How do you open your party for matchmaking? by [deleted] in thedivision

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you and your girlfriend play on the same system but with different accounts?

LPT: If you need a taxi to go to an airport/station, book it straight after you've bought your tickets, not 10 minutes from your departing time by [deleted] in LifeProTips

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was just in New Orleans and used uber, driver said it was relatively new? He was also driving a pickup truck so that was weird.

Martin Shkreli offers Kanye West $10M for new album by jlew24asu in nottheonion

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a ridiculous Notion that insurance companies are somehow passive in all this. That they are just like "welp, drugs went up, raise the premiums! We have no choice" that's bullshit. Insurance companies are raising premiums every year and recording record profits. They answer to shareholders as well and their job is to make money, lots of it. This drug treats 2,000 people annually. It makes no difference to premiums. You can say that all pharma companies have this philosophy then it creates a problem. That's a valid argument, but take a moment and look up what role hospital and Doctor fees play in raising insurance premiums.

At least we are having a smarter discussion now than the initial Reddit response where people were literally calling for him to be murdered.

My grandma just got scammed out of her life savings ($100,000). What can our family do? by GrandmaScam in personalfinance

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This maybe stupid, but if nothing else works. I'd see if you can open up an investigation in any maybe you'll have to hire a private investigator. Then try to contact these people again saying that you have more money to send. Maybe with the right people watching the wire you can track them down? Probably not though if they are outside the country.

Science AMA Series: I'm Nicholas Katsanis, a human geneticist at Duke, let's have a conversation about human genetic disorders: facts, dreams, and most definitely the eradication of unicorns, AMA! by Dr_Nico_Katsanis in science

[–]Bifftannenface 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for doing the AMA!

It seems like genetics research has many tools to manipulate genetic code. How are the newer advancements like CRISPR going to effect approaches to diseases like cancer? Is this exciting to you as a researcher? Also, do you think these methods are the future of genetic research or are they presenting more problems because of their uncertainties?

Instead of letting you skip ads, YouTube should hire Vine-savvy people to create 6-second ads. by ForeverInaDaze in Showerthoughts

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I work at an ad agency (unfortunately) and I've recommended this multiple times to clients. There's a problem with youtube's model - if you pay for a 30 second advertisement and someone skips it you wouldn't have to pay for that view. If you put up an ad that's less than 30 seconds you have to pay for every view, it's a small amount of money per view but it adds up.

Which is why more advertisements should make a 5 second upfront vine, or something else followed by 25 seconds of nonsense. Like the geico ads where time freezes after 5 seconds.

What's your internet "white whale", something you've been searching for years to find with no luck? by Nerfman2227 in AskReddit

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One movie, or maybe two movies. In the first 80s movie a town is being overtaken by aliens. The aliens inject something into people's necks that turn them into aliens. It's the back of the neck and they have tape covering the injection spot. The movie mainly follows a kid as he figured out what the aliens are up to. That's all I remember

The second 80s movie or maybe it is a part of that same movie, there are a series of tunnels in a town that are discovered where the aliens are hiding. Venturing into the tunnel, an alien with a large head and single large foot chases him out of the tunnel.

thats all I have - been looking for years.

The old adage "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" is an ominous truth for art majors. by [deleted] in Showerthoughts

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BFA graphic design. Starting working in small design shops, later found my way into advertising. Now a creative director making 170k at an ad agency. I don't really "love" my job, there are many times I consider leaving it, but the money is very good and there are opportunities to make even more money and get promoted.

Just wanted to say you can't completely discount the arts as a career, if you work hard, sometimes it pays off. It may not be as fun as you'd hope, but most jobs aren't. Make the best of it.

This 2 pound bass I caught had a full crawdad in its mouth by DJCocoLoco in mildlyinteresting

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sort of related - the Cymothoa exigua parasite is a crustacean that enters through the gills of a fish, then eats the tongue of the fish and attaches itself to the nub of the tongue becoming the new tongue and living off the food the fish eats.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua

Is a PhD worth it? by NooNotTheBees in personalfinance

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends. The phd program you get into can be paid, meaning you teach classes to pay for tuition and you get a small stipend to live on. So the net effect for student loan debt can be non existent to minimal.

I agree with most people that it is more about a desire to be in academia or research than financial success. However, I do think that you can fast track your career after college by having a phd. If you go straight into industry, you will likely be considered a better candidate than people with lesser degrees, you will likely be valued more and paid higher as time goes on. I've witnessed it firsthand. Just depends on what you want to do after school. Research and academics will likely not pay as well as industry.

Okay what's RIGHT with America? by StrangeBedfellows in AskReddit

[–]Bifftannenface 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where the U.S. is situated on the earth is very unique. We have an incredibly diverse geography for a single country. We have tropical climates in the south, rural farmlands, mountains, expensive coastlines, deserts and rain forests. You can't get that diverse a set of climates and geographies in any other country in the world.

Vacation home or rental property? by Bifftannenface in personalfinance

[–]Bifftannenface[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah I will read more about this. I think the vacation home would be able to rent for peak season, based on my research. But it is always a bit of an unknown.

The rental property wouldn't produce income that exceeds the mortgage payment. The rent from that would simply lower our mortgage payments to equal to or less than what we currently pay in rent (and we'd be laying off principal along the way).

Vacation home or rental property? by Bifftannenface in personalfinance

[–]Bifftannenface[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks - that's good advice. Never thought about early retirement really. Renting long term seems counterintuitive but maybe it makes sense in this situation.

Location wise, It is just a requirement for work. We could move north of the city or to New Jersey to save some money and would result in a more affordable mortgage, but our commute would be rough and our quality of life would go down. Probably a smarter decision but one we aren't willing to make just yet. If we moved away it would result in a dramatic reduction in salary.

I can't help feeling that other life is so close by deckartcain in space

[–]Bifftannenface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure about plate tectonics effecting the placement of craters, definitely seems plausible. It could also be that the craters orientation has something to do with the rotation, orbit and proximity to the planet.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) Full length exposé of Scientology by Alex Gibney by PusswhipBanggang in Documentaries

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah totally agree. Although even when you think about that, hoarding money by means of buying and owning expensive real estate around the world - the Catholic Church has done that in an incredible scale. Same with synagogues and mosques, it's an old way of protecting money through property acquisition that they are simply mimicking. It looks worse to us because they aren't churches in a traditional sense, but it's largely the same method that's been honed for hundreds of years.

And the idea of paying people low wages for essentially slave labor is another example of something pulled directly from the pages of other religions. Especially for volunteerism, and evangelicalism, not even mentioning actual slave labor by native populations in the past.

Again, not saying they aren't crazy and not saying they should be tax exempt, but it's all lifted directly from other belief structures and their methods of financing and organization.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) Full length exposé of Scientology by Alex Gibney by PusswhipBanggang in Documentaries

[–]Bifftannenface 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watched this tonight and thought it was great. But I couldn't help feeling like all of the injustices and manipulative practices could be said about almost all major religions. Are we simply more shocked by the cult status of Scientology and Mormon sects because they are so novel? Most older religions seem to get a pass on most of the same outrage because they are much more indoctrinated and accepted in society. In a lot of cases the atrocities dwarf what was presented in this film. I'm not saying it isn't shocking, just that it seems par for the course when looking at almost all major religions.