of luxury, but we could have 8 billion people with a place to live, food to eat, access to a green space to enjoy the outdoors, and access to the rest of the world through modern communications.

To add to this, the changes to take this to the next level: raise the dress so the front horizontal strap is even with the bottom of the breasts, tighten up the straps to match that new position, and take the dress in along the line where the horizontal strap is located so it is fitted, but not snug. I think that will get you closer to the intended look for that dress. I would say you’re looking for the same level of fitting as in the second link you provided, but even the first one looks a little more fitted than OP’s.

The cello work in Barenaked Ladies’ The Flag is so soothing for such a sad song.

They are a better source than anything you’ve provided, yes.

You’re right, Wikipedia is a terrible primary source, because it isn’t a primary source. So, while you should never reference it in a paper or dissertation, the sources it references are perfectly valid. The good news is, I’m not writing an essay or dissertation, and I don’t have to follow the correct rules for those. I did you the favor of clicking two links deeper (it took about a minute) and finding the information where they talk about all those cases that the judges totally threw so they could force you to pay illegal taxes. Now, I can’t make you turn that link purple, but if you do you might get the other side of that argument that you apparently haven’t stumbled across in your decades of examination. Good luck.

Sorry, saw your response just after I had posted the same in response to his comment.

There is no historical agreement that the earth is round, but guess what?

When the second argument that is listed in Wikipedia is that Ohio doesn’t count when it had been a state for over a century before the amendment was proposed, I start to think these arguments are specious at best. It seems every judge the case had gone before agreed with that stance, which also sounds like historical agreement to me. Given the amendment was proposed due to the Supreme Court overturning income tax as unconstitutional, it also appears the courts were more than willing to rule against income tax prior to this supposedly dubious amendment.

Do you have any evidence that is stronger than the Obama birther conspiracies?

What do you mean by questionable circumstances?

Frankly, if you’re looking at the morality of eating meat, this is as good a stance as any.

Space is almost free, and it’s a good cue to what you’re going to find. It’s how I tell my PerfectDark posts apart.

Came here through your post about the motor brake. It looks janky as he’ll, but also very functional. The only suggestion I would give is a shroud on the belt so people don’t make mistakes that cost fingers.

I believe you’re referring to the impromptu, unannounced, Tiananmen Square Tank Parade…

/s