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user-inactivated  ·  2187 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Geoengineer polar glaciers to slow sea-level rise

You know, I was gonna wait a bit before talking about this on Hubski, but I have a semi-relevant rant here.

So, on the recommendation of a friend of mine, I started reading a book called Eaarth by Bill McKibben. I'm not super far into it yet, but what I've read is pretty interesting. McKibben does a really amazing job painting a picture and it's not just bleak, it's alarmist, it's apocalyptic, and his writing is dripping with as much cynicism as it is citations. The very first chapter alone speaks at length to how fucked things look, environmentally speaking, and does so with 129 citations. This guy did his homework.

While I'm not far into the book yet, I'm hopeful the tone changes, and articles like this are the reason why. If you read a lot of environmental stuff the doom and gloom in McKibben's book is pretty much par for the course and people seem to believe that things are irreversible. That world view is both lacking in imagination and faith in the capabilities of science and of our fellow man. Our attitude to the planet today, and our ability to heal it, is on par with our attitude to physical health a thousand years ago, and our ability to heal ourselves. Back then, concepts such as vaccinations, organ transplants, etc. were absolutely beyond the scope of imagination, because we didn't know enough about ourselves or science in general. Today, in regards to the ecosystem, we're just really starting to discover how things are interconnected and how to explain them accurately and scientifically. What we have on our side this time though, and will hopefully help speed up the restoration process, is a better understanding of science and better tools at our disposal.

We are just beginning to scratch the surface with concepts such as restoration ecology, carbon capturing, sustainable agriculture and sustainable energy, animal reintroduction projects, and so much more. That's not even bringing to attention a gradual change in social attitudes towards the environment as well.

To be fair, there's a decent chance that geo-engineering glaciers might be a dead end. But also to be fair, there's an equal chance though, that even if it's not successful, we learn something from it. I like seeing articles like this, because they show me two things. One, that people out there are trying and there is a lot of hope we can turn things around. Two, and more importantly though, they serve as reminders that a lot of environmental doom and gloomers have tunnel vision, and while their messages and warnings are important and need to be taken seriously, they're not the whole picture and we can't let ourselves fall into a futile mindset.

Sorry b_b, I was stewing on that for days.

user-inactivated  ·  2192 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Hubski Update: Change to our TOS

    We haven't gone the "selling our users" route, and we aren't going to. If there's not a better way, then maybe there shouldn't be a way.

P.S. The donate link is at the top right of the screen. It's the little orange and grey thermometer.

user-inactivated  ·  2206 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Game Over For Toys R Us: Chain Going Out Of Business

Man, I don’t have the fucking energy to write this.

Kay Bee Toys is dead. Circuit City is dead. Borders is dead. Radioshack is that twenty year old cat, with no fur, half a functioning lung, and is too stubborn to realize it should have died a long time ago. Sears, Macys, and countless other companies, big and small, are tightening their belts, closing stores, laying off employees, and slashing hours and benefits like some masked killer in a horror film. You ever seen The Warriors? Do you remember this scene with the creepy ass clacking bottles? You know the feeling it gives you? That’s how I feel every time I walk into a mall these days. They’re like ghost towns and everyone who works in them always say shit like “Yeah, as soon as Anchor Store X’s lease is up, they’re leaving and this place will really be fucked.”

Did you know that Wal-Mart is gonna expand its home delivery program? Did you know that various grocery stores, big and small, are trying to retain customers through similar delivery programs as well as buy online pick up in store? Remember all of those companies who lost their shirts with failed Omni-Channel programs? You know why? They’re all trying to keep their market share from being devoured by the big, bad wolf that is Amazon.

It’s getting to the point where people who work retail, and all they’ve ever worked is retail, are starting to feel scared as shit. Ten and twenty years ago, when their job disappeared, they could just go across the street and pick up right where they left off. Today? Where are they gonna go? Malls of all kinds and sizes are fucking deserts. Big box stores, the ones that are open, are turning to computers and automation as much as possible to squeeze as much productivity as possible out of as few employees as possible. The jobs are disappearing, and fast.

Wanna know how fucked retail is? In a non-numbers, no graphs kind of way? The McDonald’s near me is offering opening shifts with a starting pay of $10 an hour. There’s a gas station franchise in my city that’s offering benefits from day one. People are legitimately excited about Wal-Mart’s pay raises. I know people who are applying for these jobs. McDonalds’s. Gas Stations. Wal-Mart. When those places are becoming the hopeful lights you’re seeing on the horizon, you gotta realize you’re starting to live in some pretty dark times.

