The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVII

[bhsup]

2,000-word-long essay

Done, with 2 days, 23 hours, and 49 minutes left to spare.

 

[Takhisis]

Basically you've just ensured that I spend the three days I have looking at that kitten. Valka should love it.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

China looms much larger than India, for multiple reasons (bigger economic reach, more aggressive posturings). Some countries like Vietnam are leaning closer to India as a counterweight to Chinese influence (like in this story just yesterday). This will only accelerate as ASEAN integrates, India reaches further outwards, and China acts more and more dickish.

Thanks for the answer. I just wasn't hearing too much about India's contemporary dealings with the region.

For certain people, there's also the complication of racism. I grew up in an environment and culture (middle-class Bangkokian) where dark skin is very much unappreciated and associated with poverty/uncleanliness/Bad Things generally, with obvious implications for their views of our subcontinental neighbours.

Yeah, I can vouch for that with the Philippines too. But for most mainland Southeast Asian countries, I'm thinking the greater cultural influence of India might mitigate this somewhat.

 

[Farm Boy]

Done, with 2 days, 23 hours, and 49 minutes left to spare.

Spoiler :

That's freaking adorable.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I have 3 movies I could watch tonight, although I'll probably only have time to watch one of them. Which one should I choose?

1. Alien
2. 28 Days Later...
3. The Exorcist

I've seen all 3 before, but not for years, if that makes any difference.

 

[Quackers]

I would go for Alien. Incredible film.

 

[Farm Boy]

I'd go Alien as well.

 

[SouthernKing]

For certain people, there's also the complication of racism. I grew up in an environment and culture (middle-class Bangkokian) where dark skin is very much unappreciated and associated with poverty/uncleanliness/Bad Things generally, with obvious implications for their views of our subcontinental neighbours.

Actually, in my experience, this same connotation exists in India (where, for instance, pale skin is considered a sign of beauty, especially for women) though certainly not to the extent you're describing.

 

[Mouthwash]

Why is there a free trial for Amazon Prime? Someone could just use it to buy all the stuff they can imagine ever getting, with free shipping, and then canceling before they're charged anything.

So I'm thinking of doing the free trial, but I can't bring myself to believe that this is possible.

 

[Zelig]

Eh, probably because "buy all the stuff they can imagine ever getting" isn't terribly practical.

I mean, even without the free trial, you could still do this and then cancel the service, since you'd presumably never need it again.

 

[Mouthwash]

Eh, probably because "buy all the stuff they can imagine ever getting" isn't terribly practical.

I mean, even without the free trial, you could still do this and then cancel the service, since you'd presumably never need it again.

Does it actually give you "free two-day shipping" on anything you buy, then? Because that's starting to seem like false advertising. Maybe it's free for the first twenty items you buy, or something like that. Otherwise why do they sell one cent books with the shipping costs as 3.99$?

 

[Kennigit]

It would be in whatever terms and conditions there are

Ive had various free trials of amazon (starting back in 2010) and they all worked perfectly legitimately (eg some free shipping things existed for .edu email addresses)

Do note that amazon prime is only eligible for some items (which is vast majority of new purchases for common items, but it is not anything you buy on amazon)

The streaming is a free trial too, and I made full use of it

At the end of the trial you likely will be offered amazon prime for 1 year for 1/2 price. That is part of their reasining I have to assume.

 

[Zelig]

Does it actually give you "free two-day shipping" on anything you buy, then? Because that's starting to seem like false advertising. Maybe it's free for the first twenty items you buy, or something like that. Otherwise why do they sell one cent books with the shipping costs as 3.99$?

Amazon doesn't sell one cent books, the site is also a marketplace for third-party sellers (who do sell one cent books), and Prime isn't applicable if they don't use Amazon's fulfillment service.

And really, if you're buying everything you'll need ever again, why do you need free 2-day shipping? Can't you just use free 7-day (or whatever) shipping, and wait an extra week for everything you'll ever need?

 

[Oruc]

I have this issue as of late. I've been holding a few grudges for months now. How do I let go of grudges?

Act on them, no point holding them if you're going to do nothing about it.

 

[bhsup]

Does it actually give you "free two-day shipping" on anything you buy, then? Because that's starting to seem like false advertising. Maybe it's free for the first twenty items you buy, or something like that. Otherwise why do they sell one cent books with the shipping costs as 3.99$?

It's for things marked as "prime" that you get the two day free shipping. But you need to be careful when you buy. If you buy it on Friday, you're obviously not going to get it on Sunday. if you buy after a certain cutoff in the afternoon, you won't get it in two days. It's a kick-butt service and I've had it since IIRC 2006. personally, since I've had it since way before they offered TV and movies with it, I consider those things as free perks above and beyond the shipping benefits. Some, though, get it primarily for the free shows and movies.

A lot of things sold by 3rd parties on Amazon are -not- prime eligible.

 

[madviking]

A lot of things sold by 3rd parties on Amazon are -not- prime eligible.

as i learned the hard way. it took almost a month for one of my german books to ship ~150 miles because it wasn't prime eligible.

 

[Domen]

I wonder where did the misconception that Hitler was Austrian originate from.

Anyone who is familiar with what Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf should know that he admitted being a "fanatical German nationalist", and also repeatedly underlined his deep hatred of the Austrian statehood (he even accused Franz Ferdinand and others of "turning Austria into a Slavic state").

 

[Tee Kay]

Actually, in my experience, this same connotation exists in India (where, for instance, pale skin is considered a sign of beauty, especially for women) though certainly not to the extent you're describing.

For Southeast Asia especially Buddhist societies there's the additional complication of religion. Hinduism and Islam aren't... well, let's say prejudices abound where I came from that would give western Islamophobes more than a run for their money.

Wanna see my family freak out? Be there when I tell them how I like Indian and Pakistani women.

 

[Mise]

I used my free trial to get next day delivery on an item I needed before I flew out of the country. Well worth it for that, but I didn't make use of it beyond that, for the reasons Zelig mentioned.

 

[SouthernKing]

For Southeast Asia especially Buddhist societies there's the additional complication of religion. Hinduism and Islam aren't... well, let's say prejudices abound where I came from that would give western Islamophobes more than a run for their money.

Wanna see my family freak out? Be there when I tell them how I like Indian and Pakistani women.

Oh, don't discount the ability of Indians to get incredibly racist over stupid things either. See 1992-1993. And then Indians in America love being mildly racist against Chinese, and Indians everywhere tend to have a weird fascination of national purity or something dislike Indians marrying someone non-Indian. And that's not even getting into the twisted abomination that is the caste system, which very fortunately I've managed to almost completely avoid any contact with in my life.

It would almost be amusing if it weren't sad and pointless.