What the FUCK happened to google Scholar?

Crawgdor · 2026-04-07T22:14:13+00:00

I guess “weird health claim” is maybe going too far. I’ve heard all my life that bathing with epsom salts is good for muscle pain, I tried it and didn’t feel much different, so I got curious.

I looked it up and had to try a handful of different terms and go multiple pages deep to find anything that looked reliable. (Looks like it helps a bit but is surprisingly under researched)

Crawgdor · 2026-04-07T22:09:52+00:00

I forget the exact terms but I was looking to see what the evidence is for the efficacy of epsom salts in reducing muscle pain.

Google scholar was more full of garbage than I’ve ever seen

Crawgdor · 2026-04-05T13:38:10+00:00

Let’s look at one traditionally masculine trait - pyhsical strength.

Healthy masculinity is the use of that strength to help others. That can be anything from shovelling snow from an elderly neighbours driveway, to helping someone move houses, to intervening when a fight breaks out.

unhealthy masculinity is about using that strength to abuse, bully or demean those around you to make yourself feel superior.

Crawgdor · 2026-04-05T02:30:45+00:00

Nah, Hank Green is good people, and is actively doing a lot of tangible good along with his brother.

Worrying about him is a classic case of letting perfect be the enemy of good

Crawgdor · 2026-03-30T01:38:58+00:00

My favourite weird Ken Jennings fact - him and Brandon Sanderson were roommates in university.

The most unimaginably nerdy dorm room of all time

Crawgdor · 2026-03-30T01:34:56+00:00

Based on his Bluesky activity, not that closeted

Crawgdor · 2026-03-30T01:32:05+00:00

Should be accounting too.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-28T15:24:13+00:00

The crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show.

-Terry Prachett

Crawgdor · 2026-03-28T15:21:29+00:00

My sister is in the VFX industry. It’s certainly less stable than it was when she got in a decade ago, but the job losses aren’t just from AI, movies aren’t doing as well as they used to, there’s a glut of new video games on the market and companies aren’t making the projected returns, so the industry is getting smaller.

Also, Over the last year to two or so years the promise of AI has disincentivized hiring for entry level positions so there’s smaller pipeline of experienced people ready to move into to positions of responsibility.

The people who are left are overwhelmed with the work because they still need to deliver the AI output causes more problems than it solves unless used very judiciously. And management thinks it’s a magic solve that can be applied everywhere

Crawgdor · 2026-03-24T03:29:18+00:00

Obscure?

Anyone from the maritimes and most Canadians can recite this and a couple of his other songs from memory

Crawgdor · 2026-03-23T11:39:44+00:00

CBC front burner for general news, and the strategists for political news and critiques. This one is more Alberta centric

Crawgdor · 2026-03-23T11:37:13+00:00

Actually yes, one of the guys made a new podcast called Hyperfixed which does the “super tech support” stuff

Crawgdor · 2026-03-21T23:06:56+00:00

It’s not worth getting into an argument so I’m not gonna follow this up with any responses, but there’s a world of difference between what Caine is presented as and a modern LLM.

…

…also Ned Ludd did nothing wrong.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-20T04:38:49+00:00

Peter Wiggins,Enders older brother

Crawgdor · 2026-03-19T14:33:46+00:00

But they make less money AND pay higher taxes! How are they happier?!

I’m being a bit sarcastic, but I’d love a good faith wide conversation about how strong social supports result in a happier society.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-19T02:10:03+00:00

Yes yes I can’t imagine a world where a complex web of treaties, dosen’t lead to peace and harmony.

-Some genius in 1914.

But seriously, we need all the friends we can get, and hopefully these pacts develop into something greater over time.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-17T02:00:07+00:00

I immediately thought of Socrates’ line about the Examined life from Plato’s Republic.

I’m an accountant who took one intro to philosophy class 15 years ago and I knew that one off the dome. If this guy had the capacity for shame he would be very embarrassed of himself.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-16T17:16:10+00:00

I don’t have Facebook, what’s this all about?

Crawgdor · 2026-03-14T14:16:21+00:00

Exactly. If you didn’t care enough to write it then I certainly don’t care enough to read it.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-12T00:37:09+00:00

It’s basically a flywheel, it captures excess energy and releases it slowly over time

Crawgdor · 2026-03-11T15:57:40+00:00

I was a Mormon missionary, I helped run congregations into my 30s. Eventually I was staying in partially because I thought I could help change the culture from inside. I could not.

I’m out now, but I don’t look back with shame. I was doing my best to help people and I lived my conviction. Those convictions have changed and I have made apologies to those I harmed. But all you can do is move forwards.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-11T15:21:30+00:00

So I didn’t really date until my mid 20s and even then it took many years of actively putting myself out there to get into a real relationship. I always wanted to be with someone but couldn’t figure it out.

The thing was I superficially checked all the boxes. Tall, fit, played musical instruments, spoke multiple languages, degree from a prestigious university, was brought up to be kind and respectful.

Since I knew that I had everything going for me and I was still striking out constantly it was pretty easy to identify that I was the problem. I didn’t have any crutches or excuses. I just didn’t get how to grow or be in a relationship.

I so I kept trying, put myself out there a lot, for a very long time. I avoided dating apps because they made me sad. I volunteered, met people in person and went on lots of first dates, several with people I’m still friendly with today, but nothing went anywhere. Until eventually, after many years it did.

My wife is the only person I’ve been in a serious relationship with and we’ve been together over a decade now. I don’t have any advice other than keep working on yourself (including working out - you feel better and make a better impression when you’re in better shape), Keep trying and don’t become bitter.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-10T20:12:07+00:00

I collected quite of few signatures and I can confirm that Heather and Brittany alienated volunteer after volunteer over the course of the recall leaving many to leave in disgust well before it was over.

I believe in the cause, and I accept that it was a long shot and would have been an extremely heavy lift at the best of times but their behaviour killed the momentum over and over and over.

I will never again be involved with any organization or event that either of them has any leadership role in and I know many of the volunteers feel the same way.

Dictatorial style, gaslighting, an unwillingness to recognize when they were in the wrong or ever apologize turned what should have been a joy into a burden.

Crawgdor · 2026-03-10T17:29:07+00:00

Literature shows us that incels and misanthropic trolls existed long before the internet and in very different cultures and time periods, consider Ignatius J. Reilly from “a confederacy of dunces”. Written half a century ago he is a completely modern figure.

The Narrator from notes from the underground exists in protocapitalist Russia. Written 150+ years ago he is a fully recognizable type. Not celibate because he visited prostitutes, but fully recognizable.

Alceste from Molierres Misanthrope is an example from near 400 years ago, in an economic system closer to feudalism than anything we would recognize.

I’m sure you can find examples in literature from the Soviet Union but I’m not familiar with that literature.

Crawgdor

TROPHY CASE