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netstack

The horse embodies the wings a person feels inside.

10 followers   follows 3 users  
joined 2022 September 05 17:27:40 UTC 

				
User ID: 647


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
netstack


								

								

								
								
									
								
								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
The horse embodies the wings a person feels inside.

				
				
				

				

					10 followers  

					follows 3 users  

					joined 2022 September 05 17:27:40 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 647


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Another story: after my grandmother passed, we found a little black notebook from her mother describing a trip from Illinois down to Florida in the late 30s or maybe the 40s. It was more or less the first time she’d traveled. She noted every time they had to stop for gas, the prices, and whether my great-grandfather had to top off the oil. Apparently that was every few stops. Beautiful handwriting, too. Point is, I could see a vast expansion in mobility as automobile and road coverage took off.


I need to see if I can find it again.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My sister went to one out in the New Mexico desert that did.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh, man. You’re one of yesterday’s lucky 10,000.


What’s your background with music? Have you tried a guitar or something before? Edit: I see your comment below. Yeah, I think the string spacing masks the structure. At least it does for me. But I learned on a single-note-at-a-time wind instrument.


And did he talk about modes, or the minor scale??


Learning about this stuff is so cool.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That’s in pretty poor taste, but I will admit that I chuckled.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Right.


All states “legalize abortion up to the moment of crowning” under some conditions. 10 states, most of them left-leaning, stripped the conditions. On the other hand, states like CA and NY, which are usually furthest left, didn’t feel the need.


This suggests that “legalize abortion up to the moment of crowning” was not really what “the Left wanted.” It’s more like a side effect of 1) avoiding Texas-style ambiguity and 2) countersignaling that they aren’t like those icky red states.


If one believes that unnecessary abortions are really quite rare, or that they are permissible if unsavory, then that looks like a good trade. If not, then it looks like leaving a loophole for sickos.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You missed Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, and Maryland.


But every state has an exception to save the mother’s life. Even some of the most conservative, like Alabama, allow aborting nonviable pregnancies.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That’s how my brother and I are doing it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Would you extend this much charity




Yes. Something like “the right wants to punish women for having sex” would be a ridiculous claim, even if some laws occasionally have that effect. Even when some of the fringe will cheerfully say as much! I believe conservatives when they say they really want to stop the baby murders.


Massachusetts says that this law is supposed to reduce uncertainty in an already-tragic situation. In doing so, it creates the possibility for an abortion right up before crowning. I hope that never happens, and I would be disturbed and disgusted if it did—but it is not the goal of the law. Polling suggests most Americans think like I do, and support bans with exceptions rather than unrestricted abortion. I expect most residents of Massachusetts would feel the same way.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There’s just so much. I keep finding a new cave or treasure which I somehow missed on all previous playthroughs.


And that map! That beautiful, sprawling map.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Why stop there? More Canadians are killed by cancer, heart disease, COVID, and accidents than doctors. More Americans are killed by themselves than by other people with guns. Reasoning with raw quantities is more likely to get assisted suicide expanded rather than abolished. You won’t dismantle the master’s house with his tools.




a concerted effort on the part of certain factions




Who, exactly, do you have in mind? Doctors? Liberals?




ridiculous claim




It is a little ridiculous. Most states still have restrictions after 5 to 6 months, including California, Virginia and New York. Most states will also allow extremely late abortions…if only to save the mother’s life. Some, like Texas, have been intentionally vague about what they would and wouldn’t tolerate. Massachusetts claims that it’s rescinding its second-trimester exception specifically to help mothers in that situation. There is no insinuation that anyone involved would be happy about a D&E.


In conclusion, I think you’re overfitting the trend. Abortion laws are relatively stable now that the post-Dobbs reactions have smoothed out. They also don’t really connect to suicide or organ donor laws on the left. For the religious right, they’re all spiritual concerns, but the material facts don’t line up.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yes, but with a particularly gormless, class-driven sort of trust.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That only goes to 1950, though. By which point America is almost fully electrified and coming off a generational economic boom. I wouldn’t be surprised if working hours peaked right after WW2.


A casual search found this totally unbiased article, which suggests the U.S. started movements for paid time off, but Sweden and Germany adopted them first.


I know the eight-hour workday became popular over the course of the 1800s. I could see the paid vacation as a Progressive outgrowth of that sentiment.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 7, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Worst Invincible War OC.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Elden Ring: The Convergence with my brother.


