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kleinbl00  ·  34 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Palestine and the power of language   ·  

The power of language:

    But that familiarity didn’t last. By the end of the first month, the class was split on the definition of “ethnic cleansing”—not only how to define it but who, in terms of the subject doing the action, can be charged with this human rights violation.

For those too young to remember, "ethnic cleansing" was a term unheard of before Slobodan Milosovic. The phrase was coined by the Serbians to describe what they were doing to the Bosnians to say "silly NATO! We're not committing genocide! We're practicing ethnic cleansing! What are you worried about!" It's an example of the power of language that "filling trenches with dead children" was very much genocide, but for the past 30 years everyone has been circling around the crime of "ethnic cleansing" to determine what, exactly, is the prosecutable crime there that doesn't trigger UN conventions against genocide.

It's also worth pointing out that when first introduced, embargoes were considered genocide. After all, they target a civilian population for purposes of death and displacement. Now of course they're the first tool in the kit despite knowing that they hurt the civilian population first and foremost.

The power of language:

    The professor called our attention to his use of the term “ethnic cleansing” in his own writing. He wrote that around 750,000 Palestinians were displaced in 1948, an act that today would be considered ethnic cleansing. At first read, this statement seemed bold—he may not have named the Nakba, but his writing gestured toward violence. Even so, his examination felt sanitized. Palestinians “were displaced,” he wrote. But there was no mention of who did the displacing.

The Nakba was the direct result of European genocide and, if you like, "ethnic cleansing." The whole of the post-WWII economy of Europe was powered by confiscated Jewish wealth; the whole of the West German economy was Jewish wealth, the post-war economies of Eastern Europe and the USSR were powered by confiscated Jewish wealth and founded on confiscated Jewish property. The overwhelming majority of post-War American influence was due to massive expansion in the Western states which was only possible due to de-facto confiscation of property from Japanese Americans.

Meanwhile, of course, the 1948 war was in response to a partition plan that allowed Europe to kick the can down the road. If you give the Jews palestine you don't have to give them back Brussels. The British Empire, which had ruled the entire region with an iron fist for generations, was too weak to do anything but withdraw and the end result was genocide.

Jews did the displacing. It's also complicated.

The power of language:

    After reading part of the article out loud, a girl who had been fidgeting in her seat said it couldn’t be.

    “What couldn’t be?” my professor asked.

    “Ethnic cleansing. Because it’s what happened in the Holocaust, so we can’t be charged with this,” she replied. Another student cut in. He qualified by referring to himself as a critic of Israel. “There’s a distinction between occupation and ethnic cleansing,” he announced. “It’s an issue of structural power and systematic violence—what happened in 1948 was not ethnic cleansing.”

I can't be guilty. There's no way I have any culpability here I'm just a smol bean. History, on every level, in every country, at any time, is "we did good" and "they did bad." The purpose of history education from a civics standpoint is to sheepdip your populace into the common understanding that defines your collective morals - that's why the southern US skirmishes over slavery every goddamn day and will until the end of time. Nobody wants to be the baddies. It doesn't help that we don't introduce the "are we the baddies" conversation until fucking college because any casual observation of the History Channel will clue you in to the fact that we're the baddies, all of us, at some point or another.

But unless you want to know this shit, there's too much complexity. "I benefit materially and spiritually from the oppression of others" is an ethics question for philosophy majors, not a viewpoint introduced to children and god help you if you try. So here's this poor Intro to Fuckery professor saddled with Mary Jane and Bobby Sue who are pretty sure the Nakba wasn't ethnic cleansing and into that mix you've got a Palestinian auditor who could obviously teach the class? But whose salary and tenure are not dependent on Mary Jane and Bobby Sue.

We're the baddies, all of us, at some point or another.

Munich bombings? Palestinians. Lebanese civil war? Palestinians. October 7? Palestinians. I could very easily make the argument that each of those was justified and retaliatory but I won't. Fundamentally the Israelis wear uniforms, the Palestinians don't, both sides know it's because that would be the end of the Palestinians and the Israelis get to sit there going "checkmate."

The power of language:

    The word “complicated” is often used to describe the occupation in Palestine, a word that insists that occupation is untouchable—Palestine’s history is too complex, there are too many moving parts, it’s a puzzle that can never be solved. But this word is condescending—a distraction. It wants us to feel small, worthless, and petty in our investigation. It demands power structures remain in place, allowing some to speak while requiring others to stay quiet.

