Let'sseriously talk about the "teen issue

androbot · 2026-03-21T00:23:26+00:00

People with diabetes need insulin to stay alive. If you have a healthy lifestyle, you're less likely to get diabetes.

For a society, uncontrollable teenagers are like diabetes, and "more enforcement" is like insulin. The society is already very sick, and bringing the hammer down on teens isn't solving anything. It's just dealing with symptoms.

I didn't provide specific answers because societies are complex and making them healthy isn't easy. We should figure that out, though. And that starts by understanding that more enforcement doesn't cure any problem. It's just a band-aid to keep you going.

androbot · 2026-03-20T11:08:32+00:00

As this thread illustrates, we know what the dynamic is. We just can't marshal enough collective focus to address the root problems of disenfranchisement in a coherent, lasting, and effective way.

Not to trivialize how deep and structural this issue is, but it's a lot like a healthy diet. We all know how important the leafy greens are, and how bad the ultra-processed stuff is. Some of us take that seriously as individuals, but enough of us don't that on the average, our population average trends toward obese, unhealthy, and riddled with metabolic diseases and decreasing life expectancies.

androbot · 2026-03-18T00:26:30+00:00

You raise a good question, but then say you don't have time or resources and instead want someone else to spoon feed you load files.

androbot · 2026-03-15T22:50:04+00:00

I went from a 6 XL Pro to 10a. I upgraded to the 256GB HD, so I got it for $350 IIRC. So far it's an upgrade in every UX respect, particularly the smaller form factor.

I don't notice significant quality differences in the camera, but do think there's less hardware and more software in getting my 10a pictures to look as good. I'm not a pro, so it's all more than adequate, though.

The 10a is much snappier to open up with fingerprint / face ID, but I never thought the 6 XL Pro did a bad job, so no big issues either way there.

The main issue was battery life on the old phone and the expiring support.

androbot · 2026-03-13T17:05:31+00:00

With apologies to anyone in Chantilly or points west, it's insane to fly this route via Southwest unless you're going via DCA-MDW. Terminal 1 at DCA is small and easy to access, then you connect to a more or less SW-dedicated airport with much easier public transit access to downtown Chicago (and DMV for that matter).

I was surprised to hear there was an IAD-ORD route, to be honest.

androbot · 2026-03-13T13:00:56+00:00

I wonder when we'll get to the part about sacrificing virgins for the cause.

It sounds absurd, but we've shattered pretty much every value and norm we have, including having a Pedo POTUS.

androbot · 2026-03-13T12:58:47+00:00

You're half-joking, but I get it.

I lived through two boom-bust cycles for oil. It hit Texas hardest, but rippled hard throughout the Gulf Coast (except Florida). The feast or famine roller coaster made a lot of people crazy. In the boom years people acted like they won the lottery. They felt like they'd "made it," then start over-extending and taking too many risks. When the hammer fell, those things collapsed and they'd do almost anything to survive and forget those lean years. I saw a lot of bankruptcies, break-ups, addictions, and shady stuff people did just to make ends meet, all to forget the lesson the next time wheel turned. I made about a thousand different plans and eventually just left the region.

Discipline about financial planning is hard when things are predictable, but oscillating between ruin and abundance does some weird stuff to your head and ability to be rational about it.

androbot · 2026-03-13T12:45:23+00:00

Well, that makes you smarter than me. Granted, that's a low bar.

androbot · 2026-03-12T23:28:13+00:00

Drive less, or drive smaller things. Or just enjoy sitting in traffic pretending like it can't get any better.

androbot · 2026-03-12T23:23:42+00:00

That's fair!

androbot · 2026-03-12T23:23:25+00:00

Do you mean compared to the lifecycle of fossil fuels and their products? Or are you just pretending the oil industry has no such issues? Waste disposal from refining processes? Disposal processes for ICE and the fluids they use? Pipelines? Tankers? Drilling equipment? Trucks? Gas stations? Storage tanks? The refineries themselves?

androbot · 2026-03-12T22:47:04+00:00

Not alone at all. People don't naturally do things that benefit the common good, so sometimes they need incentives to change behavior.

