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ActuallyATleilaxuGhola

Axolotl Tank Class of '21

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joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC 

				
User ID: 1012


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Axolotl Tank Class of '21

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 1012


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 18, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


But the performative surprise that others might is disingenuous.

Uncharitable and frankly surprising since your posts are usually pretty high quality.  I'm not performing anything.  "Performative " describes people who act outraged when a 42 year old bangs a 17 year old but don't care when a 43 year old bangs an 18 year old.






It’s not some made up woke shit.




Conservatives were performatively butthurt about this stuff way before the Woke.  "Won't someone think of the children!" is an ancient meme.  I never said it was "made up woke shit."  Conservatives have a way longer history of disingenuous pearl clutching, that's why I brought up Lewinsky.  I'm saying that I think both wokies and self-righteous moral majority types who express offense at this are inconsistent and ridiculous.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 18, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I looked up the scandal on Wikipedia.  He allegedly had sex with a 17 year old (who he claims he thought was 19)?  That's what's made him radioactive?  Is there anything else I'm missing?  The wiki section for this says "UNDERAGE SEX TRAFFICKING" so I was expecting he was ordering 9-year Ukrainian war orphans to his house or something, but this really underwhelming. Technically a crime, yes, blah blah blah, but reminds me of the pearl clutching over Lewinsky.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 19, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks for the details! I'll try these out.




ultra-fine nylon mesh strainers




Great tip, this is what I was missing.  Internet recipes always instruct you to "strain through a cheesecloth" which is horribly tedious and messy.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 19, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks, pretty cool.  How did you pull these off?


    

  • Brown sugar oatmeal vodka
    • 

  • Maple bacon bourbon
    • 



Also, I reformatted your list for easier reading:


Umeshu

Roasted pineapple-cinamon tequila

Cranberry vodka

Blueberry vodka

Brown sugar oatmeal vodka

Maple bacon bourbon

Limoncello

Rhubarb vodka

Pompelmocello (limoncello but grapefruit)

Roasted walnut/roasted pecan vodka/bourbon  Jalapeno tequila: homegrown jalapenos were too spicy

Peach vodka

Pineapple vodka (if you know how much I dislike peaches, these being ranked lower says a lot)

Granny smith vodka

Roasted/unroasted murasaki imo (purple sweet potato) vodka/bourbon: absolutely vile, despite trying some different ratios


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 19, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Is beer worth it?  IIRC I tried some homebrew in college and it was very okay.  It seems like you'd need to invest in some nice equipment and fancy ingredients to make something that would actually be better than even mediocre craft beers, and it also seems easy to screw up and make something undrinkable.


I've heard nothing but bad things about mead. What was your experience with it?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 5, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks.  It sounds like anything else where there's no shortcut and you just have to put in the hours of practice to get good.


Will you post any of your stories when they're done?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 19, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Just bottled this year's first batch of homemade sake.  I got a bigger umeshu jar this year so I was able to make about 5L of the stuff.  Left a good amount of the rice particulate in so it has that nigorizake taste, though much less sweet.  We have a lot of sake lees from this batch, so I'm thinking of marinating some pork and probably some cucumbers and carrots.  Any other ideas?  (Paging @George_E_Hale -- but keep it on the down low!)


I've also got several batches of umeshu in the work, though they won't be done until next summer.  But I do have one experimental batch that will be ready next month -- "Christmas umeshu" with a cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and nutmeg.  I expect it will be overpowering and terrible by itself, but maybe okay in a mug of hot water. Looking forward to cracking it open in a few weeks.


Any amateur brewers, distillers, or infusers on The Motte?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 19, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
How much of an ordeal is this?  Is the grinder a pain to clean?  Is it easy to get the sausages to taste right?  Is it only cost-effective if you are able to obtain a lot of good meat at a low price?  Is it fun, or just messy/tedious?  Is it easy to get the meat-to-spice ratio correct?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Tinker Tuesday for November 5, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
How do you overcome self-loathing as a writer?  In high school I loved to write and I did so unselfconsciously, but in college I started to "try" and found that every time I wrote something that in the moment felt profound, when I read it again the next day I found it terrible and embarrassing.  Is there some mental trick to short-circuiting this impulse?  I really want to write as I remember it being as enjoyable as playing music.


Also, what are you writing about?  Tell me about your story and characters.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 17, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Gone South by Robert McCammon.  Read it a long time ago and liked it.  Also plan to pick up my copy of Medieval Canon Law again which is an intro to the subject for laymen.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I'm agnostic on the cause




What do you make of the idea that the government now fulfills most of the roles that a husband and the extended family used to fill, though in an inferior capacity?  It seems similar to the way free streaming porn and thirst-trap simp-magnets have supplanted chasing girls in the lives of many young men, though also in an inferior capacity.  In both cases, the choice used to be between a risky venture (dating/marriage) and simply having nothing at all (no sex/economic security/companionship).  Now, there's a inferior choice on offer that requires way less risk/effort, so a lot of people "choose" that out of inertia.