"Simple" implies it can be fixed. "Complicated" implies that it can't. It's been nigh onto 80 years and the world can't agree on borders, let alone what happens after that, and it's not like nobody has tried. Ben Gurion and Maier firmly believed that there would never truly be peace until they had exterminated the Palestinians but they also knew that Hitler held those exact same firm beliefs about the Jews so they didn't shout it from the mountaintops. Meanwhile four generations of Arab states have loudly proclaimed that the only pathway to peace is the eradication of Israel which - c'mon. You're going to triangulate around the phrase "ethnic cleansing" and ignore that it's a stated goal of Hamas' charter? Bartcop argued the simplest solution would be to give the Jews Oklahoma and I'm not sure he's wrong, despite the obvious distaste Israel would have for replacing Jerusalem with Tulsa.

"Complicated" masks the fact that in a simpler time, both the Palestinians and the Jews would be extinct. That "simpler time" wasn't so long ago.

And that really gets to the worst part of the Israel/Palestine conflict: both sides plead simplicity and if you disagree, you're a murderer.

IN MY ADULT LIFE I have watched the phrase "ethnic cleansing" be born, ridiculed, argued, enshrined and defined. What started out as "you murderous asshole that's genocide" has become "well, but let's figure out if this is bad or bad-bad" and it's nothing more than a way to justify sitting back and doing nothing. A lot of that is because "genocide" was used to set what the Nazis were doing apart from what everyone throughout history has always done, which was generally just referred to as "winning." And yet there are still Palestinians, and there are still Jews, because as a civilization we no longer permit that scale of win.

If it were simple it would be solved already. That it's not means any argument put forth for solving it in Intro to Fuckery is likely to be eliding some important details.

lil  ·  463 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: December 21, 2022  ·  

bfx, the important thing is to have fun now, to deepen your relationship now, and continue being honest and open about fears and feelings. “Now” is all that’s real.

I went through three long relationships and two (too) long marriages before I stumbled across my current partner and and for the first time didn’t want to be with anyone else.

I was sixty-fucking-three when I got it, that monogamy is just wanting to have the best time with someone you like — not externally imposed.

Prior to now in my life, monogamy was just another word for controlling. If monogamy is not based on the desire and joy in being together, then it’s control. Good for her that she’s exploring her feelings about sex and sexuality. She may want to do more exploring than you feel comfortable with - if that’s the case, figure out the roots of your discomfort- which is probably insecurity, which leads to control.

Still, time with others is time not with you.

Having a “relationship” or an imagined “future” with someone does not replace the necessity of also having to have a life.

kleinbl00  ·  517 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The currency of the New Economy won't be money, but attention   ·  

There's an assumption (backed by propaganda and revisionist history) that history has been one long steady arc towards progress when in fact (1) nobody focuses on anything but western European history (2) it's had fucktons of fits'n'starts.

"labor" vs. "child labor" became a thing in the Victorian era because pastoralism and artisanism were wiped out by enclosure and mass-production. The Luddites weren't complaining about technology, they were complaining about wealth concentration and the unchecked evolution of Victorian squalor. That's what prompted Communism - Engels wandered over to the UK and went "whoa holy shit industrializaiton and capitalism are a massive step back for ordinary people" and Marx went "seize the means of production" which is a meaningless concept in a preindustrial society. But because we've been at the foremost of industrial society from the get-go, we naturally presume it is an unalloyed good and matchstick girls would have died of cholera even if they weren't drinking their own shit in Whitechapel.

Computers and devices are an environmental hazard, one we're adapting rapidly to either deal with or be defeated by. Social media is 20 years old and has radically changed politics and society but I mean, high schools are 100 years old and radically changed politics and society.

Fundamentally? If you're a bad parent, you're a bad parent. The challenges change but the need to respond to them doesn't. That "we" has always fucked up their kids, parents have always rebelled against the "we."

The "child labor laws" thing is a total non sequitur. I was ten hours a week at a toy store from 4th grade, got social security statements and everything. You can have child actors on stage for anywhere from half an hour (newborns) to 4 hours per day (teenagers) no problem. they can't work full shifts until 16 which... c'mon. Okay, they can't manufacture explosives. But I mean, c'mon.

