5 ms·

>> There’s few if any establishments I trust anymore. Sorry, but that's tin foil hat territory. Everyday I trust my bank to handle my money fairly, the gas st

>> There’s few if any establishments I trust anymore. Sorry, but that's tin foil hat territory. Everyday I trust my bank to handle my money fairly, the gas station to give the right amount of gas, the labels on food and medicine to be accurate, the weather report, etc. etc. I am sure there are problems with virtually every institution that need to be addressed. But I am surrounded by reliable information and trusted actors.

sethammons 3y ago
Society works on trust. That said, my bank/credit card company would not work with us when we were scammed with $10k of obviously fraudulent charges. Our next recourse will have to be legal action. There are reports of gas stations using more ethanol than labeled. I saw a tiktok last week on someone who brought in their own scale to walmart and the packaged meat was labeled at like 6 lbs but was actually under 5. My tax guy has fucked up 3yrs in a row so now I get to become a tax pro. The US govt owes me $40k and is dragging their feet sending me my money. The guy who repaired some external trim only used finish nails so it ripped out in the last wind storm. The company that installed my windows just ignored code and didn't install tempered glass where required so I had to fight them on that when someone pointed it out to me. I could go on and on.
- operatingthetan 3y ago
  Yeah we need to inspect things carefully because we are getting scammed and lied to all the time. Olive oil being cut, fish being sold as the wrong species, supplements containing random other substances, there are a million examples in products in particular.
  - georgeecollins 3y ago
    Sure so I am going to inspect olive oil for myself?
    - operatingthetan 3y ago
      That's not within your skills?
    - coolhand2120 3y ago
      I'm no expert, but I do. There is a lot of rotten olive oil sold in the US because we don't seem to care so much. Smell and taste is the best indicator. I am really irritated that my Italian dressing only contains only rapeseed oil and not olive oil so it's something I've been looking into lately. Olive oil is apparently very volatile and rather complex.
      - faizan-ali 3y ago
        Expert here! You can totally inspect your olive oil yourself. First a primer: Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade. This is unregulated and mostly nonexistent in most US grocery shelves. Here's the criteria I recommend: - Source. Most Italian olive oil is repackaged Tunisian, Turkish, Spanish olive oil. Which isn't a bad thing but consider why they're not consuming it themselves (Italy and Greece do not produce enough to meet domestic demand). You'll see this by abbrvs like Source: "TN SP TK" (Tunisia, Spain, Turkey). Look for single source oils. Consider Californian oil (if in the US). A country does not produce better olive oil than another, it's all up to individual producers. Some of the best oils I've had are from Australia, California, Chile - Smell! Does it smell like wax/waxy crayons/Crayola? It's probably a bit rancid/old. Not necessarily bad for you but lacks the health benefits (it's not extra virgin at this point if it ever was). It should smell fruity/grassy/green. - Taste: It should be bitter, fresh, and tickle your throat (that's the antioxidants!). It shouldn't leave your mouth feeling greasy. - Harvest date: Oil degrades quickly. If there isn't a harvest date, it's probably not great. Should be harvested within the last 2 years, ideally within 1 year. Extra virgin has the maximum taste and health benefits. Most grocery store oils are simply olive oil - not the highest grade but still significantly better than seed/nut oils. Source: I'm an olive oil somm
        operatingthetan 3y ago
        Are there reliable brands that I can buy that would make this easier?
doubloon 3y ago
i actually work at a financial institution and you should not trust your bank, you should review your statements and complain if you find errors. which you will.
- georgeecollins 3y ago
  I work at a movie company and when we say "you'll laugh and you'll cry.." during a movie you absolutely will laugh and cry. I guarantee it.
chiefalchemist 3y ago
Yes and no. E.g., Banking. Yes, trust them for transactions. It's their bread & butter. But if 2007 / 2008 taught us anything it's that the financial sector can't be trusted beyond simple transactions. Labels on food? For ingredients? Again, sure. But where is the label for "the taste of this product has been engineered to increase your consumption of it. Your health? Ha. Forget about it." And so on. You're trusting the sheeps' clothing and are all but ignoring the wolf that hides beneath it.

