Search the Community

... and now Gromnir learned something. am vague recalling an international nato tank competition from 80s, but tank biathlon were new to us. as for weird russian competitions, am still gonna vote for chess boxing as our favorite. another image for gifted. funny stuff. err. HA! Good Fun!

coming from guy we needed spend multiple pages explaining the difference 'tween temp change and rate of temp change, is an odd observation. err on side o' gifted ignorance is the conservative play. nevertheless, considering how by now the only way a person wouldn't know trumps tanks would be stationary is if they were willfully avoiding reading articles which referenced those tanks, we cannot wonder if you might wanna look in the mirror for a person needing a neurological consult. and see, you really did learn something. HA! good Fun!

gotta be careful as am knowing how delicate is gifted. regardless, tank guy were one o' the more iconic photos/images o' the second half o' the 20th century. am genuine surprised gifted didn't recognize what were happening in the photo. important thing is you learned something. congrats. HA! Good Fun!

no doubt images o' warsaw ghetto fighters throwing rocks at armed germans in 43' is also a h00t for gifted.

is not really a "case file" in this situation. case file for whom? didn't ever have a grand jury specific review trump for charges. mueller made clear he could not consider charges. investigation only. there is a difference and such minutiae can be important. specific nomenclature aside, this started 'cause we asked for clarification. "It would be funny to watch how quickly would they back off if someone would give them the case papers and say "- ok, bring this before the judge" so we asked sharp what he meant by case papers? we were not hair-splitting when we asked for a little illumination. "am not sure what "case papers" you is talking 'bout. am pretty sure you don't know what you is talking 'bout. volume 2 o' the mueller report is 182 pages and volume 2 is largely unredacted. fraking dream scenario for any prosecutor to have a bob mueller team o' all-stars do all the grunt work so they can slap together a formal charging document?" sharp clarified. "Case papers as the name suggests are papers for the case. You know the pieces of cellulose with ink on them in the shape of letters. Seems pretty simple to me. Oh well ." sharp, as is typical, is trying to bluff his way through this. doesn't know enough to carry the bluff. @Guard Dog we got at least a little compassion for the folks in oregon. whether the clowns is dressed red or blue, the senators should be able to forge a compromise. yeah, the funding bills being held up ain't like trump's unilateral shutdown which cost the fed government billions o' dollars and saw fed workers go w/o pay-- oregon state workers aren't in danger o' seeing an end to paychecks anytime soon. even so, there will be delays on projects and independent contractors at some indefinite point in the future might suffer... maybe? gonna need delay hiring a few additional state troopers, and budget money were gonna expand caseworker numbers to aid foster-care system. etc. nothing immediate and dire, but is important stuff. *shrug* playing hooky as a last resort don't bother us, particular as is not even the first time the oregon senators have resorted to such. converse, a state senator advocating militia violence? another threatening violence 'gainst state troopers performing their duties? y'know, one thing those old movies get wrong 'bout the boston tea party is how civilized it all were. sure, the rebels dressed as indians to kinda/sorta hide their identities, but the Americans were extreme careful to not hurt anybody and to actual avoid any property damage save for the tea and the lock on the hold where the tea were kept. were no other damage to ships, persons or cargo. to be clear, am not suggesting the oregon senators should next engage in property damage as a form o' protest 'gainst 2019 version o' taxation w/o representation. am only bringing up to show that one o' the more dramatic and memorable examples o' unruly Americans carrying out protest were entire bloodless and carried out with almost urbane flair. even so, we agree oregon ain't gonna fall to pieces, or even suffer great, if a handful o' republicans hide out in "idaho" for days or weeks. however, we personal do draw a hard line at violence, but again, the threats o' violence started after gifted's hand wringing. HA! Good Fun!