If any of you have friends in retail, gently start nudging them somewhere else. If they don’t seem to budge, for their own sake, start poking the shit out of them. The ship their on is sinking, and if they think there’s a ship nearby waiting for them with a wool blanket and a cup of coffee, they need to know that ship is sinking too.

I have friends that work for Toys R Us. Obviously, they won't for much longer.

30,000 jobs lost on this one. Fucking hell.

user-inactivated  ·  2208 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Four Years After Declaring War on Pollution, China Is Winning

OMG! DUDE! THAT'S NOT FICTION! WE'RE DOING THAT NOW!

user-inactivated  ·  2213 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: March 7, 2018

The other day I was going on a country drive when a turkey flew up out of a ditch and over the road, right in front of my car. I came to a stop so a second turkey could do the same and I found myself surprised. Not by the turkeys crossing the road, but I honestly forgot that turkeys knew how to fly. Though Dala claims they can’t fly, they’re just really good at jumping and flapping their wings.

The encounter made me think of a class one time when I was younger, when my teacher was telling us about his weekend turkey hunt. He was in a brush/wooded area and had been there for about an hour waiting for a turkey to come along. Every now and again, he’d use his turkey call, and get no response. Growing frustrated, he was about ready to find a new place to try again but decided to give the call one last shot. That’s when he heard a turkey behind him, probably twenty or thirty yards away. He tried to get closer, only to have the thing fly off and disappear into the bushes. Knowing it was still somewhere nearby, he’d wait a bit and use the call, only to find it in a completely different spot than where he expected it to be, once again about twenty to thirty yards away and hidden from view. He’d use the call, only to hear nothing but silence, and try to crawl closer again, only for it to fly away. Over and over he’d use the call to no answer, then he’d get an answer, always in a new, hidden, and unexpected spot. This went on for hours before the sun was starting to go down and he had to head home. He joked that he didn’t know if the turkey was the smartest, trickiest bird he ever tried to get, or if it was just so dumb that its randomly wandering around out of idiocy saved its life.

The rest of the class that day, we joked about turkeys and compared wild ones to domestic ones and how wild ones were allegedly much smarter than domesticated ones. We debated whether or not domestic turkeys really will stand in a ditch in the rain and risk drowning because they’re not smart enough to find higher ground even as the water rises around them (I think the class was evenly split). We talked about why, if turkey is so good, it’s unfair that we use their meat mostly for cold sandwiches and leave the good recipes only for thanksgiving. We learned to make turkey calls, gobbling around like a bunch of idiots, and just generally having a good time. I don’t think I learned anything in class that day, except that if you get a bunch of high schoolers gobbling their head off, teachers down the hall will come over to complain, but it doesn’t do much good when your teacher is the instigator and loving the shit out of it.

Here’s what I know about turkeys. A single, wild turkey seems to be pretty smart, doing turkey shit and enjoying life. A flock of wild turkeys though, as I’ve had the chance to see quite a few in my time, always seems to act as if their life is one big game of follow the leader where everyone is simultaneously the leader and simultaneously the follower. Everyone seems to be making decisions. No one seems to be making decisions. Somehow, the flock functions. I don’t even fucking know.

Domesticated turkeys? I’ve never encountered any to be honest with you, so I can’t actually speak to them. People who I’ve talked to though, who have one as a pet, swear they’re great. People who I’ve talked to though, who raise them in flocks for market, seem to have less of an opinion of them. On the one hand, I’m doubtful because I often don’t think we give animals enough credit, especially when we consider them a food source. On the other hand though . . .

user-inactivated  ·  2231 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 100% Renewable Electricity Worldwide In 2050 is Feasible and More Cost-Effective than the Existing System

Two thoughts that I can't connect.

1) This seems like a large scale example of the rubber boots theory. If even half the benefits that people tout for green energy are true, in the long run, this kind of thing would pay off. The problem is, the upfront cost and the time frame make it hard to seem worth while.

