Random Thoughts and Musings...

[Count Arioch the 28th]

Explains a lot, actually. Except I actively stopped pleasing people because from my perspective it's impossible to make anyone happy.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Is anyone on this forum other than Shrapnel (openly) autistic? I dimly recall something about Koumei being considered autistic by one doctor, but then later there was a second opinion that she wasn't, and even that's a vague memory. Shrapnel's definitely the one who actually brought it up recently. He joined in 2012, by which point you were posting under the "Ted the Flayer" handle, and the spite for you had mostly peaked.

So while I haven't read every post to doublecheck, I'm pretty sure Shrapnel never did a goddamn thing to you and that no one else but him is being upset by your behavior. You aren't avenging wrongs done to you, you're just turning around and kicking an unrelated person in the teeth.

I'm openly autistic and upset by Count's douchebaggery. I also haven't personally antagonized Count beyond calling him pathetic for using "autism" in an insulting manner.

That being said, you're totally right that Shrapnel hadn't done anything to Count prior to that incident.

[Josh_Kablack]

Current random musing:

Why do so many people flip out over whether to use the common English or more directly Greek-derived pluralization of "Octopus" when nobody ever does it over creatures from actual Greek myth?

I mean arguing that the monster manual should list Pegapodes and Catoblepones seems like the sort of things nerds would have already done....

[Count Arioch the 28th]

https://youtu.be/2Gtw8nqrIaQ

[Chamomile]

Anecdotal observation: Octopus sounds like it's latin, so people who like to use latin pluralizations for loanwords from latin went around claiming (like Bender) that the correct pluralization was octopi.

Speculation: This made it relevant that actually octopus is derived directly and obviously from the Greek oktopous and thus if you really want to attach yourself to the grammar rules of the language-of-origin for loanwords, the correct pluralization is actually oktopodes. I imagine this was first brought up by people trying to demonstrate that worrying about 2500 year old grammar because of etymological roots was stupid, but the intended audience took the wrong message from it. In any case, the conversation around octopus only got started because people already familiar with latin pluralization mistook it for latin. Pegasus and catoblepas and such never had that conversation.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Pegasus is an especially weird case because it's originally a proper noun.

[Darth Rabbitt]

You touched a nerve and he got pissed off. This is the internet, it happens. Water off a duck's back, man.

Count's shitty non apology (which he has essentially doubled down on here) is clearly what really pissed him off, not the initial mention. It's less "water off a duck's back" and more "Count repeatedly pissing in a duck's face."

[The Adventurer's Almanac]

Yeah, I don't know what else you expected.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, I don't know what else you expected.

You not to pat his back for it?

[Count Arioch the 28th]

I'm sorry you feel that way.

[Maj]

Lessons I Hope We Learn from COVID-19

• Social programs buffer us against widespread problems, like a savings account buffers a person/family in times of emergency.
• Not all enemies can be fought with guns. We have a strong military, but that's not really gonna help against the virus.
• Our insistence upon the importance of freedoms has become so extreme and fundamentalist that they're now freedumbs.
• Empty shelves don't happen because of socialism. They happen because of human panic. Capitalism didn't save us from a lack of Charmin.
• The internet is a utility.
• People love to go to parks and do art, but they don't have time. We should have more time.
• Humans are social animals. Yes, there exists people who do better with smaller amounts of human contact, but they do still require community. Competition is a thing we do, but our superpower is cooperation.

There will probably be more I add to this list. And we will probably not learn any of it. But I hope we do.

[Blade]

[*]Empty shelves don't happen because of socialism. They happen because of human panic. Capitalism didn't save us from a lack of Charmin.

List time I went shopping there were long waiting lines in front of shops (many shops around here limit the number of people who can be inside, and the waiting lines try to keep 1m between each people, leading to long lines) and some of the shelves were quite empty.

There was a distinct lack of soviet propaganda, though

[Iduno]

[*]Empty shelves don't happen because of socialism. They happen because of human panic. Capitalism didn't save us from a lack of Charmin.

List time I went shopping there were long waiting lines in front of shops (many shops around here limit the number of people who can be inside, and the waiting lines try to keep 1m between each people, leading to long lines) and some of the shelves were quite empty.

There was a distinct lack of soviet propaganda, though

I tried to go shopping yesterday, because I figured a Sunday would be lighter. I was happy to see the parking lot half empty, but then I saw the tightly packed line of people waiting in a line outside in the rain coughing on each other. The rule that no more than 10 people can gather only applies to inside the grocery store, not outside. Same story at the other grocery store I tried.

