canekicker's recent activity
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
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Comment on The shutdown of USAID has already killed hundreds of thousands in ~society
canekicker (edited )Link ParentThat's more generous than I'd say. I think they don't give a shit and the fact it's poor brown people makes it even harder to care. For all his insane faults, at least W cared and followed through...That's more generous than I'd say. I think they don't give a shit and the fact it's poor brown people makes it even harder to care. For all his insane faults, at least W cared and followed through with his compassionate Christian bullshit and provided foreign aid to a lot of these places but that whole wing of conservativism is dead and hated by MAGA
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Comment on The Armed - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) (2025) in ~music
canekicker LinkEasily my favorite new (to me) band from the past year. I do really enjoy experimental subgenres so experimental hardcore is right up my alley. Plus, a band willing to change their sound every...Easily my favorite new (to me) band from the past year. I do really enjoy experimental subgenres so experimental hardcore is right up my alley. Plus, a band willing to change their sound every album is one of my favorite things. I mean "FKA WORLD" is hook heavy, noise pop banger that came out in their previous album. Highly recommend seeing them live if you get a chance as it's just wonderfully chaotic
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The Armed - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) (2025)
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Comment on The shutdown of USAID has already killed hundreds of thousands in ~society
canekicker LinkPaywall bypass. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Watching Christian nationalists defend Trump and possibly influence this decision is baffling.The model is conservative, assuming, for example, that the State Department will fully sustain the programs that remain. As of November 5th, it estimated that U.S.A.I.D.’s dismantling has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children.
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Watching Christian nationalists defend Trump and possibly influence this decision is baffling.
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The shutdown of USAID has already killed hundreds of thousands
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Comment on Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent in ~society
canekicker Link ParentAmong my friends, I'm a well known NYC hater but zero of my issues with it concern it's place as an economic powerhouse, concerns about "crime", or whatever crisis du jour that the right whips up...Among my friends, I'm a well known NYC hater but zero of my issues with it concern it's place as an economic powerhouse, concerns about "crime", or whatever crisis du jour that the right whips up to mainline into people who will never visit let alone live in NYC. Like NYC will always be a place of cultural importance, an economic engine for America, and relatively low crime given it's size and population. My problem has always been when compared to other great cities in developed countries, NYC (imo) falls short. Tokyo, Taipei, London, Paris, Montreal, Melbourne, Barcelona, Berlin, Seoul, etc. are all better.
One of the most accurate descriptions of NYC that I've heard is that it is the most distilled, borderline dystopian version of all of America's problems. Like none of the issues facing NYC e.g lack of affordability, lack of economic mobility, housing, poor infrastructure hampered by bureaucracy, health care access, education, income inequality, etc are unique to NYC they're just dialed up to 11. Could NYC do more to solve this? Sure but honestly, their issues are America's issues and honestly, if America solved it's issues, then NYC would probably be more appealing to me.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite stews/soups? in ~food
canekicker LinkI don't have an actual recipe for this but there's a really nice carrot soup that I make every year that consists of a ton of carrots, 1 sweet onion, couple cloves of garlic, all simmered in...I don't have an actual recipe for this but there's a really nice carrot soup that I make every year that consists of a ton of carrots, 1 sweet onion, couple cloves of garlic, all simmered in chicken stock. Once the carrots are soft, puree the entire mixture and add cumin, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper to taste. Heavy cream or creme fraiche/full fat greek yogurt is optional and serve with chopped parsley.
For me the end result is something hits all the right notes of sweetness (carrots and onion), brightness (lemon juice and creme fraiche) and savory warm spices (black pepper and cumin) while having a nice smooth and luscious texture. Serve with a nice baguette, rye or seed loaf and it's a great winter soup. I imagine this would work great with butternut squash instead carrots and I'd probably roast the squash before hand... though I should also do that with the carrots to see how that changes the flavor.
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Comment on Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent in ~society
canekicker Link ParentI think that's a fair take. I think what this really shows is a lack of confidence in the Dems and the general expectation that they'll fail to capitalize on these wins and the insanity of this...I think that's a fair take. I think what this really shows is a lack of confidence in the Dems and the general expectation that they'll fail to capitalize on these wins and the insanity of this administration.