2) I used to play strategy games from time to time. Mostly Master of Orion II. Everynow and again you'd come across a scenario where you could make ship A in five turns or ship B in twenty five turns. One of ship B was significantly more capable than five ship As combined, but sometimes you didn't want to or even couldn't wait twenty five turns, so you'd dump a shit ton of reserve cash to rush the build. I wonder if people have been working hard to figure out the perfect balance between wait time and cost to implement green energy so the highest number of supporters would be willing to jump on board with the plan.

user-inactivated  ·  2242 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Are Conservatives More Susceptible to Believing Lies?

Why are Liberals so smug?

Why are Millenials into crazy fads?

Why are Baby Boomers responsible for the unraveling of America's societal fabric?

Why are Gen Xers so easily overlooked?

Why are Trekkies hostile towards Firefly fans?

Why are artists so full of themselves?

Why are cat owners eccentric and reclusive?

Why are gamers still living in their parents' basements?

Why do people who espouse the dangers of stereotypes in one breath embrace and extrapolate from them in another breath when it fits their agenda?

user-inactivated  ·  2269 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Fish Feel Pain. Now What?

A bunch of random thoughts.

They're pretty hecking smart too.

I remember when I was younger in school we had to dissect worms. The teacher took live earth worms from a bait cup and dropped them in rubbing alcohol (I think it was alcohol) to kill them. I remember they were all wriggling pretty violently, as if in pain, and I asked the teacher if they were in pain to which the response was "No. Earthworms don't feel pain." I told my parents that night about class, not about dissecting the worms (which was cool), but about how I learned they can't feel pain. To which my parents dropped me a weighty concept, if something has the capacity to exist and interact with the world, it has the capacity to suffer. That doesn't mean everything suffers in the same way or to the same degree, but that suffering is a key part of existing. It's something we need to keep in mind as we interact with the world around us.

I have no qualms about eating meat, though like I've said on here before I've significantly cut back on sea food for environmental reasons (our oceans are being dangerously over fished). In fact, I'm slowly over time trying to figure out how to be a more environmentally conscious eater. Every now and again, the subject of insect based protein sources come up as a means of providing a more ethical and resource friendly way to provide protein for the world. Insects are already a major protein source in a lot of communities and I think as the concept gains traction in the western world, it'll be a new diet choice for people who want to think ethically about how they consume food. Both from an animal rights stand point as well as an environmental/resource stand point.

Our abilities as a world to protect biodiversity is a pretty big concern of mine. Not enough attention is given to our lakes, rivers, and oceans, which is pretty concerning because they hold a significant amount of the earth's biomass. It doesn't surprise me though that we don't give them as much thought because A) while most of us live near water we don't live in water so we don't pay as much attention to what we do to our water and B) fish and mollusks and plankton and such aren't cute and cuddly. Know what's important for the environment? Fish, insects, frogs, lizards, mice, birds, worms, fungus, molds, water cycles, mineral cycles, on and on. Know what's marketable? The cute and fuzzy and the bold and fascinating. It's easy to say "Save the tigers!" because it's hard to get people to be worried about some random frog in Asia but it's easier to get people to be worried about tigers. By getting people interested in protecting the tiger's environment, we're also protecting that same environment that plays host to the frog. The same is true for whales and dolphins and reefs. It's easier to get people interested in those than it is a bunch of random fish.

I think though, maybe it's time we as a planet stop thinking "tiger" or "whale" and start thinking fish and frogs and insects and mold. Cause they all matter, whether we think they're deserving of empathy or not.

user-inactivated  ·  2332 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: November 8, 2017

Books

Varieties of Religious Experience by William James has kind of stopped being an interesting read. The dude is smart and he has points worth hearing, but he meanders and rambles for way too long. The thing is over four hundred pages, I bet it could have easily been condensed down to 100-150 if he'd just get to the point. Yes, I know they're collections of lectures and all the caveats that go with that, but still though. I think the thing that gets me the most though, is that he constantly uses anecdotes to support his arguments, which is cool for a guy like me and technically probably an okay thing for a scientist from the 1800s, but compared to Dataclysm that Dala's reading right now that I stole a glimpse or two from, it's just not up to modern snuff. I want some numbers and statistics. I want some studies. I don't want a quote from Grandpa who was suffering an episode of night terrors.

I'm doing a Secret Santa thing that involves books. The only clues I have for the person is they like history, biography, and reading The New York Times. I'm gonna head to one of the local book shops today and see what they have that I think might be interesting.

Panama/Paradise Papers

Remember last year's Panama Papers? Well, now they're followed up by a different company from a seemingly different country with a collection of leaked documents called The Paradise Papers. It strikes me as crazy that not many people seem to be talking about them (Unless you're The Guardian, then you're not shutting up about them). I got into a huge argument with someone yesterday about them because we were talking about this whole tax reform bill and I said maybe if companies like Apple paid their fair share this shit would be easier to figure out. Words were exchanged, I got called "a limp wristed liberal" and for some reason, for that insult, I will now hate Apple forever and ever for being a bunch of tax dodging fuck heads. Well that and the whole depriving our country of needed income for repairing roads, building schools, etc.

Holiday Shopping

I'm not gonna get much this year, but with the exception of two items I got already from big box stores because that's the only place they can be found, I think this year I'm gonna buy all local. I think it's the right thing to do.

user-inactivated  ·  2339 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: November 1, 2017

Dala! IF WE DO THIS WE'D BE THE COOLEST PEOPLE ON THE BLOCK!!!

user-inactivated  ·  2347 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Credit Cards Encourage Extra Spending as Cash Habit Fades Away

Since we're on the subject of credit cards. Retail credit cards increasingly come with perks — and a 25 percent interest rate

    For retailers, store cards have become a way to drum up customer loyalty while bringing in extra cash to make up for narrowing profit margins. Macy’s, for example, made 39 percent of its $1.9 billion profit last year from credit card fees, according a Morgan Stanley analysis cited by the New York Times. The company’s credit card, issued by Citi, comes with a 26.24 percent interest rate.

I've come to the opinion that if a major part of your business model involves profiting off of the poor financial decisions of other people, you're not running an ethical business. This applies to everything from credit cards to predatory lenders to shady credit collections companies that try to slap crazy fees and penalties on top of the debts they're trying to collect.

I could go on a huge ass rant, but I'll just say that I think debt is dangerous, constrictive, and counter productive. After I got out of debt, I switched to paying for everything in cash. My spending, both impulsive and planned, dropped way down and I'm in a much better place for it. Money and spending habits don't come up in every day conversations, but when it does, I never hesitate to tell people to consider cutting back their credit card use. It's amazing the amount of difference it can make.

user-inactivated  ·  2347 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Credit Cards Encourage Extra Spending as Cash Habit Fades Away

I think we're on the same page, but we're looking at things differently. You're saying, part of the reason credit cards exist is to help people in vulnerable positions. What I'm saying, is that debt in general and credit cards in particular, when used by people in vulnerable positions, make them more vulnerable. My argument is that business practices that exploit people financially and then exacerbate their hardships are inherently unethical because they're not creating anything of arguable social value and they are actively participating in social harm.

Credit card plans that have hidden fees and gotcha terms and interest rates that balloon out of control as soon as you hit about $2,500 worth of debt? Grifters. Pay-Day loan companies that charge anywhere from 300-3000% interest on short term loans? Grifters. Credit collectors that somehow manage to slap hundreds of dollars of fees and interest and charges on a small debt before even contacting the debtor about the debt? Grifters. The fact that these companies invest in studies in law and math and psychology and marketing to try to get their "customers" to behave in a way that's most profitable to them for both short term and long term gains? Grifters. Grifters. Grifters.

Yeah. Wages suck. Yeah, lack of social safety nets suck. Our medical industry sucks. Our rampant consumerism sucks. Our lack of education sucks. But companies that look at all of those problems and see dollar signs? They suck the hardest and I have no empathy for any of them.

user-inactivated  ·  2350 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Vikings Razed the Forests. Can Iceland Regrow Them?

In 1997 the Kazakh president launched a plan to protect his new capital from the icy winds of the featureless steppes with a ring of trees. Twenty years on, his scientists are still struggling to grow forests in a spot where no trees stood.

Since we're talking about growing trees in harsh places. In the article you posted mk, it talked about students traveling to Iceland to learn about contemporary desertification. It would be interesting to see if people around the world, struggling to reforest places, are exchanging ideas, techniques, and data. There's a similar article I read a while back, about a man somewhere in Asia, who planted a whole forest himself, tree by tree. I'll see if I can find that and share it too.

Edit: Here's a whole list of projects

user-inactivated  ·  2367 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 4, 2017

My bud is back from the Navy. For good. I got to see him a few days ago, the first time in ten years, plus a bunch of people in our circle of friends I haven't seen in literally almost a decade. It's amazing how each of us have changed so much but at the same time haven't changed at all. They're all good people. I'm gonna make a sincere effort to hang out with them all much more often than once a decade.

I played Dark Souls III for the first time the other day. I'm not much into video games anymore, but I picked it up today cause I couldn't stop thinking about how fun it was. I'm about to start up in a bit.

I think I still might be a bit sick. I'm very tired.

user-inactivated  ·  2381 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: September 20, 2017

Original

Original

Original

Art

The past few weeks, I've been addicted to wandering around Wikimedia looking at works from old illustrators and engravers from about the late 1700s to the early 1900s. The sheer variety and quality of stuff that's out there just kind of blows my mind. Once I think I've seen it all, I stumble on something new, and I'm back into the rabbit hole all over again.

I fucked around with some images that I really liked using gimp. They're not good, but they were fun to make and I promised a non-Hubskier I was gonna share what I made with them and it's just as easy to just send them a link to this post as it is to e-mail the images, so I'm killing two birds with one stone.

Work

I'm job hunting again. I think I might end up biting the bullet and take a massive pay cut just to GTFO of where I am. I'm near frustrated with my job to begin with, but continuous long term employment looks less and less likely and I don't know what to do anymore. I've shot out a few resumes in the past week. Got zero responses. It's a blow to the ego.

Mood

I'm tired.

user-inactivated  ·  2388 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: September 13, 2017

I thought, for a brief bit, that thenewgreen was standing in the same line as me at the gas station the other day. In profile, the resemblance was uncanny. I was going through a mini dialog in my head and decided that on the off chance it was him, I'd stop him as he was heading out and asked if he ever heard of an obscure band named "The New Green." If it was, I'd tell him who I was, make a comment on how small the world can be when we least expect it, and maybe offer to exchange numbers.

As soon as the guy turned around and I could see his face from straight on, it was quite clear that it wasn't him. Oh well.

user-inactivated  ·  2394 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: African Wild Dogs Vote

BECAUSE THIS ARTICLE WAS SHORT AND SIMPLE AS HELL AND BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE THE AFRICAN SPOTTED DOG, HERE'S A BUNCH OF RANDOM FACTS ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE FUCKING AWESOME!!!

Fact 1 - DNA

While they're part of the whole "Dog" family, they're actually pretty far removed from dogs. The coyote and the wolf are much closer related while the African Dog is about as close as the Dhole. Fun fact, if you step back just a bit further in scope, you'll find the whole Canidae family is pretty damn similar with the exception of a few outliers such as the racoon dog.

Side Fact to Fact #1

Hyenas, while looking and behaving similarly to dogs in a lot of ways, are actually closer related to cats and civets on a genetic level. Don't ask me why. I'm not a biologist.

Fact 2 -Size

They're fucking big for "dogs." On the high end, dingos usually way around 40 pounds. Bigger coyotes weigh about the same. Most jackals are probably in the 20 pound range. Foxes, while pretty far removed, tend to weigh about 5-20 pounds depending on the species. The African Spotted Dog though? About 50 pounds. That doesn't sound like much of a difference, but these are hunters. That's ten extra pounds of muscle and fierceness. To the best of my knowledge, the only canine that is consistently bigger is the Grey Wolf at about 70-80 pounds.

Fact 3 - Hierarchy

Males and females split hierarchy roles for the packs. Males boss the males around, females boss the females around, and somehow, shit gets done. Additionally, for the sake of hunting, separate packs have been known to form temporary super packs when there's an abundance of food in the area that attracts multiple packs.

Fact 4 - Looks

They.

Are.

Majestic.

Don't let their looks disarm you though. They're not cuddly, they're not for interacting with, and they are fierce hunters who aren't afraid to fuck shit up. Brutally.

Fact 5 - Check Them Out

If you ever get the chance to see a documentary or read an article about the African Spotted Dog, African Wild Dog, African Dog, whatever someone is calling them, do it. They're fascinating as shit and a bunch of random ass facts double checked with Wikipedia so I don't look like an idiot doesn't do them even the slightest shred of justice.

user-inactivated  ·  2417 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: An ad for Job Cigarette Papers by Alphonse Mucha

From what I understand (which isn't a lot), Art Noveue style and mass printing techniques both heavily influenced each other. It's amazing how artists are able to understand the strong and weak points of such a medium and really capitalize on it (the evolution of printing and comic books is another good example).

For a guy who's similar (similar style, same time period, similar geographic location) but also different, you should check out Ivan Bilibin. I stumbled on Bilibin one night after clicking one Wikipedia link after another. Someone recommended I check out Mucha after I told them how much I liked Bilibin.

user-inactivated  ·  2419 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Meet The Neo-Nazis Who Organized the Klan-like Charlottesville, VA Rally - It's Going Down

Dude. I don't mean to distract you or bfv from your conversation, because you both have damn good points.

BUT!

That picture is on the front page of The Guardian right now and I couldn't help but fucking laugh my ass off at them. Fucking pasty white, wanna be yuppies with bad facial hair, button up shirts, khaki pants, and loafers. Look at those shit shields. What is that? Cardboard and tinfoil? I see better stuff from highschool kids at renaissance faires. And what's that guy wearing? A bicycle helmet and swimming goggles?

What a bunch of sorry ass, fucking losers. No wonder they're trying so hard to buy into tough talk. They're compensating.

Edit: And I hope to God they find a way to straighten up. Deep down, every last one of them knows better.

user-inactivated  ·  2430 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: August 2, 2017

Houses

I've joked a few times with Dala that maybe we ought to just buy a plot of land, dig a big hole, throw a tarp over it, and call it a house. Last night I had a dream I was in a log cabin, like you see in movies or travel commercials, but a little nicer, like one you could live in year round. It had big flat rocks for the floor spread out and filled in with mortar. The walls were made out of massive, dark logs and the mortar in between them looked very rough but very solid. It was a nice little place. I woke up this morning kind of wishing I lived there. Not enough that I'd actually go out and have a log cabin built, but enough to where it's a really pleasant thought.

Movies

If and when we ever do get our own place, provided there's ample street parking, I'm starting a film club. My living room. Surround sound. At least a 45" television. I'll learn to cook so I can make and serve dinner to everyone, the dog can come and go as she pleases and enjoy people's company, and it'll be awesome. I'm gonna show good, classy shit, like Kurosawa and Cohen Brothers and Chuck Jones and such.

Watched On the Waterfront for the first time in about five years yesterday. It's good. I forgot how sloppy the ending felt though.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

One of my buddies the other day asked me if I'd recommend The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to him. I called him up to tell him the movie in general is absolutely great, but pointed out a few things to him that would make it easier for him to watch since this is generally not his kind of movie. I'd figure I'd share them here cause I think they're actually good tips.

1) It's a much slower paced movie than the summer block busters you're used to. If you were having trouble appreciating the slow unfolding of Hard Boiled, you'll have trouble appreciating the slow unfolding of this film. That's okay. This is just that different kind of movie. There's a decent chance your mind might wander. To combat this, watch the movie in two parts. When Blondie and Tuco get captured by the Union Soldiers, have that as a cliffhanger. Take a break and watch the rest of the movie later that night or the next day.

2) The movie is dubbed. Yes, I know all of the actors speak English, but it's dubbed anyway because Italian cinema. At first, this makes the movie seem kind of cartoony, but after a few scenes you'll actually appreciate it because it gives the characters a subtle, ghostly quality that adds a sort of otherwordly accentuation to everything they say.

3) Pay attention to the scenery and landscape surrounding the characters. It's an unspoken antagonist that's constantly trying to kill Blondie and/or Tuco or at the very least, impede their progress. Sergio Leone spends a lot of time and effort to illustrate that and it works really well.

4) Appreciate Leone's extreme close ups. They're very artistic.

user-inactivated  ·  2435 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: July 26, 2017

We got some new faces. Cool people. stevenioann and Gem and StillWaters and a few others. I'm glad they're here.

user-inactivated  ·  2458 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: July 5th, 2017

Huh. Apparently the key to Pubski is hidden under the door mat. Who knew?

Dog

I specifically took the day off work today because there are people here to work on the roof and the chimney of the house. It wouldn't be a lie to say my dog is territorial, which is fine. 99% of the time, it's not a problem. I still wanted to be here with her, to keep her calm, just in case. She's done good so far. A few growls, one round of barking, other than that, she's laying on her bed like a good girl. Honestly, I've had her for years, yet she still surprises me with how wonderful she is.

