scarabic
@scarabic@lemmy.world
- Comment on the Home Alone house then and now 4 days ago:
Well said. The middle photo of the living room looks like white hell in the new version. Like one of those underground passages in the Hoth base with some Myst-era computer generated furniture spawned in the distance.
- Comment on the Home Alone house then and now 4 days ago:
The all white aesthetic can be appealing in a “clear slate, calm mind” kind of way, but this works way better for me when it has a few gentle touches like rounded corners, plush furniture, warm lighting, and natural wood accents. No sharp edges or cold lighting or it veers into “ice razors” territory fast.
- Comment on Do americans living in Red States really despise american living in Blue States? 5 days ago:
I disagree! I have a very vivid stereotype in my brain of the good old days when Americans were Americans and hung together through thick and thin! Everything was better back in this fictional time!
- Comment on Do americans living in Red States really despise american living in Blue States? 5 days ago:
It’s also the most normal thing ever. When have there not been regional rivalries and antipathies? Nation states have only been a thing g for like five minutes, historically. Local and regional identity has always been more important and it still is. If anything’s off in this picture it’s probably the notion of a “nation state” being a fake construct that people never actually bought into, not that people have somehow lost their ability to think like countrymen. They never knew.
- Comment on Do americans living in Red States really despise american living in Blue States? 5 days ago:
Freedumb isn’t free either.
- Comment on Do americans living in Red States really despise american living in Blue States? 5 days ago:
It’s weird because I have a vague impression that in prior centuries, tenants actively shunned and mocked rural folks aka “country bumpkins” and such. But these days it’s very much the other eay around. Rural folks are terrified of the city and city people don’t think about rural folks at all.
- Comment on What's the thing you're supposed to be doing right now instead of scrolling? 6 days ago:
There’s a repair shop for those just up the hill from you.
- Comment on What does "Woke" mean to you? 2 weeks ago:
When I became aware of this word, well before it became an insult in the mouths of people like Trump and Tucker Carlson, it meant:
Realizing that mainstream American culture actively buries and lies about its worst oppressions of people in a fog of falsehood that stifles progress in favor of soothing the masses. Once you “wake up” from this collective dream, you can’t fall for it anymore: that America is a land of freedom, democracy equality and opportunity for all. It is in fact a deeply class-stratified society built on Indian and Black holocausts which has toppled democratically elected governments around the world, rules by military might, and habitually refuses to face its racism, sexism, and religious bias. It is a place where nationalism is called patriotism. Once you scrape the scales from your eyes you will see this everywhere. You will have woken up.
- Comment on What happens when you just refuse to pay and go ... ? 3 weeks ago:
It’s a complete illusion that the US can control this strait. It could destabilize it further if it wishes, but there is no getting a ship through without Iran’s cooperation.
Because Iran has a ton of land along the straight from which they can launch missles, drones, rockets, or even artillery at passing ships. There’s a huge region where they can attack the strait, and the US can’t put hundreds of thousands of troops on that land to hold it all. Therefore Trump cannot declare the strait open, though he can declare the strait closed (this just hurts him most of all).
All his bullshit about floating ships at one end to “gate” the passage, and escorting ships, and shooting down rockets…. It’s complete bluster. Even with the entire US military he cannot guarantee safe passage. And that’s just one of the things he has to do if this war continues. He also has to try to defend our allies in the Gulf and elsewhere.
- Comment on What happens when you just refuse to pay and go ... ? 3 weeks ago:
Setting aside the many other things wrong with this, 20% the value of the cargo is just stupid. Most of it doesn’t have that much profit margin in the first place. I know it’s a number straight out of his ass, but damn, the stupid…
- Comment on How come not all people are organ donors? It's not like they will need them where ever they go. 3 weeks ago:
If driving is the reason to make it opt out, I don’t see why that couldn’t be changed for state ID.
- Comment on How come not all people are organ donors? It's not like they will need them where ever they go. 3 weeks ago:
Opt out is fair at a minimum. Driving is the most dangerous thing we do, and if you’re going to do it, there’s an argument to be made that throwing your organ donor chip into the pot is the least you could do, because you could very well cause an accident someday that costs someone their life.
- Comment on How come not all people are organ donors? It's not like they will need them where ever they go. 3 weeks ago:
If you sit down and give the topic all due fair consideration, yes, there’s only one rational conclusion. However about of people just don’t want to think about dying, period, and will switch off on anything that makes them do so. I’m sure there are also misinformed people who think their organs can be freely stolen even if they’re not dead yet if they check that box.
I’m not justifying these people, mind you. I’m just describing how it happens. There is no good reason, but there are reasons.
- Comment on people who take zoom calls in coffee shops are insufferable 3 weeks ago:
Only a long list of very particular choices would leave you in a situation where it’s “unavoidable.” I don’t accept this excuse. Get your shit together.
- Comment on people who take zoom calls in coffee shops are insufferable 3 weeks ago:
I don’t care what kind of call it is, frankly. I don’t want to hear you talk in your phone, or hear your phone make any sound whatsoever. Sitting there watching videos with the speaker on, at a restaurant? Damn.
- Comment on Would it be better to just have a lot of society be underground? 4 weeks ago:
Both of your scenarios seem to start with an empty landscape. When I heard “move the ground level up” I took that to mean that we are starting with an existing cityscape that has a ground level, and everything must be elevated.
It were just talking purely theoreticals built on a tabula rasa, okay then. Like you said, everything can be hand waved away.
- Comment on Would it be better to just have a lot of society be underground? 4 weeks ago:
I’ve actually been there. Like I said, it’s a gallery with little depth and does not answer how this would be applied to modern architecture n any kind of scale.
- Comment on Would it be better to just have a lot of society be underground? 4 weeks ago:
effectively raising ground level
I can’t say I follow what this means. Moving everything we have at ground level up? I understand that this kind of thing has happened historically but only in periods where we barely built a couple of stories high.
I’m looking out over the Tokyo skyline right now and there’s every level of building. How do you get everyone to agree on the one right height?
- Comment on Would it be better to just have a lot of society be underground? 4 weeks ago:
Do you want to suggest a measurement scheme in which underground building is cheaper? As is I don’t understand your point.
- Comment on US Energy Secretary Chris Wright: “I'm thrilled to report that after 35 years, on July 4th, we will end the subsidies for wind and solar projects” 4 weeks ago:
California was 67% powered by alternative sources in 2024: 22.8% Solar 13.8% Wind 12.5% Hydroelectric 11.1% Nuclear 5.0% Geothermal 1.9% Biomass
Source: California Department of Energy
We have also been adding an enormous amount of battery storage to the grid. Cheap (but large and heavy) sodium batteries don’t work well for cars but they’re great for stacking up next to solar farms.
Meanwhile Republicants whine about how it can’t be done. Fucking losers. The sad fact is that the US is diverse and a place like California is essentially a modern country but we also have petrostates like Alaska and Louisiana that fall apart without oil.
- Comment on So, has age verification really become the new normal? 2 months ago:
Hello Nebula
- Comment on Your Truck is Stupid Big 2 months ago:
Just because you can think of ways out of enforcement doesn’t mean all enforcement is impossible. If there’s a plumbing truck parked at the movie theater, management is going to damn well know if plumbing work is occurring. I know it makes us feel smart to think of loopholes but we don’t need airtight enforcement in order for a law to make sense. There are tons of laws on the books that aren’t actively and exhaustively enforced, and the exist to give authority to those who would take action.
- Comment on Your Truck is Stupid Big 2 months ago:
It’s a myth that you can write anything off as a business expense and the IRS can’t do anything about it.
- Comment on Your Truck is Stupid Big 2 months ago:
That’s not a loophole. If the truck wasn’t driven to this movie theater for work purposes, then it wasn’t driven for work purposes.
- Comment on What would the next pres of USA have to do to gain back trust for America? Hold a televised event saying the last person was just a fuck up? 3 months ago:
I’m actually with you - I don’t believe any one president can just wave a magic wand and do away with regulatory capture forever. I’m not sure what I said specifically that made you think I put that all on the president.
However it is still a very relevant question, which no one seems to want to answer: what CAN the next president DO to restore trust? Not necessarily restore it ALL but begin to heal the situation?
- Comment on What would the next pres of USA have to do to gain back trust for America? Hold a televised event saying the last person was just a fuck up? 3 months ago:
That’s a list of problems. I guess I just have to keep bringing you back to “what should the next president do?” You know, about them.
But if I ask you that are you going to compare me to a bully harming someone? That’s my WTF here.
- Comment on What would the next pres of USA have to do to gain back trust for America? Hold a televised event saying the last person was just a fuck up? 3 months ago:
What? I’m literally asking what the.l next leader should do to start improving the situation, not asking anyone’s forgiveness. If you can’t name one actual concrete thing, just admit it.
- Comment on What would the next pres of USA have to do to gain back trust for America? Hold a televised event saying the last person was just a fuck up? 3 months ago:
It’ll take decades to make up for completely but what can the next president do to regain some trust?
- Comment on Window alignment 3 months ago:
Could be. I struggle to imagine what would need to be bolted to the wall, only in that place, only on that one floor.
- Comment on Window alignment 3 months ago:
That looks like where Cotton Eyed Joe kept The Subtle Knife.