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Comment on Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent in ~society
canekicker (edited )Link ParentI have no opinions on Piker but my understanding is that this has been debunked by a few different outlets. edit: maybe not. I honestly don't care enough -
Comment on Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent in ~society
canekicker Link ParentI meant more the vertical videos, man on the street videos, trying to achieve vitality on Tiktok ,etc. They're already trying it but I worry they'll think the how of the messaging is the issue and...I meant more the vertical videos, man on the street videos, trying to achieve vitality on Tiktok ,etc. They're already trying it but I worry they'll think the how of the messaging is the issue and not the actual message. Though let's be honest , going out and actually talking to people and meeting them where they're at is good regardless of locality.
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Comment on Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent in ~society
canekicker (edited )Link ParentExactly, Spanberger and Sherrill have vastly different platforms and constituent concerns than Mamdani but are all under the larger tent of the "left". Throw in people like Rep. Perez of WA and...I think that's highly location and populace dependent.
Exactly, Spanberger and Sherrill have vastly different platforms and constituent concerns than Mamdani but are all under the larger tent of the "left". Throw in people like Rep. Perez of WA and McBride in VA and there's a clear path forward for them if they run candidates who address the concerns of the people they represent.
My fear is that Dems won't learn the right lessons from Mamdani or these other candidates and instead try to ape the aesthetics of these campaigns rather than the more substantive political strategies.
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Comment on Tips for becoming a tea person in ~food
canekicker Link ParentMaybe someone with more knowledge can chime in but to me (again, just a coffee nerd who likes tea) agitation doesn't seem to play as much as a factor as it does in coffee. Plus in coffee terms,...For pouring, just a straight pour and no swirling or any of our fancy maneuvers‽
Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in but to me (again, just a coffee nerd who likes tea) agitation doesn't seem to play as much as a factor as it does in coffee. Plus in coffee terms, tea steeping = coffee immersion and pouring methods are less relevant in immersion brewing. Plus there's no off-gassing/blooming in tea (in the sense of releasing CO2 trapped from roasting) so initial agitation isn't needed to deal with that. There's no concern over fine migration / granular convection so gentle vs rapid pouring doesn't matter. Just dump in your water at the right temp at the right ratio and steep for the appropriate time.
You can definitely nerd out on tea the way you can with coffee, it's just in a different manner. I don't know if tea drinkers care about particle distribution, experimental processing, or water chemistry the way coffee people do but there are definitely practices and traditions that tea drinkers have that coffee can't touch. For example, some teas are quickly rinsed before steeping which allows for the use of tea pets, something that coffee drinkers simply don't have ( I just have a collection of fun mugs).
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Comment on Tips for becoming a tea person in ~food
canekicker (edited )LinkI'm far more into the world of specialty coffee and barely understand tea but I can give you some tips from the perspective of someone who is deep into coffee. And when I mean deep, I mean right...I'm far more into the world of specialty coffee and barely understand tea but I can give you some tips from the perspective of someone who is deep into coffee. And when I mean deep, I mean right now I'm playing around with low pressure "soup shots" and low temp pour overs on lighter roasts but when it comes to tea, I just want something that's tasty when it's cold outside. Here's what works for me
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Absolutely measure your tea the way you do your coffee. I'm using 1:100 which works fairly well for the tea I have
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Temperatures generally works backwards from coffee. Darker teas, either from smoking or oxidation or another process, need higher temps ( I use 185F) while lighter teas use lower temps ( I use 170F for my green teas). However, like with coffee, increasing temp can also increase the presence of less desirable compounds like tannins. So if you want a stronger brew, use more tea
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Brew times will vary depending on tea type and generally speaking, darker or herbal teas need longer steep times. Like wise, steeping longer isn't advised for "stronger tea" , just use more tea. In addition, many good teas can be steeped multiple times though I don't know how to determine which teas this works for and every time I've gone for a second steep, it's come out tasting like water, even when I try expensive stuff (yes I know expensive =/= good)
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Absolutely drink your tea without sugar or dairy. I drink my coffee this way and I like my tea this way as well.
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Caffeine is also kind of reversed in tea. Darker teas, unlike darker roasted coffee, have more caffeine in the cup than lighter tea. My understanding is lighter teas like green have more caffeine in the leaf but extraction at lower temp = less caffeine. The exception would be roasted teas like hojicha which have low caffeine since caffeine is heat labile.
