envy's recent activity

  1. Comment on Repeatedly finding myself upset with the conversations on Tildes in ~talk

    envy
    Link Parent
    No.

    Was your comment the removed one?

    No.

  2. Comment on Repeatedly finding myself upset with the conversations on Tildes in ~talk

    envy
    Link Parent
    @AugustusFerdinand, did you get a chance to review the thread linked above? Was it specific enough? My intentions were good, but I didn't realize at the time how weary it would be to constantly...

    @AugustusFerdinand, did you get a chance to review the thread linked above?

    Was it specific enough? My intentions were good, but I didn't realize at the time how weary it would be to constantly have to engage with the same underlying ignorance.

  3. Comment on Woodward book: Trump says he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans in ~health

    envy
    Link
    What is news to me, is Trump actually comprehended the severity of the situation, but strategically chose to not act on it. He incorrectly thought it was not his problem and wouldn't impact the...

    What is news to me, is Trump actually comprehended the severity of the situation, but strategically chose to not act on it.

    He incorrectly thought it was not his problem and wouldn't impact the one thing he cared about... his reelection.

    We already knew the president was briefed on the severity of COVID back in Jan/ Feb.

    Similar briefings inspired the Federal Reserve to roll out unprecedented rate cuts, and Richard Burr sold all his stocks.

    What surprised me is that Trump was intellectually capable of understanding the mechanics of the situation.

    Forbes quoted this:

    "You just breathe the air, and that's how it's passed," Trump told Woodward on February 7 in a recorded conversation. "And so that's a very tricky one… This is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. You know? So, this is deadly stuff."

    I thought Tony Schwartz was over-reacting, when he called Trump a sociopath, I guess not.

    15 votes
  4. Comment on Republicans win two US House special elections in ~news

    envy
    Link Parent
    Did I call it or what?

    Did I call it or what?

    6 votes
  5. Comment on For those in marriages or long-term relationships, what do you do with mementos of previous relationships? in ~life

    envy
    Link
    It really depends, but you never can tell when the green eyed monster will appear. Sometimes things that seem copasetic at the time cause problems years down the line.

    It really depends, but you never can tell when the green eyed monster will appear.

    Sometimes things that seem copasetic at the time cause problems years down the line.

    2 votes
  6. Comment on What have you crowdfunded, and how has it turned out? in ~talk

    envy
    Link
    Troll Bridge - it took ten years, but they delivered.

    Troll Bridge - it took ten years, but they delivered.

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Recommend me a book that _________ in ~books

    envy
    Link Parent
    The call of Cthulhu The Metamorphosis Naked Lunch Frankenstein Dracula

    The call of Cthulhu

    The Metamorphosis

    Naked Lunch

    Frankenstein

    Dracula

    1 vote
  8. Comment on Recommend me a book that _________ in ~books

    envy
    Link Parent
    1984 Fahrenheit 451 The Tao of Pooh Jonathan Livingston Seagull The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe The Missing Piece meets the Big O Edit: None are new

    Recommend me a book with a kind of pessimistic futurism (like the Black Mirror television series)

    1984

    Fahrenheit 451

    Recommend me a book that has stuck with you for a long time (5+ years)

    The Tao of Pooh

    Recommend me a book that you love that you never see talked about or mentioned

    Jonathan Livingston Seagull

    Recommend me chilling, non-grotesque horror (e.g. House of Leaves)

    The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe

    Recommend me a book that deeply affected you in a strongly emotional way

    The Missing Piece meets the Big O

    Edit: None are new

    2 votes
  9. Comment on It’s time to get on the bidet train, America in ~life

    envy
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I use a bidet. The idea of wiping my ass with a hand towel is very strange to me. Does one share the ass towel with family? If it's a thing, please do tell me, and I will be careful of which hand...

    I use a bidet.

    The idea of wiping my ass with a hand towel is very strange to me.

    Does one share the ass towel with family?

    If it's a thing, please do tell me, and I will be careful of which hand towels I use when I am a guest in anothers abode.

    Edited to be less inflammatory.

    3 votes
  10. Comment on It’s time to get on the bidet train, America in ~life

    envy
    (edited )
    Link
    Ewww. Edit: Turns out I am culturally ignorant, and this is normal in some cultures.

    Conversely, bidets require no toilet paper or just a little to dry off, which can also be achieved with a hand towel.

    Ewww.

    Edit: Turns out I am culturally ignorant, and this is normal in some cultures.

    2 votes
  11. Comment on Are older voters turning away from Trump? in ~misc

    envy
    Link
    They wont turn away from him by much. Trump could shoot someone and his base would still vote for him. His base is mostly older voters. While that might seem strange, given the older crowd are...

    They wont turn away from him by much.

    Trump could shoot someone and his base would still vote for him. His base is mostly older voters. While that might seem strange, given the older crowd are more at risk from Covid, they genuinely believe Democrats are worse. Hillary's emails, Obamagate, Hunter etc... Plus they are highly motivated by supreme court appointments (strategically it was a brilliant move for McConnell to postpone the supreme court nomination to after the election.)

    While it might seem odd to prioritize supreme court nominations over life and safety, supreme court appointments are for life, and we have apparently stopped even pretending that these appointments are non-partisan.

    If you look at the impact the supreme court has had over the last twenty years, it makes sense. The supreme court decided the 2000 election should go to Bush. They somehow contrived "one man one vote" to mean states could not consider hanging chads. They did this in such a way that set no precedent for the future. Which means this ruling was specific to Bush v Gore. Yet when it comes to anonymous money flowing into elections (Citizens United), obviously gerrymandered voting districts (North Carolina), polling places being closed in ways that impact minorities (Shelby County) or basic congressional oversight of a president... the supreme court is much more reluctant to get involved in politics.

    So for those of you non-Americans wondering why a third of America still supports Trump, it's because a third of Americans are convinced that having a Republican as president is far more important than a competent administration or a fairly democratic country.

    6 votes
  12. Comment on At first, the disappearance of the wife of one of Norway's richest people seemed to be an abduction – but then suspicion turned on the husband in ~news

    envy
    Link
    https://www.thelocal.no/20200428/norway-billionaire-tom-hagen-seized-over-wifes-disappearance So the husband is a technophobe, was being voluntarily monitored, and the police have no evidence...

    According to VG's crime commentator Øystein Milli it is likely that Hagen had an accomplice who played the role of the kidnappers sending encrypted and coded messages during ransom negotiations.

    "I think it seems unlikely that he has played the opposing party while he has been voluntarily monitored and the police have followed his communication channel," he said. "He would have had to be able to send encrypted messages at the same time, which I find it hard to believe."

    https://www.thelocal.no/20200428/norway-billionaire-tom-hagen-seized-over-wifes-disappearance

    So the husband is a technophobe, was being voluntarily monitored, and the police have no evidence other than they ruled out all other possible leads?

    2 votes
  13. Comment on What if you don't know if you want a child? in ~life

    envy
    Link
    This isn't about having a child. Children make existing issues worse.

    This isn't about having a child.

    Children make existing issues worse.

    6 votes
  14. Comment on TSA working on plan to check temperatures at some American airports in ~health

    envy
    Link Parent
    Either end the TSA or have them perform temperature checks. The hard data on the cost/reward of temperature checks doesn't seem promising, but it still seems like a no brainer with low travel...

    Either end the TSA or have them perform temperature checks.

    The hard data on the cost/reward of temperature checks doesn't seem promising, but it still seems like a no brainer with low travel volumes, high uncertainty and a presumably under utilized TSA workforce.

    There is a lot of hard data on the effectiveness of TSA on preventing security breaches however, and as you point out, it does not make the high cost worth it.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on TSA working on plan to check temperatures at some American airports in ~health

    envy
    Link
    Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is worried about putting TSA "frontline workers in danger" just to give a "false sense of security?" Should I be enraged,...

    Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he was not supportive of temperature checking.

    "I cannot find any law that gives TSA the authority to perform temperature checks as reported. The health and safety of our Transportation Security Officers have already been put at great risk the past few months. The Administration should not put these frontline workers in further danger in order to provide passengers a potential false sense of safety," the Mississippi Democrat said.

    Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is worried about putting TSA "frontline workers in danger" just to give a "false sense of security?"

    Should I be enraged, or just laugh? Because honestly I just don't know anymore.

    6 votes
  16. Comment on I made my first pseudo podcast today, really nervous about the sound of my voice and delivery. Any tips? in ~talk

    envy
    Link
    Your voice is fine, you could hone your delivery, but it's really the content that is king. If I read from a script, I sound wooden. Here is what works for me. I listen to my recording and...

    Your voice is fine, you could hone your delivery, but it's really the content that is king.

    If I read from a script, I sound wooden. Here is what works for me. I listen to my recording and rerecord it. I Repeat that until I'm happy with it. I think about where I want to inject more emotion into my voice, or pause for............ dramatic effect!

    While you are listening to yourself, ask yourself, what is the hook, and what is the key takeaway? For the hook, you could start with your personal anecdote. Your struggles with this issue really make it more interesting and relevant. Do you have a call to action? What should your audience do differently? What can they do right now? Don't make me think. Make me think that I am thinking.

    You might be interested in two books. The Power of Habit talks about why habits are hard to change, and how to change them. Illusions by Richard Bach has a short section that takes the "am I responsible for anothers feelings" to absurd lengths.

    1 vote
  17. Comment on What does it mean to be a ‘Karen’? Karens explain: As the meme has become more prominent online, its meaning has become confused – with real-life Karens caught in the crosshairs in ~life.women

    envy
    (edited )
    Link
    Of course, they put the complaining Karen up top All the cool Karens are at the end. At least it ends on a positive note?

    Of course, they put the complaining Karen up top

    “I spend a lot of time on Twitter, so I find it rather annoying,” says Karen

    All the cool Karens are at the end.

    Karen Sandler, an attorney and software freedom advocate, says at first she was “a little sad” to see her name being applied so negatively – “but it’s just so funny, and also clearly, a little bit true”.

    For the best-selling Christian novelist Karen Kingsbury, the meme came as a little welcome light relief. “Honestly, I hadn’t seen the ‘Karen’ meme until your email,” she replied. “I must say when I looked at it, I smiled and laughed. Out loud. Which is always a fun thing.”

    No, she wasn’t offended, Kingbsury wrote: “I don’t mind the meme. It’s not me.”

    At least it ends on a positive note?

    4 votes
  18. Comment on An inmate's love for math leads to new discoveries: Published in the journal Research in Number Theory, he showed for the first time regularities in the approximation of a vast class of numbers in ~science

    envy
    Link
    It is incredibly sad how hard it is for american prisoners to not only access medical care, but for them to even obtain educational resources at a reasonable price. The purpose of prisons in...

    It is incredibly sad how hard it is for american prisoners to not only access medical care, but for them to even obtain educational resources at a reasonable price.

    There are no teachers here who can help me so I often spend hundreds on books that may or may not contain the help I need. Thank you."

    My parents sent him loads of books. However, the prison blocked them all as they did not come from an authorized vendor. Havens worked with the prison staff and started the Prison Mathematics Project, where he would explain mathematics to other inmates. In exchange they were allowed a library and a room to meet biweekly. It worked—the box of books got admitted to the prison.

    The purpose of prisons in america has moved from punishment to profit center.

    5 votes