I have an uninterrupted social security history going back to age eight. That doesn't include paper routes, mown lawns, short-order cooking at the ski area or fixing cars. And none of the regulations have changed from when I was a kid.

b_b  ·  1008 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Lab Leak Theory Doesn’t Hold Up  ·  

I'm just gonna post this here, since I'm sick of tormenting Hubski with these types of articles. This is a devastating long read.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/the-lab-leak-theory-inside-the-fight-to-uncover-covid-19s-origins

goobster  ·  1266 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Republican senator says ‘democracy isn’t the objective’ of US system  ·  

My Mom was head of the US Chamber of Commerce for the Western United States for 14 years.

You got nothin'. Sit down.

CrazyEyeJoe  ·  1305 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Wait, are we doing it wrong? [Potential major Hubski experiment]  ·  

Alright, fair enough. If I hurt your feelings back then, I'm sorry that I did, and I certainly didn't intend to.

I'll try to avoid it in the future as well, and hopefully we can have some more productive exchanges.

oyster  ·  1306 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Looks like Kyle Rittenhouse had his ass beat back in July for hitting a girl   ·  

Ya I feel like this should be evidence that he likes to hang around situations and wait for his chance to fight while skirting the consequences because he “didn’t start it”. Like tall chick was trying to back away and this group of thugs kept following her. Then beat her up when she tried to defend herself from crazy short chick. But again, people will try to villainize the random tall chick.

I had to serve a Trump supporter the other day and we all wanted to ask if they were in the country legally but you can only really call on license plates. But then this guy went and tried to order butter chicken before actually ordering a burger. I was very confused until I was reminded that American’s sometimes think butter chicken is just chicken soaked in butter and THEN THEY ORDER IT. So suffice it to say, I don’t have a lot of faith in a positive outcome to this whole situation.

am_Unition  ·  1350 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Please make it stop  ·  

I'm familiar with the statement, but there might be other benefits to not having a moronic narcissist psychopath in the white house which should convince you to vote against Trump. We'll solve the stated problem later. Vote.

tacocat  ·  1427 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Alex Jones is craving human flesh  ·  

I've read Them. Him and his producer yelling at each other shouldnt be as funny as it is when you can't hear it. Have you heard this?

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/670/beware-the-jabberwock/act-two-4

b_b  ·  1442 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pastor dies after holding service in defiance of stay at home order  ·  

I think you probably have a much different experience than a lot of people. I was raised a Christian, but an Episcopal, which is basically a forum for members of Daughters of the American Revolution to have coffee together without the danger of interference from minorities. It took me until I was in like middle school to find out that some people actually believe the fairy tales (or whatever you want to call them) in the Bible. So my perspective isn't one that comes from a place of evangelism, and I can't say how I would feel if it had, but I'd probably harbor some anger, too.

All that said, I do think there's plenty of space for religion and reason, so long as neither is stepping on the other's toes. Stephen Jay Gould called this the non-overlapping magisteria principle. Basically, we can coexist so long as religion stays in and studies the metaphysical space and leaves the physical world to the rest of us, and vice versa.

kleinbl00  ·  1450 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Bernie Sanders drops out of 2020 race   ·  

Who fucking cares? She's a democratic ex-fighter pilot running against Mitch McConnell.

Maybe dial the purity test back a bit.

ooli  ·  1499 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Library of Babel - Why Hexagons?  ·  

It inspired me to write a poem:

  Dans la bibliothèque aux étroits hexagones,

J'ai marché plus d'une fois vers un but précis.

Loin de ce tome ultime et de ses facéties,

Que cherchent les héros comme une autre Gorgone.

Lisant chaque ligne dans ma quête infinie

Plus impossible encore et plus simple à la fois,

Puisque dans ce royaume, bâti autrefois,

J’attends l'Amour qui absout de l'ignominie.

  Espérant celle qui dans le semblable livre

Plongerait son regard; son regard qui délivre,

Hébergerai mon âme dans sa palmeraie.

Mais le hasard est cruel, et son couperet

Sans fin, me laisse seul, isolé à poursuivre

Ces lignes que tu lirais, toi que j'aimerais!

...

According to google bot, this will roughly translate as :

  In the Library with narrow hexagons,

I have walked more than once towards a specific goal.

Far from the Ultimate volume and its jokes,

That heroes seek like another Gorgonian.

Reading every line in my endless quest

Even more impossible and simpler at the same time,

Because in this kingdom, built in the past,

I await the Love which absolves from ignominy.