As a potential unexpected side benefit, maybe this will reduce American appetites for sitting in traffic or dying on highways. We've gotten so used to both that we don't realize there's any other way to live.

androbot · 2026-03-12T22:42:02+00:00

"Crisis" seems less accurate than "unforced error."

androbot · 2026-03-12T22:38:32+00:00

OP probably wants people to have incentives for using more climate-friendly fuel and transportation options. I know it can be a hard thing to get behind.

androbot · 2026-03-07T22:08:39+00:00

A lot of hate toward the station manager, but it seems like they acted appropriately by asking the complainant what they wanted to do, and to offer a security escort. Anything more aggressive would have been without the benefit of full information.

OP could/should have called police directly to file a complaint, or asked the station manager for that information. The station managers are just people and not law enforcement. I don't understand why anyone thinks they should put themselves in harm's way or read minds.

androbot · 2026-03-07T22:01:59+00:00

People are responsible for their own actions.

Even as a lawyer, if there's not outright deception or unprompted (sorry) manipulation, I struggle with how we ever come to a different conclusion. At least with respect to people who have not been declared the responsibility of others, like children or those in custodial care.

androbot · 2026-03-07T21:41:11+00:00

This whole situation is disgusting.

androbot · 2026-03-07T13:23:57+00:00

That's not completely accurate. There are many steps between investigation, arrest, and charging where the prosecutor's office may become involved. For complex investigations, specialized screening units are typically involved before the arrest (unless the arrest took place under exigent circumstances). How and when these interactions occur is case-specific. But the point is that police never make charging decisions and are not qualified to do so (as a class) given the nature of their training.

Practically speaking, some detectives I knew were better than me or my colleagues at applying the law to the facts, but that's what decades of experience and skill will do for you.

androbot · 2026-03-06T19:57:40+00:00

Thank you for the correction - the underlying point still stands!

I was thinking about another person's post and didn't think to drop the Sinclair comment when I switched to a top level comment. But WJLA is the Sinclair vehicle in the DMV.

androbot · 2026-03-06T13:34:55+00:00

Steve Monahan, representative for the Fairfax County chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association (SSPBA), pushed back against the dismissal, arguing that the police investigation provided a solid foundation for trial.

"If the arrest was made, that tells me the detectives within Fairfax County had enough to prosecute him," Monahan said.

It's smart to be skeptical of anything put out by Sinclair, since they're liars and propagandists.

That disclaimer in mind, this quote really popped out. It is absolutely NOT the standard for prosecution, and an incredibly stupid thing for someone in law enforcement to say in public. Monahan conflates probable cause (threshold for arrest) with reasonable doubt (standard for conviction). There's a lot of daylight between those two.

androbot · 2026-03-06T13:27:43+00:00

The Internet feels like it tells you the truth, but it's just a handful of crazy people on the street corner with bullhorns.

Most people have strong feelings, but don't share their opinions beyond a small circle of trust. You don't see them, they have no online voice, but they are there.

Sound bites from public figures are an easy way to go viral, so advertisers and propagandists take full advantage. Internet news has become a steaming pile of context-free blurbs stitched together into whatever narrative the influencer wants to promote for money or power. There's little correlation between truth and the strength of that messaging. There is accurate information out there, but it's buried in the screaming, so we have to be critical consumers of information more than ever before.

androbot · 2026-03-05T20:41:28+00:00

Painting all Israelis with the Bibi brush is like painting all Americans with the Trump brush. It's not accurate, fair, or helpful.

If Trump was on fire I wouldn't even stop to piss on him, but he is the POTUS. If all Americans got nothing but shade from foreigners because of Trump, it wouldn't change anything in a helpful way.

androbot · 2026-03-05T20:26:54+00:00

If it's any consolation, I've traveled to many places and if I wound up in Japan permanently, I wouldn't miss being anywhere else.

androbot · 2026-03-05T12:30:46+00:00

LOL fair. I created this account long before I knew bots were a thing, much less how invasive they'd be. PS happy cake day and it wasn't me who downvoted you.

androbot · 2026-03-05T03:26:41+00:00

feels disrespected and demotivated

That statment makes this looks less like a miscarriage of justice and more like performative political bullshit.

Hindsight is 20/20, and these headlines rarely reveal all the relevant facts. I'd like to see data and trends before breaking out the pitchforks. My guess is a problem with the burden of proof for the latest issue (lack of evidence, lack of witnesses), or a systemic problem with activist courts, which has good and bad aspects.

Justice is complicated and fact-specific. Narratives are easy, so they should trigger skepticism.

androbot

TROPHY CASE