you specific distinguished case papers. distinguished as celulose with ink on it. nobody refers to case papers. had no idea what you thought were case papers... but your bullet point evasion once again fails to make sense-- you suggested if the lawyers got 'em, whatever they are, they would balk at going before a judge. the lawyers in our link, all +1000, got the stuff barr and rosenstein got. they got the same papers. duh. you were dismissive o' the +1000. again-- "They sound like every retired militaryman who "would win every war" and retired policemen who "would solve every crime" etc. if only they were younger." the actual abilities and experience o' the +1000 is thus quite relevant. were core. nevertheless, even though it were an evasion by sharp, am still not knowing who these retired military folks is you speak o' as you can't produce any (irony.) "We are former federal prosecutors. We served under both Republican and Democratic administrations at different levels of the federal system: as line attorneys, supervisors, special prosecutors, United States Attorneys, and senior officials at the Department of Justice. The offices in which we served were small, medium, and large; urban, suburban, and rural; and located in all parts of our country. "Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice." there is a list o' 1025 names attached. knock yourself out. fact that they cannot bring the case with barr as ag don't in anyway diminish the expertise o' the +1000. just as there is no doubt more than one expert on bumblebee aerodynamics in the world (HA!) there can be multiple people with expertise on legal questions. the best neurosurgeon in the world suffers tennis elbow and cannot perform a surgery. doesn't mean his opinion is invalidated, eh? the +1000 have the bona fides to qualify a experts; a few o' them is daunting qualified. fact that only one person has power to make a decision or perform an action hardly precludes others from being capable o' contributing valuable and even superior insights. evasion. as to gifted, is good to know you don't need sympathy, 'cause with all the whining and hand wringing 'bout senators and free press and not enough chinese style do the last few pages, you sure seemed like you needed a hug. ... aw, what the heck. can't be stingy with the hugs. now dontcha feel better? HA! Good Fun! ps this shouldn't be necessary, but given how blunt sharp has been since returning, am thinking it just might be necessary to clarify how graham's observation regarding nobody on earth who could were an observation o' ability rather than capacity. wouldn't be a point if the senator's total pool o' earthlings were limited to barr.

yeah, the threats o' violence is indefensible. we noted earlier-- "the newish militia threat? now that deserves a horse whipping. if a minority group can't get honest input and consideration because the democratic process is rigged, am in favor o' creative means o' protest and resistance, but thin veiled threats o' violence is 'bout as blunt and uncreative as is possible to imagine. 'course those threats came after your post so am not giving you the benefit o' the doubt on those. nevertheless, we would agree that the minority senators should public condemn the militia threats in no uncertain terms." 'course you do realize stuff in quotes means you believe we said such, yes? find "working as intended," from Gromnir regarding oregon senators. will wait. ... *jeopardy music plays* ... no? we actual said equivalent o' opposite, so is easy to see how gifted would be confused. perhaps you did a trump air quotes reversal? in any event, situation is 180 from working as intended. worse, is stoopid and utter avoidable. no excuses. horse whipping frenzy? nope. situation is hardly unique and the senators playing hooky isn't alone as responsible parties deserving chastisement. thanks to excessive gerrymandering by both parties, we got states and districts which is so polarized it is now possible to levy a targeted tax which affects those who didn't vote for the majority. is so the opposite o' working as intended that politicians is resorting to extreme measures to resist. in a pure democracy, the minority gotta swallow whatever bitter pill the majority forces 'pon 'em. thankful the US ain't that kinda republic. use quorum rules to avoid tyranny o' majority? given current political climate, gifted shouldn't be shocked by this and is not historical new. oh, and seeing how gifted is equal frenzied when senators showup and pass legislation, is tough to work up any kinda sympathy for poor, frazzled gifted. "politics gonna politic," right? HA! Good Fun!