Radical feminism/inceldom seem downstream from these massive changes in the sexual and romantic landscape.  I can't imagine them arising in a state that did not have a massive welfare machine and lax sexual mores.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
South Koreans really aren't very effeminate compared to other East Asians.  They all go through military service which seems to change a substantial portion of them physically and mentally, at least IME.  The problem (as explained in the linked AAQC) really does seem to be mostly caused by (unrealistically) high female standards.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 15, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think the BOJ has been far more concerned with deflation than inflation over the last several decades.  And it's not that people don't trust the currency, it's that the BOJ prefers a gradual, managed decline that preserves pensions and lifelong employment to any sort of economic dynamism, so a weak yen is fine to them as long as the largest voting blocs ("old people" and "very old people") can still push paper around for a mediocre wage/receive their pensions and can afford to buy rice, tofu, vegetables, and cigarettes.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 15, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
FWIW, the last 1-2 years has been a nightmare of overtourism.  I've been living and traveling here for over a decade and it's never been this bad in Tokyo.  So maybe visit somewhere else and come back after the boom is over. Don't worry, the yen is probably permanently ruined so it'll stay cheap.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think there's also the question of which set of ideals were talking about.  Are they the ideals of the Founding Fathers, which presupposed a European/Christian worldview and a virtuous populace? Or are they the ideals of the Civil Rights Neoconstitution that is IMO essentially a pro-globalist anti-identity?  If it's the former, I might be okay with supporting the civnats, but it's the latter, I'm going to reluctantly support the blood-and-soil people.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks, I will.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Does "the Gribble faction" just mean "people who don't trust all the official narratives and are therefore low status" or do you have something more specific in mind?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
But why?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				U.S. Election (Day?) 2024 Megathread
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm still waiting for some high quality salt like the legendary cheesemonger post.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				U.S. Election (Day?) 2024 Megathread
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I want to stay up and F5 Twitter/4chan for hot election shitposts but I have to go to work tomorrow.  D:


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 1, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Definitely agree.  One of the more challenging parts of my job is having to be the guy who who says, "Okay, you want this app to be HA... but why? If you can justify this to me and tie it to some positive business outcome that merits the extra engineering hours spent, we can do this.  Otherwise, no."  I've only ever worked on understaffed teams and so I've always had to be extremely judicious when allocating engineering effort.  Most ICs want to do this kind of thing because it's cool, or "best practice," or they see it as a career builder/educational opportunity.  FWIW in 1:1s I ask what their career growth goals are and actively try to match them with work that will help them progress -- so I'm not entirely unsympathetic to their wishes).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 1, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah, it's pretty grim.  The only place I didn't have to deal with that kind of thing was at a place where the entire leadership consisted of former software engineers.  Otherwise it's a constant battle.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 1, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Everything you listed except Celery is how I got into tech and make six figures now, lol.  I don't know how computers work** since I don't have a CS degree and don't do tech stuff for fun (anymore), but I agree that a lot of people use the tools you listed terribly (especially Terraform and k8s, wtf).  But I'm curious what your objections are to the tools you listed.  How would you do things differently?  Usually when I run into someone who pooh-poohs those tools, they're the sort of person who wants to write their own epic genius 1337 codegolf in-house tool that has zero documentation, is full of idiosyncracies, and will become someone else's pain in the ass when they leave the company in a year.  And then it's a part of the workflow that I have to use/work with/work around/slowly start making plans to sneakily deprecate.  I dunno, I'm in my mid 30s.  Maybe in a few years I'll start to get crusty too.


**by this I mean I have only basic knowledge about DSA, time/space complexity, Linux internals, etc.  compared to turbo nerds who spend every weekend contributing to OSS for fun


ETA: One thing that I think is lost on a lot of engineers is the value of legibility.  Terraform might suck, but you can explain what it does to some dumb non-technical stakeholder or some mid/low-quality engineer. It has tons of docs, and there are lots of slick videos explaining it on YouTube.  HCL sucks, and it reinvents a lot of basic programming concepts but worse (for_each), but it's pretty easy to get started with.


There's also the "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" factor.  As a manager, part of my job is pushing for new/better tooling.  If it's something mainstream and there are case studies or tons of threads about it or some Gartner bullshit or whatever, I can budget approved easier.  What I pick is almost certainly not the optimal tool/software, but I have to get shit done and I can't let perfect be the enemy of good.


This also comes into play with public cloud (touched on by @ArjinFerman).  I've never worked anywhere that has fully optimized cloud spending, there's always tons of waste.  But after the corporate card is attached to the AWS account, I can provision servers/containers/clusters when I need to, and I only get yelled at about billing once a year as long as nothing ever gets out of hand.  Is it wasteful, inefficient, and dumb?  Yes, but that's just a reflection of the wasteful, inefficient, and dumb nature of the vast majority of human organizations.  It's not a technical problem.


tl;dr a lot of the devops/infra people know these tools are dumb/inefficient but the alternatives are endless red tape or deadlock.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 28, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
McDonald's would build a restaurant near Harvard in a wealthy area and the manager (probably an elite who would usually not actually be present at the restaurant -- some middle class schlub would be hired as assistant manager to actually run things) would in practice only require well-connected prospective Harvard student employees to show up on a single day in their 6 month shift and excuse all other absences.  It would just become another node in the elite influence and favor trading network.  You would need a powerful sovereign of some sort to actually impose this on the rich and well-connected.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 28, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Which one of you motherfuckers




Found JD Vance's grandma.