   Hoping for the girl, in the similar book

Diving her gaze; her gaze that delivers,

Who will host my soul in her palm grove.

But Chance is cruel, and its cleaver

Endlessly, leaves me alone, isolated to pursue

These lines that you would read, you that I would love!

OftenBen  ·  1814 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: New Horrors: China Harvesting Muslim Organs in Concentration Camps.  ·  

I think there is an argument to be made that China is trying to export the social credit idea.

One of the exports of Empire is culture, yes?

I'm still knee-deep in Durant so that's the lens I'm putting this all through, as much as possible.

rezzeJ  ·  1821 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A brief primer on Brexit and trade  ·  

You say that my comment is elitist and derogatory in the way it treats adults like children. I’m not sure how it’s elitist or derogatory to claim that the average person struggling in relative poverty probably doesn’t care to read up on geopolitics. I don’t blame them for it or think it makes them worse people. I don’t think it makes them intrinsically stupid or somehow worse than me. It’s simply a observation. The whole point of it was to fight against your claim that not knowing about the world makes you a pathetic schoolchild.

I mean, forget anything about relative poverty, just consider the average person. Me included. I am just as guilty of the ignorance that I'm accusing others of. I said it to kb in a PM and I'll say it again: I voted 'Remain' because... the status-quo was pretty good for me. On the face of it, I saw no reason for things to change so drastically. But there was no conscious geopolitical or economical basis behind my vote. And that’s coming from someone with a masters degree (though it's in music, so go figure) living a cushy middle-class lifestyle. If the people who swung the referendum are assholes, then so am I. I am the same as them, just with a more advantageous upbringing.

Did you watch the ‘Anywhere But Westminster’ video? I realise that the link was wrong for a while, so I don’t blame you if you didn’t. That notwithstanding, all the leave voters who talk to the host never actually say anything about the EU, geopolitics, or trade. It’s all about how their hometown has gone to shit. How they are unemployed and can’t get a job. Or how they are employed but effectively take home less than the minimum wage.

You talk about the ‘social contract’ and the responsibility one has as a member of a society. Fundamentally I agree with you. But someone whose disability benefits have been denied and has to get their meals from a foodbank probably doesn’t care much for the ‘social contract’. Where’s their benefit from it?

It’s all there in the figures. Out of those polled, the most likely people to vote leave were:

    - Those with no formal education qualifications (78%) or whose highest qualifications are CSEs or O-levels (61%) [rezzeJ note: These are the old form of GCSEs which are exams that you take at 16.]

    - Those with an income of less than £1,200 per month (66%)

    - Those in social housing provided by a local authority (70%) or housing association (68%)

    - Those finding it difficult to manage financially (70%) or just about getting by (60%)

    - Those who believed Britain has got a lot worse in the last ten years (73%)

    - Those who think things have got worse for them rather than other people (76%)

    - Those who perceive themselves as working class (59%)

    - Those who see themselves as English rather than British (74%) or more English than British (62%)

This is particularly telling:

    The NatCen Panel post-Referendum survey asked what people thought the current priority for government should be… It is worth noting that Europe and the EU was significantly less likely to be selected overall than every issue other than unemployment, and less likely to be selected than education, the NHS, and immigration for those who voted Leave. This suggests that people were more focused on the domestic issues, rather than the detailed arguments about European relations… Around one in five, even though their underlying preference was to stay in the EU, voted Leave.

And this is reflected by an observation from the host in another of the ‘Anywhere but Westminster’ videos:

    [There’s] a hell of a lot of other people who thought that [Brexit] was something that happened 2 years ago. And, for very understandable reasons, they can’t quite fathom why it’s dragging on

That’s the overarching point here. In a lot of ways, the result of the referendum has nothing to do with the EU. A lot of voters didn’t really have a clue about the nature of our relationship with EU. This is highlighted by the fact that even though the true impact of their decision has come to the surface and Vote Leave's lies exposed during the process of trying to leave, most of them still would vote leave again.

So what they were voting for? To fix what they perceive as a broken country. They were voting for: “we’re in the shit over here and if you’re not going to help us then fuck you too.” People tried to raise their voice before through the general elections, but the FPTP system negated the impact of their votes. The referendum gave the voters a voice. A straight choice where safe seats, FPTP, and all that made no difference. So unfortunately, leaving the EU became collateral damage in a process of these people finally being able to raise their voice.