This is a borderline-total-conversion mod for one of the best games of the decade. It removes almost all of the progression gates to focus on remixing areas and playstyles. Instead of cruising every region to see if there’s a relevant spell or talisman, your starting class gets a shopping list of places to try. That’ll take your character on a tour as you accumulate relevant gear and stats. And there’s plenty to see; in addition to the new and redesigned items and spells, entire areas have been expanded. Surprisingly, most of it has a pretty high quality level and looks like it could have been cut content.


I’m playing an archer using the talisman which gives you infinite ammo. It would normally have a drawback, but with my choice of gear, I’m able to dampen that and spam arrows without worrying about the cost. My brother has built full tank with greatshield. He keeps aggro and breaks poise while I needle them. It’s broken but in a silly, fun way.


Highly recommended if you’ve seen all the vanilla Elden Ring you want. Combine it with Seamless Co-op to make it even more casually enjoyable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Definitely longer stays. You can see it in a lot of period fiction. Some of that comes down to social class but it applied to labor too.


Prior to rail access, you had coaching inns for travel and boarding houses for longer stays. I think this shaded a little more smoothly from “staying” to “renting.” You had flophouses (where nobody would stay for long if they could help it) all the way up through factory town lodgings or urban apartments. The big hotels take off once railways concentrate a lot more traffic in one spot.


I’m pretty sure individuals used to offer rooms more, too. Some of the quirks of Remains of the Day come from the butler protagonist staying at various private homes which operate more like a bed and breakfast. This is as he’s making a multi-day trip across…England.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Judging by their previous games, they’ve never understood how to manage success.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
“Which came first: the shitty rave music, or the drugs?”


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I’m not sure what you mean.


I think moving the conference because their feelings were hurt is lame. I also think it’s orthogonal to the missionary spirit, in which immortal souls are supposedly at stake.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 7, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Has YT ever done anything else?


Serious question.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Mea culpa. Nine sets of scare quotes to say that this movement is inherently averse to consistency, with no comparisons to similar movements.


I think this is still awfully uncharitable. “Alternative ways of knowing” have next to zero impact on the vast majority of progressive politics. People can and do argue any number of progressive policies—police, borders, reparations—on the boring ol’ grounds of facts and logic. That doesn’t change when some jackass decides to mock mathematics for being too white.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Hosting a conference isn’t missionary work. They’re not shirking a duty to their flock or their fellow man by hosting it in Portland or wherever.


Your apostate acquaintance is a different story. Are you suggesting that the UMC ethos was responsible for leaving him unprepared?


I grew up as a casual Methodist. I can’t say I miss it. Perhaps they really failed to inculcate the fear of God.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I’m not surprised you could tell. There are a bunch of groups that just sort of make it obvious, but most of them don’t have a Pope. Homeschoolers, new Agers. Mormons.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh, come on. Nine sets of scare quotes to say this movement is unusually prone to contradiction?


Show me a coalition which has national reach and I’ll show you a contradictory mess.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Exactly. Precision manufacturing requires a lot of things to go right. Then they have to be provably right, which was a recurring problem for the Soviet system.


I think the latter danger is real but not for that reason. Comparative advantage pushed Americans out of manufacturing. We still produce excellent technical professionals*, but they have little incentive to start up an industrial plant. The money is in finance, pharma, software.


When I was in college, the perception of academia was already pretty grim. People were aware of the employment prospects and the shift towards adjunct professors. It’s hard to imagine it getting better in the last ten years.


I’d say cultural work has also taken a beating, though that’s even more subject to my bubble. This is a damn cynical generation. Are they really eager to fight over the last scraps of journalism? Of mass culture?


* I wanted to show this via bls.gov, but the data retrieval tool was “under maintenance.”


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Probably not. As I understand it, China has been investing a lot of money into domestic jet engines for decades. The marginal opportunities from an active conflict are small by comparison.


Espionage isn’t going to be enough, either. The U.S. was literally collecting Nazi experts and still took years to integrate early jets. China has picked all that low-hanging fruit.


I remember reading an article about China’s difficulties called something like “why jet engines are hard.” It wasn’t the Construction Physics article, which focuses on the West. I thought it was older than this, too.
If I find it, I’ll let you know.