More on climate change

I blame governance for not doing more to address global warming because it takes legislation to force the behavioral change that is needed. For example, if Pigovian taxes made everybody pay the true environmental cost of their actions then I suspect that people would end up telecommuting more, buying more solar panels, manufacturers would make longer-lasting goods, etc.: the distorted market would find ways without needing to be pushed by specific policy initiatives. Of course, the market is already distorted thanks to lobbying from monied special interests such as oil; perhaps that is where democracy fails.

On a more personal note I wondered how non-violent protest compares with my changing my own behavior more, not that one excludes the other. We have taken small measures like buying only renewable electricity and we could bear to eat less beef and whatnot. My main thought is of our car: we have an efficient one but it is a shame that the bus service from our village takes so long and the seats are so close together that it is hard to work from them. It would make sense to move to somewhere from which I can more easily get to work in Dundee except that we have children in Perth High School which is in the opposite direction.

A break from working out

Something in the back of my left shoulder seems bothered. Usually my various aches and pains are not affected by my workouts but yesterday on the cross-trainer I started tentatively only to have my shoulder quickly complain. Today my shoulder still feels easily bothered so I am taking the weekend off working out; instead I shall take a pleasant hot bath. Awkwardly, driving, at least from the right of our stick-shift car, requires some use of my left arm. I also typically use it in brushing my teeth. My shoulder especially objects to my extending my left arm and applying force with it. Had I still the medical supplies I accumulated in the US I would be tempted to put it in a sling to help me rest it.

Marketplaces and other online disappointments

I have grumbled about Amazon here already, ( now I grumble some more. )

I have bought from eBay in a small way for years, more recently in a positive attempt to avoid Amazon, but I am have been starting to find eBay equally exasperating. Many sellers are great but ( too many are unacceptably bad. )

I was already annoyed at how eBay favors sellers: people seem to expect five stars for adequacy (so how to reward the excellent?) and one is strongly dissuaded from leaving any negative feedback. If the seller failed to get the advertised thing to me because of some easily avoided failing then that deserves some kind of negativity: simply getting my money back is hardly recompense if I needed the item in a timely manner. Do many buyers typically accept misdescribed sub-par items instead of returning them? Are sellers trying to get away with lies or are they simply inattentive idiots who do not check their own item and listing?

I wish there were a trustworthy online marketplace that offered a wide selection of goods. ( I have yet to find it. )

In other news, autoplaying trailers now seem to have come to Netflix's website. ( Therefore Netflix now offers me no tolerable way to discover shows. )