    ...participants who agreed that ‘politicians don’t listen to people like me’ were significantly more likely to vote Leave (58%) than those who did not (37%)

Yes, some people who voted leave are racist assholes. And others are well-informed or well-off people with selfish agendas. But by pointing out all the things I have in this post, I am not attempting to “ absolves the assholes of their responsibility for this mess”, nor am I saying that it is the darn unwashed masses fault we’ve ended up here. I am saying that we need to be certain that we're pointing the finger at the right people. This is ultimately the fault of government, not that of the people who swung the vote. By blaming the people, you are doing exactly what Pie describes as populism in his video: masking the political failings by blaming others.

Edit: I have a sneaking feeling that we're actually on the same page and that we've just misunderstood each other. Is that correct?

dublinben  ·  2141 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas: At least 8 killed, sheriff says - CNN  ·  

    Is there another way to report on mass murder that doesn't seem like glorifying to you?

Maybe we just shouldn't be reporting on this in the national media. These are always given multiple days of wall-to-wall coverage on cable news. This is known to encourage copycats and attract others to outdo the carnage in previous incidents.

thenewgreen  ·  2177 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: April 11, 2018  ·  

    It's not a contest for most quintessential Hubski post!
No, because if it were it would be this post: ...... (just spent 10 minutes searching for the post where you say you'll never get married) Dammit! Couldn't find it.
AnSionnachRua  ·  2262 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018  ·  

You can do it, rd! Smash em!

user-inactivated  ·  2292 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: “Uber has engaged, and continues to engage, in illegal intelligence gathering on a global scale.”  ·  

I'm trying very, very hard to be as positive as possible from here on out. So far, I think I'm doing alright but I know I can do better and I'm gonna work on it. That said, I'm gonna make an exception for Uber.

I, for some unknown reason, have a very deep, obsessive dislike against Uber. I don't know completely where it comes from, but I think a lot of it stems from the facts that A) They really don't seem to be for the working man and B) They think laws are nothing more than inconveniences that they can just ignore. The fact that A and B overlap somewhat and their attitude towards laws seems to influence their behavior in other ways just irks me even more.

If I came and posted every negative article that I come across that involves Uber, I'd probably post one a week, minimum. What's there isn't even all of their controversies. The fact that they seem to have a new stain on their character on a seemingly monthly basis doesn't even surprise me anymore. I really hope something comes of this, because I don't like them at all, and I hope its a government somewhere that ends up being their eventual downfall. The internet tends to be pretty socially conscious (or at least loves a good social controversy) and when I think about it I'm honestly surprised that a tech company such as them have survived in a socially conscious atmosphere.

_thoracic  ·  2359 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Today's Writing Prompt: This Is What It's Like  ·  

“This is what it’s like” says your instructor, watching you carefully for mistakes

        Training you on bandages, splints, and the cruel rhythm of chest compressions

Teaching you what kills right away, and what takes a while longer.

Telling you that sometimes all you can do is hold a hand and say something kind.

And you listen, wide-eyed.

“This is what it’s like” says your crew chief, pulling you up into the ambulance.

        Showing you streets, the bad stretches of interstates, the homes of frequent fliers. 

Reminding you to check pockets for knives and arms for track marks.

Relaying experience’s thousand little lessons, unteachable in the classroom.

And you listen, working hard to show your worth.

“This is what it’s like” say your patients, pointing to where it hurts.

        Screaming with pain, clutching an extremity turned the wrong way. 

Groaning and sweating, grabbing at their chest saying it’s just like the last one.

Lying still and silent, unknowingly trusting a stranger with everything.

And you listen, replying with soothing words.

“This is what it’s like” says your gear, speaking in clicks, beeps and error messages.

        The defibrillator whines its way up to 300 joules, saying it’ll try but no promises. 

The ambulance growls, bouncing and rattling over potholes as you try to start an IV

The BVM whooshes, fighting to push breath into a ruined airway.

And you listen, hoping that together it’ll make a difference.

“This is what it’s like” says the nick in your shears, bearing witness.

        Reminding you of that one, the one no one could have saved. 

Pulling you back into the dirt and blood of the scene, unbidden.

Making you feel old, far older than you should be by now.

And you listen, wishing you didn’t have to.