sethammons 3y ago

Society works on trust. That said, my bank/credit card company would not work with us when we were scammed with $10k of obviously fraudulent charges. Our next recourse will have to be legal action. There are reports of gas stations using more ethanol than labeled. I saw a tiktok last week on someone who brought in their own scale to walmart and the packaged meat was labeled at like 6 lbs but was actually under 5. My tax guy has fucked up 3yrs in a row so now I get to become a tax pro. The US govt owes me $40k and is dragging their feet sending me my money. The guy who repaired some external trim only used finish nails so it ripped out in the last wind storm. The company that installed my windows just ignored code and didn't install tempered glass where required so I had to fight them on that when someone pointed it out to me. I could go on and on.

operatingthetan 3y ago
Yeah we need to inspect things carefully because we are getting scammed and lied to all the time. Olive oil being cut, fish being sold as the wrong species, supplements containing random other substances, there are a million examples in products in particular.
- georgeecollins 3y ago
  Sure so I am going to inspect olive oil for myself?
  - operatingthetan 3y ago
    That's not within your skills?
  - coolhand2120 3y ago
    I'm no expert, but I do. There is a lot of rotten olive oil sold in the US because we don't seem to care so much. Smell and taste is the best indicator. I am really irritated that my Italian dressing only contains only rapeseed oil and not olive oil so it's something I've been looking into lately. Olive oil is apparently very volatile and rather complex.
    - faizan-ali 3y ago
      Expert here! You can totally inspect your olive oil yourself. First a primer: Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade. This is unregulated and mostly nonexistent in most US grocery shelves. Here's the criteria I recommend: - Source. Most Italian olive oil is repackaged Tunisian, Turkish, Spanish olive oil. Which isn't a bad thing but consider why they're not consuming it themselves (Italy and Greece do not produce enough to meet domestic demand). You'll see this by abbrvs like Source: "TN SP TK" (Tunisia, Spain, Turkey). Look for single source oils. Consider Californian oil (if in the US). A country does not produce better olive oil than another, it's all up to individual producers. Some of the best oils I've had are from Australia, California, Chile - Smell! Does it smell like wax/waxy crayons/Crayola? It's probably a bit rancid/old. Not necessarily bad for you but lacks the health benefits (it's not extra virgin at this point if it ever was). It should smell fruity/grassy/green. - Taste: It should be bitter, fresh, and tickle your throat (that's the antioxidants!). It shouldn't leave your mouth feeling greasy. - Harvest date: Oil degrades quickly. If there isn't a harvest date, it's probably not great. Should be harvested within the last 2 years, ideally within 1 year. Extra virgin has the maximum taste and health benefits. Most grocery store oils are simply olive oil - not the highest grade but still significantly better than seed/nut oils. Source: I'm an olive oil somm
      - operatingthetan 3y ago
        Are there reliable brands that I can buy that would make this easier?

doubloon 3y ago

i actually work at a financial institution and you should not trust your bank, you should review your statements and complain if you find errors. which you will.

georgeecollins 3y ago
I work at a movie company and when we say "you'll laugh and you'll cry.." during a movie you absolutely will laugh and cry. I guarantee it.

chiefalchemist 3y ago

Yes and no. E.g., Banking. Yes, trust them for transactions. It's their bread & butter. But if 2007 / 2008 taught us anything it's that the financial sector can't be trusted beyond simple transactions. Labels on food? For ingredients? Again, sure. But where is the label for "the taste of this product has been engineered to increase your consumption of it. Your health? Ha. Forget about it." And so on. You're trusting the sheeps' clothing and are all but ignoring the wolf that hides beneath it.