Personally, I really enjoy east asian teas, particularly from China and Taiwan. When it comes to buying teas, I buy from adagio which has worked well for me over the last decade. I also use this tea infuser which I like as the infuser is easy to clean and the 24 oz size easily allows me to brew 500 ml of tea. As others have mentioned, use a variable temp kettle and I assume you already have a variable temp goose neck kettle. Personally, I find that my Fellow Stag EKG pours far too slowly for tea so I use the Fellow Corvo EKG and just use the same heating base. There are probably some other options out there but if you have the money, the convenience of swapping out my Stagg for the Corvo is pretty nice.
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Comment on A Nazi tattoo exposes US Democrats’ greatest weakness in ~society
canekicker (edited )LinkFor those who need it, here's a paywall bypass. I'm not saying I agree with everything stated here but it's an interesting argument about a party that has yet to find it's way following the...For those who need it, here's a paywall bypass.
I'm not saying I agree with everything stated here but it's an interesting argument about a party that has yet to find it's way following the disastrous 2024 election. I found this quote towards the end the most important
The party’s leaders think they have a problem with Trump voters. Some polling says white men without college degrees don’t like them, don’t trust them and won’t vote for them, so they think the only logical way forward is to pander. Their polling addiction ignores more complex political instruments telling them that the working class isn’t just white men and that centrism isn’t enough to bring white voters back into the fold.
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A Nazi tattoo exposes US Democrats’ greatest weakness
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Comment on The goon squad. Loneliness, porn’s next frontier, and the dream of endless masturbation. in ~life
canekicker (edited )LinkI'm sure many of you have at least heard the term gooning but the complexity, history, and practices was completely unknown to me. Definitely stranger and not for everyone but regardless of...I'm sure many of you have at least heard the term gooning but the complexity, history, and practices was completely unknown to me. Definitely stranger and not for everyone but regardless of subject, I really enjoy it when prestige publications cover subcultures with the same seriousness they cover anything in the mainstream. Like with all niche online subcultures, I take the actual practices with a grain of salt (like are these people making shit up for this "normie" reporter? Is this like butt chugging or the knockout game? The author expresses their own concerns) but I there definitely seems some truth behind is being discussed here. I also find this comment towards the end quite poignant:
It’s true that gooners are masturbating while they engage in these behaviors. You could say that only makes them more honest.
Granted, day-in-the-life TikToks or unboxing videos won’t poison your soul to precisely the same degree as gooner porn. But it’s hard not to see goonerism as just an intensification, almost a burlesque, of prevailing cultural trends.
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The goon squad. Loneliness, porn’s next frontier, and the dream of endless masturbation.
108 votes -
Comment on Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, and the cost of civility-theater liberalism in ~society
canekicker (edited )Link ParentOh I agree but take the abortion issue, despite the effectiveness of reproductive rights in 2022 in stemming off an even greater beat down for the Dems, you did have quite a few states make...Oh I agree but take the abortion issue, despite the effectiveness of reproductive rights in 2022 in stemming off an even greater beat down for the Dems, you did have quite a few states make meaningful progress on protecting those rights while still going for Trump in 2024. Missouri, Nevada, and Montana for example. I think splitting the vote is a distinct possibility in the upcoming midterms.
As @DefinitelyNotAFae mentioned in their comments, it's likely going to be a messaging strategy rather than beliefs. I brought up Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez because I think she reveals a path forward for the Dems in places that they are currently not competitive. I think the uphill challenge is that the right has a far more effective messaging strategy with dumbass manosphere podcasters/comedians, assholes like Kirk and Shapiro, social media, minsinformation campaigns, etc. The Dems are feckless right now and while I do think they can be pushed from the left in certain situations, they really need to consider what needs to be done to be more effective.
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Comment on Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, and the cost of civility-theater liberalism in ~society
canekicker Link ParentYea this reminds me of Marie Perez of WA who won in a Trump district. Like honestly her views on things like gun control are easy to criticize for those looking for a purity test but she's a good...Yea this reminds me of Marie Perez of WA who won in a Trump district. Like honestly her views on things like gun control are easy to criticize for those looking for a purity test but she's a good partner on a lot of other issues and is an effective communicator.
I understand what you're saying on local elections as well but in red state like Texas with blue cities and counties , the amount of bullshit the State throws at local governance is wild. I guess the point of developing a stronger local ground game is important but it's pretty disheartening.
As someone obsessed with coffee, it has to be opening a new bag of coffee. Whether it's more traditional beans that's natty/washed or newer coferments/thermal shock/carbonic maceration, any time I get to open a new bag and brew my morning coffee, I get excited.
Other things include dropping from sixth gear to fifth to pass someone on the highway or crawling into bed at night.