Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

[Zeus]

I downloaded the first season and watched the first two eps of this show. Very funny and entertaining. Anyone else seen it?

For those who don't know what it is, it's a show with the comedians/magicians which points out the BS in a lot of things that people believe in, such as magnetic therapy, reflexology, and psychics. The first two eps hit on obvious targets, but there's 4 seasons now, so I'm sure they're going to hit on stuff that you may actually believe is true.

[Ishamael]

I've got it on my Netflix queue. I definitely want to check it out.

[Kupek]

They get in over their heads. They have one that tries to debunk global warming.

[Zeus]

They get in over their heads. They have one that tries to debunk global warming.

That's what I'm waiting for, them to fuck up to see how far they're willing to go to make a good show and negate any positives the show may have. I've only seen the first three episodes where they attack people who talk to the dead, crazy alternative medicines (reflexology, magnetic therapy, and overuse of chiropractic therapy), and alien abduction. Really, these are easy targets and not much of a surprise. But what I do like is the way they go to actual scientists/doctors to explain WHY it's bullshit, not just standing up and saying "this is bullshit". It's done quite well.

I want to see the bottled water one to see what they say as I honestly do believe that, mostly, bottled water is much better than tap water, although I have come across some scamming motherless fuck companies that basically just use tap water. I stopped drinking tap water many years ago, long before I ever got into bottled water (drank juice exclusively for a while, believe it or not) mostly because tap water tastes like shit (and often has a bit of an odor). Now, whether or not it's better for you I'm not sure, but I do know it tastes better/cleaner.

And I ain't no environmentalist, but really, it takes someone who's completely biased and/or has an agenda to say global warming doesn't exist. At this stage, all we can argue is the extent of the damage, not whether or not there is any. That's where the smart people who know what the fuck is going on (ie. real scientists) are currently arguing from what I've come across over the years. I don't think you'd find too many legit scientists who aren't on the board or payroll of some large corporations who would stand to lose from increased environmental laws who would argue against global warming.

[Zeus]

I've got it on my Netflix queue. I definitely want to check it out.

www.tvtorrents.com

[SineSwiper]

I like the show in degrees. The problem is that it is nowhere near scientific, so any cases that you might disagree with, you may notice that evidence that you know about doesn't really exist in the episode. It's only showing the clips that either discredits anybody against their opinion, or favors their own opinion. In others, especially where they are talking about victimless crimes, they are dead on, mostly because they are logically sound arguments that usually involve stupid religious laws.

At least MythBusters tries to accept the answer no matter what the outcome.

[Kupek]

MythBusters is all kinds of awesome. I don't care <i>what</i> they investigate, I'm hooked. And I love the fact that they'll break stuff for the fun of it, even if they no longer need any more experiments. Case in point: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dy1b4k4nbMQ

MythBusters is inherently different than Penn & Teller's show in that MythBusters only tackles subjects they can directly experiment with.

Tap water tastes fine to me, just fill a pitcher up and stick it in the fridge. Bottled water is retarded because it generates an enormous amount of waste for something that literaly is on tap.

[Lox]

Tap water tastes fine to me

Tap water will taste different depending on where you live. I realized how much I take clean-tasting tap water for granted when I visited Florida last year. The water in Orlando tasted like crap. I couldn't drink it. Apparently, Maryland has some of the best tap water. VA, DE, & PA might also since they are close by.

So I don't know what the water tastes like where you live, Zeus. It's very possible that it tastes nasty. I personally only drink tap because I refuse to buy something that's basically free and because it tastes good.

And yes, MythBusters is great.

[Kupek]

Buy a water filter. More waste than just drinking it from tap, but substantially less than buying it bottled.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

One of the funny things about tap water is that, in Australia, at least, it's subject to much more stringent testing and quality control than bottled water is. You're much more likely to cop something nasty drinking bottled water* than tap water**. I just wish the stuff were flouridated where I live.***

* Often imported (imported water, WHAT THE FUCK) from countries with pretty appalling water quality standards.
** Assuming, of course, that your government properly regulates water quality standards
*** Don't get me started on arguments against fortification, fuck!

[Zeus]

Buy a water filter. More waste than just drinking it from tap, but substantially less than buying it bottled.

Not really. I looked into it and since I buy my 500ml bottles (learn the metric system, Americans :-) for about 10cents each, it would take me a LONG time to make it up in a water dispenser and about the same price for all those filters.

The water both in my town and Toronto is god awful. I actually choke drinking it. Same with New York and Cali when I was there. I switched 'cause of the taste, not the health concerns. Those are just a bonus. And the type of bottled water definetely makes a huge difference

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

Holy fuck! I thought I was the only person that cared about that! This is a revelation!

(I approve of closing brackets with a smiley, 'cause two closed parentheses right next to each other look ugly; but I've really thought about it.)

[SineSwiper]

(Having a smiley next to end a parathesis statement is a forced contraction, sorta like "de el" in Spanish becoming "del". :)

[Zeus]

Since when do we care about written etiquette on the Internet? You guys used to ridIcule me for spelling corrections and now we've got 5 posts on stupid parentheses? :-)

[Kupek]

I found a 3-pack of Brita water filters <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Replacement ... 18">online for $17.99</a>. I'll round that up to $20 to make the math easier, although there's probably a deviation of about $5 depending on where you get them and what brand you get. Each filter is rated at 40 gallons. So that's 130 gallons for $20, which is 6 gallons for $1.

500ml is about 0.13 gallons. At $0.10 each, that's 1.3 gallons for $1.

I don't use smileys inside of parentheticals. Nor do I use parentheticals inside parentheticals - if you've gone that far, your sentence structure is too complex and inherently flawed. I do, however, nest my quotes correctly, using " and '. I guess I'd be screwed if I had three levels of nesting, but it's never happened.

[Ishamael]

I've got it on my Netflix queue. I definitely want to check it out.

www.tvtorrents.com

LOL! Thanks dude. I don't know why I didn't think of that.

This reminds me- I need to get a damn USB external harddrive. My regular one is about full.

[Ishamael]

And yes, decent water filters are cheap. The only time I buy bottled water is when I'm out somewhere and I didn't bring any myself.

[Zeus]

I found a 3-pack of Brita water filters <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Replacement ... 18">online for $17.99</a>. I'll round that up to $20 to make the math easier, although there's probably a deviation of about $5 depending on where you get them and what brand you get. Each filter is rated at 40 gallons. So that's 130 gallons for $20, which is 6 gallons for $1.

500ml is about 0.13 gallons. At $0.10 each, that's 1.3 gallons for $1.

Ah, but you're ignoring a couple of other facts:

1) This is Canada, out taxes are higher. So they're more expensive up here. Not an overly huge amount, but you're probably down to about 4 gallons per $1 Cdn including conversion.

2) Filtered water still doesn't taste the same as spring water. It's still got a mineral-ly taste to it due to the filter. On a personal note, I'll drink filtered as a substitute, but after a while (like when I've stayed at a friends house overnight) I start to get sick of it

3) The built-in water container of bottled water. I don't have a water dispenser here at work, so I'd always have to remember to fill a container every morning and pray that's enough for the day. Not an overly huge annoyance, but bottled water is still more convenient.

At the end of the day, the small savings (what's that, about $2 or 3 a week if you drink 1/2 gallon a day?) of a water filter isn't worth the extra inconvenience and decrease in taste for me. I'm cheap enough to try and save money but not THAT cheap (Seek, I'm the Arab, remember? :-) <--- take that, guys) <--- ooo, triple parenthesis, you guys are probably in brain-lock at this point :-) <--- it's a never ending cycle)

[Zeus]

And yes, decent water filters are cheap. The only time I buy bottled water is when I'm out somewhere and I didn't bring any myself.

And that one bottle is going to cost you the equivalent of one-third to half of one of my cases. See how bottled water is such a great way of saving money overall? :-)