Houses

Speaking of houses, Dala and I haven't gone to any recently, not since we went to see the one in with the wacky funhouse floors and the neighborhood with the Waverunners. That said, two of the houses we saw recently are back on the market. One of them was for sale for about $70k. It now has a new coat of paint and some new floors and is now available for about $90k. The other was for sale for about $90k, was obviously bought and fixed up by a flipper, because it had new paint, new floors, new cabinets, and all sorts of bells and whistles. It also had pipes leading to nowhere, wall outlets and cabinets that weren't level, and the concrete patio in the back sloped towards the house which would cause water to pool at the foundation. It's now on the market again, for over $120k, and with the exception of a wood patio covering up the concrete patio (which I'm damn near positive wasn't fixed), I can't tell if there's a damn thing changed about this house. Not that I'd schedule a viewing to find out, because it's now out of our price range. In case you can't tell, I'm bitter about this.

Metal Detectoring

One of my friends wants Dala and I to buy ourselves metal detectors and join him on metal detecting adventures. Normally I'd be all game for this. Detectorists was a fun TV show and there's a scene where the club is getting together to discuss their finds and all they have to show for it is some buttons and a matchbox car and I turned to my wife and said "I'd love to do that! I LOVE BUTTONS!" I love antiques, Dala loves antiques, it'd be good exercise and a good reason to get out of the house, etc. etc. BUT, said friend is more interested in finding lost rings and valuables and shit and pawning them off which I personally think is sketchy and predatory as hell. At the same time, there's laws around metal detecting, mostly to protect the integrity of archeological sites and such, and I don't know how much of a hassle that is. That said, Dala is friends with a guy who does this kind of stuff as a hobby, so I asked her to get in touch with him. At the very least, we get to take him out to dinner and have a good conversation.

user-inactivated  ·  2472 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: If Liberals Voted

It seems like modern American politics have a theme of "Put you're foot down, don't compromise, and if you don't get your way, don't play ball." Look at the rhetoric. Look at the lack of bipartisanship in congress. Liberals seem to have much more of a diverse world view than conservatives, so liberals seem to have much more complain about their candidates, so it's no surprise many of them often don't vote. They don't like the candidates offered to them so they're not gonna play ball and vote.

user-inactivated  ·  2475 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Lil's Book of Questions: How Can I Develop a Life that Feels Worthy as a Single Person?

Three thoughts.

There's a part of me that always gets excited to say the words "My wife" because the hidden meaning in that is that someone values me enough to put up with my shit for the rest of my life. That's a lot of value.

My sense of self worth is partially external and partially internal. Externally, I believe the world is an amazingly beautiful place with so many exciting and wonderful things going on, even though sometimes we have a hard time seeing them. Internally, I am driven to do what I can, when I can, to reflect and perpetuate the sense of wonder I feel back into the world, so others can feel it too. Sometimes I forget to do that, because I'm often crabby, but when I do, I feel better about both myself and the world.

A good work ethic is an important part of self worth. A job or a career as a social status is a crumby measurement of worth. There is a difference.

user-inactivated  ·  2487 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Shake it up. Offer up one somewhat unpopular opinion that you hold.

    1. Raw onions are gross

. . . I will fucking fight you. ;)

user-inactivated  ·  2498 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I have a friend that just joined Hubski. What should they know?

Thing number one. I like the name froggyflow, just because I can rhyme it with froggybro, so kudos for that.

Thing number two. This place is kind of tight knit. Not tight knit as in cliquish, but tight knit in that you'll see the same names of users and contributors over and over again. It's pretty awesome, because you'll get to know users on a pretty familiar level. There's a ton of benefits behind that, but I think the biggest one is, while a lot of us often disagree with eachother, we're never actual dicks to eachother. I've been internetting for over 20 years now. I can't say that for most places I've been on in the past 10 years. That makes this place pretty special.

Thing number three. Bring your interests to the Hubski table. If there's a conversation you want to have and it's not happening, start it. You'll sometimes be amazed at who has something to contribute and what they have to say.

Thing number four. It's exciting to have you here. Welcome. :)

user-inactivated  ·  2521 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: May 3, 2017

Movies

This past week Dala and I watched Princess Mononoke together, a movie I've seen a handful of times and always liked. I got her the Blu-Ray for Christmas a year or so ago and this is the first time we sat down to watch it together. It's been over a decade since I last saw it, so even though I know the movie, it was almost like watching it for the first time again. It's a lot more violent than I remember. It's a little scarier than I remember (not super scary, but there's a considerable deal of fantasy horror there). It is so, so, so much more magical than I remember too. The story is magical, the character design is magical, the visuals are magical. This is a fantastically solid movie. I'm glad it's been so long since I've seen it, because I really got the chance to appreciate it like brand new and it was just so good.

