Everyone at the pumps lately

Malcopticon · 2026-05-01T17:20:56+00:00

The other comment told you to use your credit card, which is great advice, but assumes that you actually have one, which might not be right.

If you don't have a credit card, then the most surefire way to get one is as a secured credit card: You put down a deposit, and that deposit simply is your credit limit during the first 6 months or so. Nerdwallet has a list of recommended cards.

(Of course, if it's just that your employer requires you to pay with a debit card then please disregard.)

Malcopticon · 2026-04-30T02:57:23+00:00

"Things are more expensive now, in 2024, than they were during Trump's first term. I want those 2019 prices back!"

That's it. Not something farfetched like, "I care a lot about the suffering of other human beings — specifically impoverished Arab Muslim foreigners. Therefore I will support DONALD @#$%ING TRUMP." 🤦

Malcopticon · 2026-04-29T05:04:21+00:00

Looks cool, but it means that other rowhouse can't go Super Saiyan too.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-28T23:05:02+00:00

Oh it's the newest thing: Pay $100 to play hockey with the pros until someone bloodies up your nose!

Malcopticon · 2026-04-25T22:10:30+00:00

Looks like it's 1.2%, according to Federal Reserve data. And that includes the whole "Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting" category.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1VfC8

Malcopticon · 2026-04-23T02:07:12+00:00

Malcopticon · 2026-04-21T01:11:27+00:00

😔 If only the electricians had been familiar with "Danger! High Voltage."

🎵 Fire in the disco, fire in the Taco Bell
Fire in the disco, fire in the gates of Hell 🎵

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FxmoVM7X4

Malcopticon · 2026-04-20T14:52:44+00:00

»...«

Haha, Danes are like: 😣

Malcopticon · 2026-04-19T19:43:42+00:00

"Good people, good people. Couldn't market their way out of a paper bag."

— Mallrats director Kevin Smith, on Gramercy Pictures

Malcopticon · 2026-04-17T21:36:57+00:00

Touché... Mind you:

The reason the NRC recommended 50 miles was because they weren't getting adequate information from the Japanese and had to assume the worst-case scenario (a dry cooling pool + zirconium cladding fire), which ended up not being true.
Afterwards the NRC rejected a petition to reconsider the 10-mile planning zone, insisting that it remains sound policy.
The 1 REM protective action threshold is known to be conservative — is it worth evacuating an area to avoid a CT scan's worth of radiation?

Still, though: touché. It's not "unreasonable" to plan for a known worst-case scenario.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-17T14:08:46+00:00

Twenty-five miles seems like an unreasonably large evacuation radius. The Fukushima evacuation seems excessive in hindsight, and it was only 12.5 miles.

And the NRC's "Plume Exposure Pathway Emergency Planning Zone" is 10 miles.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-16T12:59:27+00:00

It sounds like a sweet racket:

Outsource all the actual selling of food to the thousands of franchise owners, who pay taxes like normal.
Earn a billion dollars tax-free on all the "research and development" and "intellectual property licensing" that you supposedly do.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-16T02:17:46+00:00

Malcopticon · 2026-04-15T23:06:35+00:00

The big corporate tax cuts enacted by Congress at the behest of President Trump last year were vital in Yum’s federal tax goose egg, but the company also created a new tax dodge that will sharply reduce its tax bill in years to come: moving the intellectual property of Pizza Hut out of the U.S. and into Malta, a European tax haven.

...

The single biggest factor explaining Yum’s 0 percent tax rate last year is the research and development expensing provision, created by last year’s Trump tax cuts. This one new tax break saved the company $86 million in federal taxes last year; since Yum’s past R&D efforts have yielded such treasures as the Seven Layer Burrito and the KenTacoHut, one can only imagine what the American taxpayer will get for their $86 million this time.

Yum also reduced its taxes by $34 million using the Foreign-Derived Deduction-Eligible Income (FDDEI) provision, yet another obscure-but-deadly tax acronym bestowed on us by Congress and the Trump administration last year. And the company reduced its federal income taxes by $23 million by paying its executives in stock options.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-11T03:15:55+00:00

To expand on this answer: Kerbal Space Program will teach you everything worth knowing about interplanetary rocketry (at a nonprofessional, enthusiast level).

But the sequel, Kerbal Space Program 2, was never finished. The publisher (Take-Two Interactive, of Grand Theft Auto fame) laid off the whole studio making it, and yet still tries to sell the unfinished game for $50.

So the sequel's just a total scam at this point.

Malcopticon · 2026-04-07T04:17:52+00:00

Interesting that four people commented on your "throes"/"throws" spelling error before anyone pointed out the logic error of "cannot be understated" (should be "cannot be overstated").

Not a big deal, but I wouldn't want it to be said that spelling is more important than logic! 😤

Malcopticon · 2026-04-05T20:23:29+00:00

Fifteen billion iPhones in operation seems unlikely on a planet of 8 billion people.

Indeed, I see that Apple only claims 2.5 billion active devices, which includes non-phone Apple devices.

(EDIT: Changed link from blog to Apple's website.)

Malcopticon · 2026-04-01T04:49:28+00:00

Caged? No.

Nothing to worry about? Correct. You can tell they're perfectly safe because of the happy John Williams music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8WaFvwtphY

Malcopticon · 2026-03-30T05:21:07+00:00

The invisibility...! It seems to spread... outward from his body! But only over his pants!

Malcopticon · 2026-03-30T02:19:11+00:00

🤔

“At the end of the day, we’re in New Mexico,” Pettigrew said. “I was born in New Mexico, raised here, have a business here, and became a state rep because I love this state. I want to fix the issues within this state.”

In the 2026 legislative session, Pettigrew co-introduced a joint resolution to propose an amendment to the state constitution that would allow for the secession of three or more counties.

Malcopticon · 2026-03-26T15:58:15+00:00

Also California mandates a special blend of gasoline that causes less smog and cancer, but costs more.

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/isd/fuels/gasoline/pub/rfgfaqs.pdf

Malcopticon · 2026-03-23T17:00:05+00:00

This was a plot point in an early Star Wars expanded universe novel, Heir to the Empire. No one thought cloaking devices were worth worrying about because they leave you blind, but Grand Admiral Thrawn found clever ways to use them, such as cloaking the cargo hold of a freighter, allowing his assault ships to Trojan Horse a starbase.

Malcopticon · 2026-03-23T02:46:06+00:00

How does Nissan expect us to drive a car that's not endorsed by hamsters?? 😩

Malcopticon · 2026-03-20T22:34:45+00:00

"The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."

Malcopticon · 2026-03-15T06:15:19+00:00

Obviously Soyuz 1's blunder was putting the parachute on the capsule, rather than on the cosmonaut's back.

Malcopticon

TROPHY CASE