tax rate is based on income earned. the more you make, the higher the rate o' taxation. is not complex. seven brackets. on first ~$19500 (maybe a scooch more... am not positive) buffet earns, he pays 10%. at other end, on amounts over $600,001, he pays 37%. buffet pays self $1. outside capital gains considerations, this puts him in the lowest tax bracket. stuff you own is not income. can have a dozen houses and a "company" jet and all kinda other stuff which is not gonna affect tax bracket. you don't pay taxes on own or worth. pay taxes on earned. and as for gifted twisting, we would typical guess he were shooting for ironic with observations o' combativeness and working self into a frenzy. not the case, eh? nevertheless, at least try to keep on-topic. don't want the embarrassment o' you getting another mod warning. back on-topic, am offering clarification-- our observation that misplaced admiration and concerns 'bout china do, japanese efficiency and russian moribund economic model is opposite o' gifted whine 'bout a handful o' state senators playing hookie so as to prevent a vote they know they cannot win. is our observation o' "meh" v. "Every one of those senators should be immediately stripped of their duties and permanently barred from holding office again." which is the whine? personal, we cannot work self up into that kinda frenzy o'er a few state senators or the myth o' japanese efficiency, but knock yourself out. just be careful not to go all sideways (again) and get the thread unnecessary mod attention. messy. HA! Good Fun! ps in case sharp saw too quick before edit, we posted numbers for single taxpayers as 'posed to married. corrected.

and here we thought this all started with gifted whining 'bout a few senators in oregon. lord knows Gromnir ain't whining 'bout three countries. we has suggested there is less reason to be concerned or impressed by three countries with which gifted seems preoccupied... which is kinda the opposite o' what you suggest. but heck, am a people person and am gonna keep trying to help gifted reach daylight. you hang in there and we will eventual make it. HA! Good Fun!

like most executives, buffet pays himself next to nothing in income. capital gains is where government makes money from buffet in the form o' taxes. have the secretary earn $1 for 2019 might not be the solution sharp thinks it is. ps @gifted the russian economy has been sunk for years, which is why any fluctuation in oil prices causes such distress. one o' your fellow posters helpful submitted a bloomberg chart a few years ago which showed worst performing currencies, with russia the absolute worst for year _______. worse than sub saharan african nations with triple digit inflation fighting wars. in the chart, norway were used as a comparison for russia. both russia and norway is highly dependent on oil exports, but norway currency were nowhere near as devastated by oil surplus. russian collapses happen, but they ain't a manufacturer or service provider-- they export petroleum. their economy can "recover" as long as they got oil, but that isn't a strength. in spite o' fact that russia suffered two oil-related upheavals in one decade, resulting in double digit % increase o' russians living in poverty, russia has made almost no changes to economy and infrastructure. regardless, gifted is clear impressed with the shiny. likes busy and inefficient japanese... sees results where japanese themselves lament lack o' results. likes chinese do, resulting in per capita gdp behind kazakhstan and on par with mexico to go along with suppression o' dissent and religious minorities and ignoring o' aids problems and... HA! Good Fun!

now that don't surprise us. sure, the level which they exploit 1/2 or more o' the population don't bother gifted, but they are doing... something. 'course the chinese government lies 'bout what they are doing, so is so hard to tell what has actual been done, but gifted likes do. the chinese did anywhere between 2000 and 10000 in response to tiananmen square. 'course they don't do much 'bout their aids problem and their actua per capita gdp is placing them not in the economic heavyweight category, but rather in the featherweight range. as o' march 2019, world bank has china per cap gdp right behind kazakhstan at #72... which is probable a dozen or so places too high as is based on china's numbers which is so utter cooked as to be useless. to get to 72, all they need do is keep a billion people living in squalor. the chinese economic miracle has been mostly myth for as long as economists has been predicting eventual fail. *chuckle* am personal quite happy with a little less o' china-style do. we weren't born to one o' the privileged families, so in china we likely woulda' got done... hard. HA! Good Fun! ps given our age, we got some perspective on the emergence o' a new economic juggernaut appearing every decade or so. during early 80s, everybody were worried 'bout nuclear armageddon and soviets were the bogey man du jour. we went to russia and eastern europe late 80s. we coulda' lived like a king in moscow for years if we had brought more condoms with us. no kidding. the black market rate for condoms were such that we coulda' got diamonds and cars (russian cars, so limit your imagination) for a box o' trojans. became clear to us after our visit that fears o' the russians were exaggerated. once the wall came down, we needed a new monster to frighten us, and we kid you not, for awhile it were japan. the japanese were so technological advanced and their manufacturing efficiency were so superior, the US were gonna become nothing but a footnote in economic history by the end o' the century. then came concerns 'bout the emerging eu. *groan* china? that per capita gdp puts 'em neck n' neck with mexico, and five places behind russia. for some reason, the world, and the US in particular, needs a new economic superpower to threaten the post ww2 status quo with the equal mythological US hegemony being eternal threatened.

why? any yutz can provide solution for E, but einstein showed his work. can come up with dozens o' failed authoritarian oligarchies, so distinguish china... or is simple you is envious o' recent gains by china? ignoring human rights issues, 'cause we know gifted will, there is clear some shortfalls in the chinese system or they wouldn't constant be trying to steal or buy western technologies. forcible bootstrap an agrarian economy into an industrial power might have required an authoritarian system (debatable) but is not same thing to go from industrial to service-based economy. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/business/china-economy-gdp-fourth-quarter.html now admitted, is any number o' economists who has been predicting china economic doom for years, but situation, very soon, is gonna get very bad. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/07/asia/china-population-decline-study-intl/index.html the main factor which has allowed china to compete with the west is the abundance o' cheap labor, but cheap labor is gonna need be found elsewhere, and soon. the authoritarianism which were successful in reducing population has costs, and those costs is only a decade or so away from becoming critical. so china efforts gets them worse standard o' living than what gifted enjoys, serious limits on basic freedoms he would no doubt miss, and has 'em facing looming disasters no less problematic than US debt crisis and income inequality issues. actual, the income inequality problem is a problem for chinese as well as Americans. oh, and one should not complete ignore history and geography, 'cause is not as if a relative homogenized society which has developed, in spite o' size o' the country, almost exclusively along two river valleys for thousands o' years knowing nothing but authoritarian rule for much o' that history might benefit different than would an almost uniquely diverse culture spread out across a continent with unique geography and religions and peoples. so, show your work, eh? HA! Good fun!

am genuine not certain if gifted knows what is hyperbole, 'cause, y'know, is sad and not true. debate and negotiation = stall for a decade? *snort* for instance, veteran's choice, legislation for which trump curious takes credit at every opportunity, were championed by john mccain and bernie sanders. took less than a full year to go through legislative process and get president OBAMA's signature. 2013-2014. hyperbole don't make gifted's argument stronger. makes weaker and easier to dismiss. also, the trains didn't run on time for mussolini. is no political system which negates foundational problems o' human nature. history shows enough examples o' incompetence and graft with every system so as to undercut the notion o' there being an exception to possibility o' inefficiency. gifted clear suffers from backup qb syndrome. regardless o' strengths and weakness o' the guy on the bench, gifted thinks the backup looks keen 'cause he is annoyed by the incompetence o' the guy current running the offense. in spite o' the intuitive appeal o' other systems as a more efficient replacement for democracy, history has been at least as unkind to the other options. but serious, what is with you guys and the hyperbole? HA! Good Fun!

there is a reason we referenced senator packwood being hauled in to chambers to establish a quorum. @gifted and we know how much both you and gd like to indulge in hyperbole. is not as if this is the only bit o' legislation oregon has dealt with in the past couple years, eh? and nobody suggests doing nothing on even this issue. is important issue, but if you gotta strongarm a minority into accepting, then perhaps more debate and negotiation is needed, eh? is so much bad legislation and executive decisions which has been executed over the years. not doing is often the course o' wisdom. choose not to pass bad legislation is hardly same as accomplishing absolutely nothing. HA! Good Fun!

good news, bad news. while we weren't a fan o' dos2 combat neither, and as such a larian bg3 is not a slam dunk for us, the interviewer in our link were a larian fan. the thing is, the larian guy kinda pushed back on the notion o' bg3 incorporating dos2 gameplay. made clear that, first and foremost, bg3 were gonna be a d&d game. whatever liberties the developers is taking with the rulez, they is making efforts to replicate a tabletop d&d experience... to some unspecific degree. the thing is, d&d 5e might not be gifted's cup o' tea neither, so... regardless, interviewer did a poor job o' revealing much 'bout bg3 save for accident. when larian guy were correcting preconceptions and expectations o' the journalist, then we learned a bit. HA! good Fun!

am risking the dreaded double-post, but is kinda worth it... is nevertheless on us as we forgot to mention an important detail. 'least the detail appeared important to gifted. in any event, underlined status from gifted post is not one o' the 15 factors in the sat's new adversity score. HA! Good Fun!

am not certain how gifted read this as affirmative action. sat is gonna provide a number which the student never sees. the number will be sent to schools and the schools may then decide what, if anything, to do with the number. the number, in and of itself, benefits the student not at all. 'ccording to the article, yale, and other schools, is already applying an adversity score. yale is a private institution and decided they value a more diverse student body. if a vast majority o' your students is coming from same small group o' eastern prep schools, there is no doubt a tendency to develop a kinda echo chamber environment. same backgrounds. same teachers. same curriculum. am understanding why folks in charge at yale might value greater diversity o' pov 'mongst their student body... and yale has the resources to develop their own adversity score as they see fit. schools not yale, schools with an endowment less than $25 billion (or whatever it is 2019) might see value in having an adversity score available w/o having the resources to develop such. sat is doing no more than standardizing readily available info into an easy to understand (and no doubt oversimplified) number, which is their business after all. college boards thus offers a service to schools, no doubt to fill a perceived demand. gifted is 'gainst capitalism? knee-jerk HA! Good Fun!

am gonna do the seeming impossible and combine a recognition o' gifted's complete random moment and bring the thread back on-topic with a surprising timely use o' the way-back machine. not sure what happened with our first attempt at this... let's see what happens with a second cut at the same wood. HA! Good fun!

Just because it sucked for some of us doesn't mean it will suck for everyone. Besides, Gifted, Shady, Hurlshot, TN, all seem to have done well. So there is hope. Not for me though. Two attempts and two failures. Either I'm a terrible judge of character or I'M the problem. Either way, not getting on THAT horse again. am not good with gardening. have killed many plants over the years, and at some point we gave up trying to become a good gardner. is no rule which says you need to be good at everything and 'course the stakes is much lower when dealing with roses and tomatoes than spouses. stubborn trying to prove you is good at marriage would be only reason to criticize. ... we were actual engaged during our 3rd year at boalt. found out 'bout a medical condition and decided marriage weren't a responsible life path. on the positive side, from our pov, most married folks we know is making us think o' polar bear clubs. got a goodly number o' people enduring a shared agony while trying to laugh and smile through the unpleasantness. HA! Good Fun! ps edit to get back to politics candace owen we actual watched the entire "two hour" clip and she is kinda mischaracterizing her response, though she didn't deserve the admonishment she received. the nationalism question were asked at 38:30 ms. owens' response begins at 40:54. ends 41:55. listen to the entire 1 hour and 16 minutes at your own peril.

the shibboleth yet again? https://www.statista.com/statistics/271897/leading-countries-by-acreage-of-genetically-modified-crops/ just one example. the US is, far and away, the world leader in gmo research and exploitation. more than 60% o' the food gifted and others in the states consume is gmo. the eu, japan and china has historic been big critics o' gmo research and production, but the main reasons for such has been transparent economic protectionism. japan doesn't wanna need deal with us rice and china placed all kinda restrictions on us beef which consume gmo. 'course china has been doing much more research in recent years, but they is actual having difficulty implementing advances, which is reason for numbers in the graph linked. 'tween government ineptitude and public backlash, few gmo have actual been implemented in a nation with massive food supply needs. 'course the gmo problems is significant and often poor understood until decades have elapsed. gene flow were considered a rare and negligible phenomenon in the 80s, but is now understood to be common. am doubtful we need worry 'bout a planet o' the ape scenario anytime soon, but is sometimes amusing to realize the disconnect 'tween action and behavior. come into california with an exotic fruit or little susie's pet gerbil, and you got all kinda bells and whistles go off-- is dozens o' laws protecting states from the potential harm from invasive species. converse, we got gmo being tested and produced on large scales w/o actual understanding the long term hazards. HA! Good Fun!

you managed to outdo self by resurrecting a month old topic. since you went there, we would happily have this public seeing as how qifted has once again regressed to abandoning any pretense o' topic discussion. https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/106336-weird-random-interesting/?p=2146532 tn asked us both to stop, but only Gromnir did so. rather than continuing a board tangent which had already received a mod warning, we asked tn via pm if we also got a chance at a parting shot. am not gonna speak for tn, but we told him as far as we were concerned, the matter were ended. is kinda funny that apparent the mod, and not Gromnir, is the one who seeming needs be moderated. qq squee am happy to continue whatever thread relevant discussion you wish, but you invariably take us 'round the bend. will you be shocked when mods need once again step in? and that is the thing which gifted don't appear to understand. is not negative reviews which is troublesome, but rather the subversion o' a feature for childish and arguable illegitimate reasons. were more than a few bad steam reviews o' poe1 and poe2 which were generated before the tow kerfuffle, and those negative reviews did not have boeroer and others complaining 'bout subversion o' the system or infantile behavior. heck, more than one developer has pointed out how negative reviews is often useful for future design... just as long as the reviews provide actionable critique and detail. Gromnir has spent far more posts criticizing obsidian design choices than praising, and am not thinking the folks angry at the tow steam response had our kinda negativity in mind when chastising the slew o' new terribad poe and poe2 reviews. bad reviews clear ain't at the issue. is silly straw man nonsense to suggest such. HA! Good Fun!

we see gifted is channeling his inner roberto aguayo... again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF455bGsGU8 HA! Good Fun!

relevance? as a matter o' fact, the very existence o' arlington is a refutation o' gifted pov. where is arlington national cemetery... and don't say arlington. robert e' lee's home. arlington were established on the grounds o' robert e. lee's home in part to guarantee it would never be turned into a memorial for the aggrandizement o' the confederacy. in recent years, some o' the original harsh legislation regarding lee has been amended and the former home o' lee were furnished and renamed as a memorial site. even so, the arlington site specific recognizes the need to prevent glorification o' the confederacy and lee. honor the dead who has fought in wars without tour guides telling you fibs 'bout the honorable soldiers who successful fought to prevent the spread o' communism in southeast asia. no claims the men who fought in iraq saved the western world from a wmd attack by the madman, saddam hussein. we do highly recommend a visit to arlington. is a somber experience. is 'bout humility and respect. is a reason Gromnir has pointed out on these boards how we is supporting any number o' civil war battlefield site memorials (north and south) as they is powerful reminders o' the tragic loss o' life american exercised 'pon fellow americans... and anybody who cannot see difference 'tween such and 40' tall monuments to nathan bedford forrest, the first grand wizard o' the kkk, monuments built during the civil rights era many years after the civil war, is not being honest. HA! Good Fun! ps thanks for bringing up arlington. we shoulda' mentioned arlington earlier as a contrast example, but didn't think to do so until you raised the spectre, so-to-speak.

Ive reached the point in my life where the government jacking something up "only a little bit" is a win for me. more absurdism? "pluto is no longer a planet," didn't exactly require deconstruction o' the entire educational system. sheesh. go back far enough and gifted pov has the next generation puzzled by invention o' the wheel and terrified by the implications o' fire generated and maintained by man. and as for government jacking stuff up, well, am guessing we mistaken took gifted statements at face value. if sins o' the forefathers is trivial in his estimation, then millions o' dollars per year spent so southerns may feel better 'bout sins o' their forefathers should be aggravating, yes? is admitted tough to decipher gifted complaints on this stuff. consistency is elusive. if there is a rosetta stone, we would be appreciative. HA! Good Fun!

kinda missing the point though. this isn't 'bout the sins o' the forefathers. is a sin o' your tour guide/groundskeeper, and many others. teaching kids fake history? as we said, interesting pov. HA! Good Fun! ps if gifted genuine don't care 'bout sins o' the forefathers, then he should be doubly angry 'bout the $40 million in taxpayer money. one o' the only arguments for maintaining the monuments is so folks do not forget sins o' the past. if such is a non-factor, then what is the other justification for spending so much taxpayer monies?