I'm talking to one of my buds who's girl loves Miyazaki films. I've only seen Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky and he's telling me that we need to do a movie night and watch Howl's Moving Castle. So I'm gonna do my best to schedule something to make that happen.

Theater

Speaking of Japanese art and stuff, I remember when I was about eight or nine years old my mother took me to see a Bunraku performance. I don't remember much of it, except I think it was a collection of short stories and one involved a lady ghost in a snow storm in the mountains. I remember it was absolutely amazing though. So I got it in my head that maybe I should find a way to see if and when any Bunraku or Kabuki performances might find their way to this city, and if so, who all might like to join me for one. It turns out that I'm friends with a lot of classy mother fuckers, because everyone I bring this idea up with think it sounds absolutely amazing and would love to go to one or the other with me and Dala. So now I'm thinking about contacting some of the local theaters and seeing if they ever host those kinds of performances or could point me in the direction of people who do.

I was also lamenting to Dala how theater is expensive in general. I can't remember if it was her idea or mine, but the conversation drifted in the direction of how colleges often put on productions that while not professional, are very, very good, and probably a lot cheaper than what you'd pay for an actual theater. So maybe later this week I'm gonna look some of that information up to.

Antique Glass

I'm starting to think about changing my collection from collecting antique books to starting to collect antique glass (we have quite a few pieces already, but they all belong to the wife with the exception of some insulator caps we bought together). They're not only more durable than books and easier to clean, but they don't require any reading after purchase, so there's no guilt of never getting around to reading them. You just clean them, put them on display on the shelf, and when people ask about them you get to put it in their hands and say "Take a close of a look as you can. Isn't that an amazing little fucker?"

Metal Detectors

. . . it looks like a fun hobby. Don't judge me. I'm cool.

EDIT: OH YEAH! THE MUTHA-FUCKING HOUSE WE SAW!!!

We thought it was a safe bet because it was a slab foundation house and every slab house we've seen so far has been in great shape. Not this one. The foundation was so bad, the floors were literally wavy. We're talking about circus funhouse wavy. We're talking about feeling like you're drunk while walking around wavy. We're talking about the fridge leaning against the wall and the oven leaning against the counterop wavy. That shit was baaad. Which sucks. Cause the yard was perfect. The driveway was awesome. The layout and the size of the house was perfect. But man. With a foundation like that, no wonder it was such a good price. There's probably no fixing that thing without tearing up all of the flooring and the whole house would probably have to come down and be rebuilt. So . . . if the owner was willing to pay us to take it off his hands, we'd consider. Otherwise, no go.

user-inactivated  ·  2535 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: April 19, 2017

Work

Ugh!

Movies

Watched the remake of The Magnificent 7 last night. The first half of the movie, while not fantastic, was pretty okay. The second half though, the whole battle in the city, was not good. It was basically violence for violence's sake and was not visually compelling like Fury Road or Dredd. To make matters worse, while the first half of the film was fun, there wasn't much there to attach you to the characters, so when shit finally does hit the fan you're not emotionally invested in their well being. It honestly makes me wonder why they even felt like making the movie in the first place. That said, I loved Vincent D'Onofrio's character for being a burly mountain man with anything but a burly mountain man voice. So, props for that.

Cars

When the Sixth Gen Camaro came out, I wasn't really impressed with their styling design. It really felt like an update on the Fifth Gen's revision. Now that it's been out for a while and I've seen more and more of them on the road, I've changed my mind. They look good.

Friends

I don't know if I said this previously, but another one of my friends finally quit their shitty job and is working for the county's Job and Family Services office now. So excited for them. They're gonna kick ass.

user-inactivated  ·  2548 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: U.S. strikes Syrian military airfield in first direct assault on Bashar al-Assad’s government

Things feel like they're falling apart everywhere.

user-inactivated  ·  2557 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Hubski Update: You must be this thoughtful to post to Hubski

Commenting to say that I entirely use the same words and phrases over and over again in my comments as well.

Also commenting to say, welcome to Hubski.