rjshae

I was the opposite; Dead City didn't draw me in to the characters or the story at all. DD had better character development.

I've been binge watching horror series on AMC+, including Darryl Dixon, Mayfair Witches, NOS4A2, and Dead City. What do you know, it makes the world feel almost normal again. At least it cleanses the political palate somewhat. Maybe I'll try The Terror next?

Kind of like driving down the road with your turn signal left on, I suppose. I once left my vacation e-mail auto-reply on for weeks after getting back. It was surprisingly peaceful.

A recent poll in Nature showed that many scientists are looking to leave the USA due to this administration's policies, providing a windfall for other countries looking to recruit talent. Countries boost recruitment of American scientists amid cuts to scientific funding In the long term, this will matter more than any trade wars.

I tend to view it as part of the cultural iconoclasm we've been going through. During DJT's first term, the USA went through a period of destroying statues and creating new symbols; now the pendulum is swinging the other way. We may see several more such swings before an equilibrium is reached. Meh, whatever. It's sad to see nice art ruined, but it happens.

My biggest issue with DOGE is the complete lack of transparency. I know that audits can be tight-lipped while in progress (to avoid tipping their hand). However, I think the public should have the expectation that all of the DOGE activities and related actions will be subject to a thorough audit in the near future, once completed. But of course, the Republican-led Congress will try to embed the decisions into future budgets, making it all nice and tidy in the end. Likewise the Whitehouse will keep it hidden. The only hope is for a future Democratic President to open it up, assuming that our democracy survives.

Yes it is true to a certain degree, and the impact is supported through studies. For example: Modern Racism and Modern Discrimination: The Effects of Race, Racial Attitudes, and Context on Simulated Hiring Decisions Comparative Perspectives on Racial Discrimination in Hiring: The Rise of Field Experiments But I don't believe it's specific to the USA; everyone has biases and racism/bigotry exists world-wide. It's just more noticeable in the USA due to the heterogeneous nature of the populace.

So... if DEI is anti-American, what is the opposite of DEI? Diversity -> Segregation Equity -> Concentration of wealth Inclusion -> Intolerance and bigotry Hmm, I guess that is America. Historically, at least.

Tastes vary I suppose. I don't like single episode police procedurals any more, but done as a multi-episode drama it seems to work.

I just signed up for AMC+ so now I'm watching the rest of Dark Winds. It's good stuff.

Well they say that democracy is government by amateurs, and that certainly looks like what we've got. In abundance.

Dark Energy Might Be Evolving over Time in Unexpected Ways The Universe just keeps getting weirder. As one site put it: The universe doesn't care about your precious standard model

I don't mind the verification method; I'm just not sure they will be staffed to handle it. Plus if they start shutting down offices, retirees will need to travel a much longer distance to provide verification. I suppose they could make a fun trip out of it.

Per the Howard Lutnick article: As with many things this administration is implementing, they don't seem to have thought through the consequences. They want to: Make significant cuts to the Social Security Administration, including closing offices Make people come in person to verify their identity Alas, there may be nobody around to check the identities. Hmm, problem solved I suppose. I.e. just die old person.

Well it looks like DJT is going ahead with the plans to "dismantle" Department of Education. I wonder what the Democrats would do with that kind of capability (assuming there will still be a constitution)? Get rid of the NRC? Toss ECAP? Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies? Take down the US Customs and Border Protection? Eliminate the DHS? What do you think?

The paper predicts an effect that would last four years, so presumably a very poor agricultural output for a few years. Enough to cause mass starvation? I don't know, But after that, we're back to global warming again.

Wasn't your premise that we'd go to war to prevent Iran from having a nuclear arsenal? We're not at full-blown war with them now, so presumably that would happen once Iran is nuclear armed to some degree? Do we invade Iran at that point? What's the trigger point? When Iran tests a nuclear weapon?

This morning I'm off to the dentist to get a permanent cap put in, and a temporary on a different tooth. Joy. Caps are getting pricey, even with dental insurance.

A regional nuclear exchange could have a world-wide climate impact. It depends on the amount of carbon aerosols thrown up into the upper atmosphere. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033056

Today in stupid: White House press secretary claims French should be ‘grateful’ to US they are ‘not speaking German’ *cough* Well I for one would like to thank the French for making it possible for the US to be an independent nation.

No, the Destiny was an automated ship that humans happened to board. In a setting with stargates, almost nobody is going to use generation ships. Wall-E has an example of (what became) a generation ship, and the Firefly setting population arrived in generation ships.

I guess there is something to be said for the D&D 5e approach of requiring many buffing spells to use concentration. That limits much of the need for pre-combat buffing. Anyway I picked up a couple of Pathfinder books at the local library and have been looking them over.

For now, yes. The current recruiting rise starting last year, before the election. There have been increases in female and racial minority recruits. With an all-white male face though, the army may end up recruiting from a shrinking pool of candidates.

I still have a bunch of old boxed wargames in my closet: 1940, Triplanetary, Trailblazer, Dragon Pass, Third Reich, Greyhawk Wars, WW II, Imperium, Russian Campaign, and Objective: Moscow. There were a bunch of others that I gave away some time ago. I haven't touched any of them for years though, not since wargames appeared on PCs. I subscribed to Strategy & Tactics for many years, but almost never had the time to play them. Eventually I couldn't justify the cost.