[erik]

I checked out whether shopping was viable this past weekend, parking lot was much less busy than usual so figured that was a good sign and ventured forth. Was able to shop without getting too close to people and self-checkout. Only about half the stuff on my list was in stock, but it was enough.

I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone in a high risk category since I wasn't guaranteed that nobody would walk up and cough or sneeze in my direction, and my attention span was adequate to make sure I never touched my face until after cleaning my hands at home. I'm pretty much sheltering at home now on work furlough and my only cohabitants are also in low risk categories. All in all I'm pleased I skipped shopping during the first frenzied week in Indianapolis.

If I saw lines outside, coughing or no, I would've noped out for sure.

[deaddmwalking]

Was able to shop without getting too close to people and self-checkout.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I refuse to use self-checkout anywhere. They're among the dirtiest places in a store. I'd feel safer licking the toilet seats than using self-checkout.

[erik]

The only thing you touch at self-checkout other than single use bags is poking the touch screen a couple times, which is a communal doorknob sure, but I had sanitizer in my pocket so I got a good slathering on immediately after that.

I try to just touch those things with my fingernail. Usually that works. We have a touch screen clock-in pad which I do the same for.

After the touch screen I'd say the cart is the worst, and I cleaned the handle for that as best I could. There's no perfect defense, but I did my best.

[Maj]

The three groceries in town are PACKED. And the stores aren't doing anything to deal with the issue. They aren't limiting the number of people in the store. They are just letting people mob the store, especially when new supplies arrive.

I needed a few things this morning (how could I be out of hand soap?!), and so I drove by the stores, and I didn't want to go in.

So I went to Dollar Tree. There were only six cars in the parking lot. They were low on the obvious supplies like hand sanitizer and paper products, but the store was mostly well-stocked. They had things that were completely gone in the grocery stores - like frozen vegetables. Well stocked, in lots of options, and actually at a better price. Shampoo and stuff was all there. I bought two boxes of tissue.

There's also another local shop that sells food close or past the expiration (but is still perfectly fine - cans of olives aren't going to be unsafe a month after the expiration). Hardly anyone goes there, as well, so they have good supplies. They weren't open this morning, though.

[Maj]

Why do YouTube and Facebook have to censor videos of misinformation, but cable broadcasters and satellite TV providers don't?

[Grek]

YouTube and Facebook are not required to censor misinformation, they do so in order to improve their reputations. They are both relatively modern platforms (less than 15 years old for both) which rely on user-generated content. This naturally poses the question of which users exactly are generating that content and whether those users (and therefore the platform as a whole) are trustworthy. Thus the very public efforts to reassure the public that they can be trusted.

The big cable news networks have existed for nearly three times as long as either platform, make very little use of user generated content and cater to an older demographic with fixed opinions about which news stations can be trusted. This all makes it difficult for CNN to convince non-CNN viewers that they aren't complete corporate shills or for Fox News to convince non-Fox News viewers that they are anything other than a Republican propaganda mill. And since they are aware that they can't do anything to budge their reputations for better or worse, they mostly don't try to.

[OgreBattle]

holy shit there's really Americans out there (Tankies?) that believe North Korea has democratic elections and it's all American propaganda to make them look like a dictatorship

[The Adventurer's Almanac]

Are they serious or is it just Twitter LARPing?

[Roog]

Are they serious or is it just Twitter LARPing?

Last week, my flatmate described to me how had been spreading the word online how NK is actually democratic. He seems to be genuinely sincere.

[Kaelik]

holy shit there's really Americans out there (Tankies?) that believe North Korea has democratic elections and it's all American propaganda to make them look like a dictatorship

To be fair, Americans believe that the US has democratic elections, so you can get them to believe literally anything.

[The Adventurer's Almanac]

Are they serious or is it just Twitter LARPing?

Last week, my flatmate described to me how had been spreading the word online how NK is actually democratic. He seems to be genuinely sincere.

Please tell us more about your flatmate and his political views. This sounds like it could be good for a laugh.

[Kaelik]

Are they serious or is it just Twitter LARPing?

Last week, my flatmate described to me how had been spreading the word online how NK is actually democratic. He seems to be genuinely sincere.

Serious question because it has never been important enough for me to look up..... Does NK even have fake elections like Saddam did?