Beep beep, beep beep, yeah.

[cyrano]

The EU declares that using gender as a determinant for auto insurance premiums is discrimination and will end by 2013.

I'm usually a big equality guy, but in this case I understand the reason for the difference. If you're going to charge for insurance based on population rather than personal performance (which is *my* personal burr under the collar--why am *I* getting charged for some bozo in Auburn Hills who can't go nine months without plowing into another car?) then it makes as much sense to discriminate according to gender as it does according to age or location. However, discounts for being married still make no sense. Brittany Spears did not become a demonstrably safer driver for the 45 minutes she was engaged in wedded bliss.
EDIT: I have been schooled here. Marriage discounts make as much sense as age, gender, and location.

Also--low fat experiment of the day:
Five servings of tofu (one cube) at 1.5g of fat each
One tin of roasted tomatoes
One tin of tomato paste
One tin of beef broth which says 0g of fat but we gave it 0.5 anyway
Black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, salt, to taste

Throw it in a saucepan. Simmer until you have to go to work. Works out to one gram of fat per ladle, or two grams per serving.

Beans would have been nice, as would have onions or garlic. (Or a nice cubed cut of beef, but.) It's kind of like chili but without the beans and meat. It's not great, but I'll probably eat a couple of servings today.

Comments

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Britney Spears is a statistical outlier. That's what almost all insurance rate adjustments are based on - the statistics for your particular demographic - and statistically, married people have significantly fewer accidents than singles, are less likely to drive drunk, etc. Kind of sucks if you're a responsible driver in the single-young-male demographic, but to their credit they usually reduce your rates significantly after each year that you don't have an accident. Or at least, they did for me.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Or if you're a gay responsible driver. But yeah, you're right, it's the exact same reasoning behind using age and gender. If they found out that people who drank orange juice had significantly higher accident rates, or people with high incomes, they'd probably use that as a determining factor as well.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, actuarial science. :)

That chili sounds kind of tasty, and yeah, onions and garlic and, hell, all kinds of herbs and spices would be awesome in something like that.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I think that if I'd had time to throw the tofu in a frying pan it would have helped, but for a day where I manage to stay comfortably under my fat allotment this is a good first attempt which can then be refined. (: