Grant_us_eyes
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User ID: 1156
Grant_us_eyes
4d ago
I think plenty of people from all over the world can assimilate and become culturally Southern
The word 'can' is doing alot of heavy lifting in your argument.
One of the elements that cemented my current opinion on such matters - among many - was talking with a friend of mine. Ethnically Italian, his family has been here for over a century.
And yet, despite this, there's parts of his family the rest know damn well to stay away from. Why? Because they're the ones connected to organized crime. The mafia.
A century of assimilation, and they're still culturally and ethnically distinct, with problems from the 'old world' still present. Hell, there's a sizable minority that have dual citizenship!
And this is with Italians. I grew up around alot of them. Hell, my father's godparents were damn near pure-blooded Italian!
And you're going to sit here, and suggest, straight to my face, that other ethnic groups are going to be better than them?
No. You import the people, you import the culture, for good and for ill. So stop importing them.
Grant_us_eyes
7d ago
Comparing two different nations with very different setups, society, and ethnic spread is always a bad comparison.
What works for one doesn't always work for another. I envy Japan on a level you cannot imagine for their train network, that doesn't mean I expect the same to be implemented in the US.
Grant_us_eyes
8d ago
A good chunk of our current society has made every effort to metaphorically disarm and discourage the previous set of 'nuns with rulers'. I don't see how trying to artificially implement them from the top down is going to do anything but make things worse.
Put bluntly, if you want a high-trust society, get more Daniel Perry's and stop punishing them when they actually step up and do things.
Funny aside - while I was doing research on wells, plumbing, and septic systems(for reasons), I was honestly surprised at the author quoting a multitude of people whom bluntly state some variation of 'Yeah, I use dowsing when searching for water, and it works.' Alternatively, 'It may or may not work, but I'm still gonna use it'.
Then again, I have a dim view of XKCD and think he isn't really all that, so...
Edit: Corrected 'sceptic' to 'septic', because I am not a smart man and my fingers often get away from my brain. Though one could argue both systems handle the same thing...
Grant_us_eyes
14d ago
Life insurance stops being a thing (in almost all cases) when people retire
Minor note - not a nitpick, more of a clarification for people who want to prepare for such things.
The majority of life insurance that gets sold is what is referred to as term life insurance - this is typically what you see advertised where they name a stupidly high number for a very small payment amount, and salesmen play this out as a lie of omission and make people assume that the stated amount is what they'll get when they die(spoilers: they won't.)
That isn't to say there aren't times when term life insurance isn't an applicable economic tool, but it's rarely sold as such.
If you want guaranteed life insurance, you want whole life insurance. This will pay out, regardless of circumstances, will often be much cheaper the earlier you get it, and often can be setup to be payed into over a certain period of time, like a mortgage. Some of them even allow for early withdrawal of the life insurance amount.
If you want to setup any type of additional economic protection for the long run, get one of these, and get them early.
Grant_us_eyes
20d ago
This is variable. While I've personally never had to experience it(knock on wood), I've had associates deal with insurance issues, such as debating on wether repair or totaling of the car is the more beneficial option(for the insurance company). Which, if you're without a vehicle and reliant on it for a job, can be very annoying and stressful.
Personal experience, my increase in insurance cost escalated to the point where my 6-month bill came in, I calculated the cost, and it was the equivalent of paying for a second car note.
I called up the company and more or less forced them to give me a lower rate, but come on.
Then, there's predatory regulations I've seen(and had to deal with) in terms of home insurance. Wasted money, in my opinion, required by the banks as an additional cost of home ownership and much better put aside into a savings account.
I won't even go into life insurance. I've seen both sides of that fence, and it's bad.
Insurance as a whole has a roundly negative opinion from people. You could schedule a death-game with insurance CEOs as the participants and you'd probably have people lining up for miles, cheering the spectacle on.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I would have thought the culture war aspect would have been obvious.
a woman stopped and asked him if he's OK
A female sheriff from Blue Ridge
My life, over the years, has taken weird turns, and put me in contact with people are are decidedly outside the norm.
Nothing best exemplifies this by my most recent job, which has put me in close contact with law enforcement around the country, Sheriffs Office's most heavily.
What I've learned is that Sheriffs actually have a very broad range in how they can enforce the law. Complaints from constituents can result in everything from just a general wellness checkup to brushing the matter off('I know the guy, he's fine, and I know the person complaining, she does this all the time') to putting out a warrant for someone's arrest.
So when I see something like this;
Later that evening, the sheriff and a back-up came back to the house and arrested the mother
That makes me raise more than a few eyebrows.
To put it bluntly, what the hell happened here to cause this reaction? Was the person filing the complaint a political bigwig who could have stirred up a massive fuss and the Sheriff wanted it taken care of properly to quiet a reaction? I've seen this happen before, so it wouldn't surprise. Or, more unfavorably, did the female Sheriff get a particular bee in her bonnet that made her bring the hammer down? I have no idea. An uncharitable part of me wants to lean in this general direction, because this entire thing is odd, no question, but who knows?
And on top of all that, this entire commotion was brought about by an 11-year old boy walking a mile in an area where a mile really isn't that big of a deal. Hell, I walked more than a mile away from my home when I was a kid, and I certainly don't live anywhere near the Blue Ridge mountains!
What an absolute mess and embarrassment for the Sheriff's Office.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I assumed he was being sensible and complaining about the largest sources of high-speed cars - IE, interstate traffic. Hence, you focus your sound-mitigation efforts there.
Off interstate/highway, you simply use speed control to keep the sound down. Perfect? No. But hardly the dystopic landscape the video likely paints.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I did add alot of prefaces and assumptions to my argument, yes. I personally doubt we'll be seeing functioning, self-driving cars any time soon.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I'm not very enamoured with the idea of sitting down and listening to a video essay from someone that I would likely dislike to the extreme. It's times like this I come back to my ever-increasing frustration over the lack of these sorts of people not including thier actual arguement typed out, in a proper essay, so I can actually sit down and read the damn thing.
Ahem.
I mention this to put my biases up front, and I will trust that what you state is the general gist of the video essay.
That said...
causing noise pollution
This is where I can only stare and wonder if these people actually function and operate in the real world. Large-scale interstate travel already happens through what's basically suburban areas. This is already a problem, and solutions can be very obvious - just build a goddamn wall.
As for
increasing congestion
Assuming a perfect solution - or, let's say, good enough solution for self-driving cars where thier tendancy to get into a wreck is lower than a human driver - the likelyhood is that, despite the increased usage, congestion will go down explicitly because computer-derived control will allow for smoother flow and volume management.
If you follow the logical conclusion of the above, this is even better - you can have the luxury of your own personal vehicular conveyance without the need to actually park it nearby your destination! Simply roll up, get out, and tell your car to either keep driving or find the nearest parking location. Tap a button on your phone, summon your car to wherever you ended up. All of a sudden, the need for immeadiate parking is killed, and the state mandated and required need for parking that drives current urban development has no leg to stand on, and we can all go back to the wonderful idyllic standard of walkable town centers of the early 20th century. Yay.
As an aside, I've worked in one of these areas before - they're honestly, surprisingly nice in alot of ways that aren't immeadiately obvious, so I can understand why people are so enamoured with them. That said, I can't help but feel that alot of people forget the time, place, and context in which these places were built.
And yes, the above is making a large number of utopian assumptions that I honestly don't beleive we'll ever get, but hey, I could be wrong...
All told, I tend to have a very dim view of people like this; they blatantly ignore the potential benefits and instead have a singular goal; get rid of cars, whatever the cost, regardless of the potential benefits.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
Neither. I finally answered my own question after going down a long train of research involving statistical probability, Bayesian mathematics, the German Tank Problem, and finally found what the term it is that I was thinking of.
For the curious, it's the Mediocrity Principle. Which is pretty much the inverse of the Anthropic Principle.
Thanks for the help, though.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I hate how my brain works.
Alright Motte, here's your odd question for the day;
There's a term that I've apparently forgotten, that refers to the idea that 'a single random sample from a data set is likely neither unique nor uncommon'.
I first recall hearing the term and phrase when reading about arguments for the likelihood of life on other planets and solar systems, utilizing Earth as the lynchpin of said argument.
So... does anyone have any idea as to what term I've apparently forgotten?