“This is what it’s like” says the calendar, slowly passing time

        Marking out your shifts, 12-hour gambles on what’ll come your way. 

Quietly telling you it’s almost time to renew your license again.

Studded with anniversaries you’d prefer not to remember, but can’t quite forget.

And you listen, stunned that it’s been this long.

“This is what it’s like” you say to the newbies, watching them carefully for mistakes

        Training them on bandages, splints, and the cruel rhythm of chest compressions

Teaching them what kills right away, and what takes a while longer.

Telling them that sometimes all you can do is hold a hand and say something kind.

And they listen, wide-eyed.
veen  ·  2363 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions  ·  

qrguy  ·  2395 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: May 24, 2017  ·  

Your original transaction sent 0.00859833 BTC to your new address, paid 0.00025 BTC in miner fees, and sent the remaining 0.0002924 BTC in "change" back to the original paper wallet.

Of that remaining 0.0002924 BTC, I sent 0.0002424 BTC to myself, and paid the last 0.00005 in miner fees. The paper wallet now has nothing left. I probably could have used a lower fee, if I had been willing to wait longer. The transaction backlog isn't as bad as when you tried it.

I also stole your 0.0002924 in Bitcoin Cash from the same address.

I recovered the private key by filling in the blanks in your picture. The private key was on your receipt twice -- once as a barcode and once as text. You covered up part of each, but not the same parts -- QR codes actually start laying out the data from the bottom right. So I could reconstruct that corner using the beginning of the text.

This was how far I got before my phone could scan it (with a bit of difficulty):

Even if I hadn't been able to fill that much in, the combination of you showing most of the QR code, plus its built in redundancy, means that it would likely have been feasible to brute force the remaining bits of the key.

lil  ·  2399 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Elemental haiku  ·  

This poem is handy to know. Recently a friend of mine dropped his iPhone into water. People said to put it in a bag with rice, a common response.

(Note - just checked the rice-cell phone solution here.)

The rice soution gave me a chance to quote Fire and [R]ice.)

  Some say the cell phone will end in fire, some in rice.

From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who

favour fire

But if it had to perish twice

I think I know enough of hate

to say that for destruction rice

is also great

and will suffice.

My friend said, "Wow, did you make that up just now?"

Clearly he wasn't a Frost fan.

OftenBen  ·  2418 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: If someone gives you a badge, can you then give it away?  ·  

You don't get to give away badges that your content has been given.

Devac  ·  2418 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: If someone gives you a badge, can you then give it away?  ·  

Badges received from others and the badges you earned by persisted posts and comments are in different counters. One does not influence the other.

It's like a gift to put on your mantle piece, man. You don't just give your recognition away. ;)

weewooweewoo  ·  2420 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A Flower Pot of Significant Personal Importance  ·  

I once had three mice. I named them Theodore, Buttercup, and The Holy Spirit. They were feeder mice meant to be fed to snakes. I had them for about 6 months and they helped with my depression. Mice are particularly hard to pet, and they started to hiss and bite at me whenever I went to feed them in the cage. This went on for awhile and on one particularly bad day I decided to kill them off. I rationalized that they were feeder mice that were going to die anyway. I took a half empty jar of peanut butter and put then waited awhile before I put the lid on it.

I woke up the next day feeling the absolute worst, and I was worried that my family would come in and notice that my mice were missing. I bought three more mice and pretended that everything was fine, but in the back of my mind I felt that there was an aura of fear left behind by the previous trio and these new mice knew that I was a mouse killer. I kept them until I left to find myself across the US and I couldn't find anyone to take care of them and I didn't have any friends with snakes so I decided to kill them in the same way, in a peanut butter jar.

I don't trust myself to take care of pets or plants right now. If you buy a succulent I'll buy a succulent.

coffeesp00ns  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: About this Googler's manifesto  ·  

I think this game is an interesting response to the original manifesto as well

steve  ·  2469 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The World Economic Forum presents: The Death of Retirement  ·  

Welp... I might as well take the whole bottle of pills and lie back down...

steve  ·  2475 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: GOING ON TOUR!   ·  

Four miles west of downtown Denver. Super convenient to highways and amenities. PM me if Denver makes sense for your travel schedule. Even if it's just for a lunch stop, hit me up and I'll buy the band lunch.

Edit: screw that - you guys should come stay if possible. We could even do a house show. And your keys player has to show my oldest kid a thing or two.