Random Thoughts Thread

[stickem]

The Big Bang Theory doesn't even need a different name for a porn parody. The porn would also probably be more scientifically accurate, and funny.

Am I "in"? What are the perks?

That porn parody has already been done, 5 years ago lol

[marurun]

I think monopolies and oligopolies are a flaw in the capitalism system. It seems that if you keep competition long enough, you will end up with a few extremely huge businesses.

Consolidation of power is indeed one of the primary problems with capitalism, which is why for capitalism to work it must be heavily and carefully regulated. Deregulated capitalism can be very dangerous for a healthy society.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I saw in a documentary that in the 70's I believe there were like 70+ meat producers in USA and now there are only 6

What do you mean by producers here? There's thousands of meat producers, and hundreds of packers. For actual suppliers, the numbers might be low, that I can't say for sure.

[nullPointer]

Deregulated capitalism can be very dangerous for a healthy society.

Cue up a rousing rendition of, "Rise, Rapture, Rise".

[GSZX1337]

I'm a Jew, I'm Jewish, both are equally valid and used. It's when you start saying things like "Jew food" or "Don't Jew me on this" that the term becomes offensive.

Seeing this reminds me of an awkward encounter when I was working at a RadioShack in Clarksville (I feel the need to say that this wasn't my normal Shack). Towards the end of the day, an attractive woman in a nice cleavage showing dress came in and asked me for help with recording a phone conversation. Throughout her visit, she made some gestures that led me to believe that she might have a thing for fat guys, obviously putting a smile on my face. Unfortunately, this RadioShack didn't seem to have the equipment required to record the conversation in the manner she wanted, so I suggested she try the nearby Best Buy to which she replied: "Ah, they'd probably charge me Jew prices." The big smile and little laugh she had killed off my smile. She left the store with a little wave and I tried my hardest to not show my inner grimace. I was still on the clock ya know.

[RCBH928]

Given that we have YouTube, Torrent, Netflix, and iTunes , its surprising that DVD is still selling so strong. Every one now has jumped to HDTVs, and DVDs are just as expensive as Blurays so why isn't Bluray taking over the previous format?

Consumers trends are a very hard to interpret

I saw in a documentary that in the 70's I believe there were like 70+ meat producers in USA and now there are only 6

What do you mean by producers here? There's thousands of meat producers, and hundreds of packers. For actual suppliers, the numbers might be low, that I can't say for sure.

I think I saw it on Food Inc. . It might might beat packers but its all the same since I believe that meat packers force meat producers to apply a specific set of standards. So although they do not own the ranch/cattle they still get raised and fed as the producers wants them to be.

[Gunstar Green]

Given that we have YouTube, Torrent, Netflix, and iTunes , its surprising that DVD is still selling so strong. Every one now has jumped to HDTVs, and DVDs are just as expensive as Blurays so why isn't Bluray taking over the previous format?

Consumers trends are a very hard to interpret

My completely unsupported thought:

The people who buy DVDs are people who don't tend to buy the latest technology and never saw a need to upgrade to BluRay.

The people who initially bought BluRay have moved on to streaming services.

[jp1]

Given that we have YouTube, Torrent, Netflix, and iTunes , its surprising that DVD is still selling so strong. Every one now has jumped to HDTVs, and DVDs are just as expensive as Blurays so why isn't Bluray taking over the previous format?

Consumers trends are a very hard to interpret

My completely unsupported thought:

The people who buy DVDs are people who don't tend to buy the latest technology and never saw a need to upgrade to BluRay.

The people who initially bought BluRay have moved on to streaming services.

Those who place "convenience" over quality. How much harder is it to just pop in a disc?
The only way I see that as a viable alternative is if someone only uses Netflix or something and doesn't care to own movies at all. Purchasing movies on Vudu makes no sense, you often get the digital copy cheaper by purchasing the physical disc anyway.

To each their own. I just don't get it. If you own a large HDTV and a nice surround sound system, the differences are night and day. I will admittedly have to start accepting some DVD copies into my collection because they simply don't get a transfer to Bluray, and probably won't get a transfer. I don't really buy into the concept of upscaling though, so I'm not excited for the prospect.

[ExedExes]

It sucks now that many studios are moving special features once common on DVD to Bluray only (I'm looking at you, Sony/Lionsgate!)

But there are also DVD players that upconvert to 1080p. I just picked this up on Amazon, and it's a near Bluray quality picture on my small HDTV.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Going to channel my inner Luke here and state unequivocally that most of this TV stuff makes no difference to me. I choose DVD generally because it's cheaper. Half the time I'll watch them on a CRT or VGA monitor.

I bought a TV last week that was 720p. Whatevs.

I've also never understood why people go ga-ga over various console hook-ups. Brace yourselves: my SNES was hooked up via RF until a couple of years ago and I was completely satisfied with it. Generally I just stick to the "standard" connection that comes with the system.

Full disclosure tho - I am colorblind so that may be a huge contributing factor and explanation of my general apathy here.