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I'm being surprised by people I didn't expect to bring up the election results actually bringing up the election results.
Not sure if this is a good thing or not...
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
As weird as this demented chimera of a forum is, I'm reasonably certain that we really don't have any major movers and shakers in the national political realm.
Reasonably certain.
...then again, on the off chance that I'm wrong, can we, make a wish list, or something? I've got a particular bone to grind with the EPA in regards to emission standards, and as it stands, purchasing a reasonably priced Toyota Hilux is about as likely as winning the lottery by this point...
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I'm thankful that I'm not the only one who noticed this, or was annoyed by it.
Grant_us_eyes
1mo ago
I try to limit my intake of olive oil simply due to how calorie dense it is, though I've been going back and forth over finding a good pre-made vinaigrette to go on my salad and just throwing my hands up and making my own from scratch.
You'd be surprised how many of said pre-made vinaigrettes use soybean oil, hence my annoyance.
When it comes to cooking, I typically prefer lard or butter.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
Atleast a few studies on soybean oil implies that is has alot of effects, none of them good.
I personally try to keep them out of my diet. Your mileage may vary.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
To be very uncharitable, the same people that go into hysterics about AI artwork would be the ones celebrating en masse if AI suddenly took over all long-haul truckers jobs.
I think we're seeing a very odd case of twisted future shock, where the expectation that AI would suddenly come in an usher a gay communist utopia has proven to not be the case. Instead, we're seeing AI used as tools meant to augment skills and intelligence, rather than physical work, and the same people that thought their creative skills protected them from being replaced have discovered that their creative skills are easily replaceable.
I don't really have an issue with AI artwork, myself. I think it's neat.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
The reason for the low number of babies via IVF is because of the expense.
You'd have to decrease the cost of IVF to a large degree in order to see any real changes on a measurable scale.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
Reported an arguably-overstated value for real estate they own?
IIRC, not even the bank had issue with the valuation.
It's not as if these people go into it blind. If it was anything like when I had to borrow money to purchase land, the bank did it's due diligence and sent out someone to examine the land and do their own valuation to determine how much they were willing to lend.
There were no aggravated or harmed parties. That lawsuit was pure political warfare.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
More importantly, this also isn't their first rodeo.
Florida is well-acquainted to dealing with hurricanes. They've had devastating category 5 storms in recent living memory that were extremely and extensively damaging, yes. But there's something odd I've begun to note with hurricanes, especially in the recent years - people have begun to learn from them. Infrastructure modified. Procedures amended. Housing codes changed. So that when the next one comes through, people and infrastructure are actually better able to handle it than the previous one.
This is the reason why Helene is so devastating - this is a region of the country that just doesn't have to deal with this sort of weather. It's a one-off fluke, their one-in-a-century storm. No one sensibly could have predicted it would have happened, no one could have accounted for it. Mother nature be like that, sometimes.
Grant_us_eyes
2mo ago
Weirdly enough, I recall reading an article that basically said exactly that; a Jew found he was much happier living in Israel than he was in America, despite the issues you outlined.
He basically concluded that it was a mix of close proximity, similar culture, and a sort of espirit de corp - a type of shared experience leading toward tighter and closer bonds.
I wish I could remember the name of the article, though. I hate how my brain works, sometimes.
Grant_us_eyes
3mo ago
The capability to manage your kitchen and clean as you go is a skill, but it can be learned with enough practice.
Though it's important to remember step zero - make sure your work area is easy to clean.
Grant_us_eyes
3mo ago
A curious example of the liberal bubble in action. Farmers have been rather irate with John Deere for years due to their black-box repair and maintenance policy, so I imagine the company in question getting screwed over would result in Farmers cheering.
Maybe I'm completely delusional, looking at the past with distorted lenses, and/or just plain wrong, but internet/pop culture atheist activism(Richard Dawkins et al) was very popular and trendy with the terminally online set back when being terminally online was a very weird thing to be. And the Motte(and the people whom make it up), through it's various iterations, are directly born from that period.
If anything, the Motte consistently going 'Ah, Christianity as Social Technology is perhaps the best thing that can be done for a modern civilization' isn't the result of unthinking acceptance but from the various social scars and bruises we've all taken and witnesses over the past several years.
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