Mantergeistmann
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User ID: 323
Mantergeistmann
15hr ago
You mean the world order where one country gets to blow up neutral ships as much as they want, and not a single country lifts a finger?
Well, per the laws of the sea, it's the responsibility of the flag nations (and only the flag nations) to respond. So flagless ships have no recourse. Or are you referring to Iran striking shipping?
Or the one where one country builds hundreds of artificial islands in the ocean and harasses anyone who gets close, and not a single country lifts a finger?
Yeah, I really wish there'd be a ton more pushback here, but there's sadly pretty much zero political will. Or public knowledge.
Or maybe it's the one where one country gets to turn another into a giant open-air prison, and not a single country lifts a finger?
Which one is this? I've heard people refer to Gaza that way, but it's a pretty false description.
Mantergeistmann
15hr ago
Surprised he isn't getting involved in REGENT's Seaglider ferries, then, but I guess he doesn't live anywhere they'd be useful.
Mantergeistmann
15hr ago
It's not always easy for normies to understand how awesome rockets and space stuff is -- seriously, how many people actually care and realize the importance of fully reusable launch vehicles? It is easy for normies to understand and get excited by flying cars.
Mantergeistmann
16hr ago
Countermeasures, and sea control to prevent placing them. I think Iran has historically tended more towards small-boat-deployed mines, rather than rocket/air/torpedo deployment, although it wouldn't surprise me if they've also got (had?) some capability in those later categories that the US has been heavily targeting.
Mantergeistmann
1d ago
That's Bret Devereaux's view, and it's pretty persuasive.
Mantergeistmann
1d ago
the podracing feels like it was kind of tacked on out of obligation. It's the best part of the game, but siloed off from both the main campaign and the main multiplayer mode, and there are no ways to customize your podracer, unlike the other vehicles.
That seems like a massive own goal. I'd assume most people who hear "Star Wars" and "Racer" in a videogame would be in it for the podracing, even people who hated the prequels overall.
Mantergeistmann
1d ago
Canada is mostly shooting itself in the foot
How so? That's not the read I've been having on the situation, but then again, most of my Canadian news comes from CBC, so...
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
your theory predicts female rockstars should be mid, but that's not what I see? Girls in bands, both big and small, tend to be a bit prettier and more stylish than baseline.
I would agree, but with a slightly different take: the female equivalent to Meatloaf (appearance-wise) would not make it.
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
Of the ships that sank this week, one was a 39k dwt. container ship (~3k TEU), the other a 170k dwt. bulker. So yeah, neither was a tanker, but the 170k bulker is a pretty big ship -- too big for either Suez or Panama, I believe
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
Two ships sink near Hormuz after being hit by projectiles amid surge in attacks
Slightly misleading headline: one of the ships sank due to damage sustained in a September 23 strike (so unconnected to the recent surge, except that it maybhave hindered damage control/salvage efforts but I've seen no claims of such), the other from recent damage that Iran claims was a mine rather than a projectile.
So actually as a headline it seems to be very factually inaccurate, but directionally true.
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
In the case of the Cambridge folks, presumably having a dedicated and distinguished comedy troupe helped them learn and refine their humour. I would say that probably goes beyond merely "socializing and connections".
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
Those last two combined would probably go well together: watching football means you're not a weirdo, while analyzing classical music scores is a bit quirky, sounds intellectual, and is a jumping off point for more conversation. Add something physical/outdoorsy (gardening? Casual bicycling?) And I think you're golden.
... i say as a man who's out of the dating market and has been so for a good many years.
Mantergeistmann
4d ago
I recall it being over an hour (not counting traffic), and the other vehicle option was a Mercury Mountaineer. Call it 15-20 MPG?
Mantergeistmann
4d ago
I'm hardly on the left, but:
Trump is a populist liar who is only in it to enrich himself
This seems pretty uncontroversial?
Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity.
Up until AI, yeah, but mostly by default because what competition was there?
The resources that could be used to solve poverty, hunger, and global warming already exist.
Yes? But I largely give capitalism credit for this. There probably is enough food production worldwide that hunger is just a distribution problem at this point in time (and if not, well, GMOs can help with that!), and global warming has a lot of good ideas that can solve it... nuclear, cloud seeding, etc.
Mantergeistmann
5d ago
You'll hear people talk about buying a brand new hybrid or electric car to "save on gas," even though there's no way the gas savings could ever add up to the cost of the new car.
My dad actually did that once: compared the cost of gas with his SUV vs. the cost of gas+payments on a hybrid. Came out in favour of the latter. Granted, that was largely due to him having a sizeable commute at the time, and your point probably does hold true for most people.
Mantergeistmann
8d ago
Do Pern and/or Mercedes Lackey count as "Romantasy"? Presumably at least the latter's 500 Kingdoms series would.
Mantergeistmann
8d ago
I wonder when the last time a world leader actually disappeared or had a Weekend at Bernie's scenario.
The new Iranian supreme leader?
Mantergeistmann
10d ago
Man, I guess I won't see any more job listings for "OnlyFans message responder" on Indeed anymore...
Mantergeistmann
11d ago
One game that wouldn't be classified as "horror" but might be worth including is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. The entire game (at least early) is pretty close to being overall powerless, trapped with a metaphorical noose slowly and inexorably being tightened. It does a great job of instilling a claustrophobic effect.
Of course, this being MegaTen, you can eventually solve it by punching God, but still.
Mantergeistmann
12d ago
it's just a fun empirical fact that if someone online is very worried about China in some way, I can tell you with absolute certainty that they are either a right-wing patriot or deep in the weeds of AI safety.
Or they read the Maritime Executive at lunch and keep an eye on the South China Sea shenanigans.
Mantergeistmann
12d ago
I've encountered similar (but in reverse) with people arguing the US needs to reduce military spending (especially among people who are otherwise supportive of NATO).
Mantergeistmann
13d ago
Personal saving is equal to personal income less personal outlays and personal taxes; it may generally be viewed as the portion of personal income that is used either to provide funds to capital markets or to invest in real assets such as residences.
Emphasis mine. Does this mean that a mortgage payment is part of the personal saving rate? Presumably only the principal part if so, rather than taxes/interest. But if that's the case, the national rate seems impossibly low.
Mantergeistmann
17d ago
War of the sexes seems dumb. War is a game where everyone loses, but one side just loses less than the other.
"The problem with having a war of the sexes is that there's too much fraternizing with the enemy!"
Mantergeistmann
18d ago
In vanilla classic, there was a dagger that dropped from the end boss of a dungeon at a 0.2% rate (not a typo. zero point 2 percent, and later 2% after the devs changed it). Players would solo this dungeon boss 5 times an hour (the limit) nonstop until they got it.
That wouldn't happen to have been a level 19 requirement dagger that therefore made it tremendously popular for alts in low-level PvP, would it? I recall something like that specifically...
I have nothing to add, just that I always love seeing any mention of it.
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