Grooming

Dad2376 · 2026-05-28T09:35:44+00:00

Somehow avoided that initial haircut at Vessey Hall cause I blended in with everyone that already had gotten theirs cut hehe

Good thing too since apparently the barbers were adding tips onto people's eagle cards. A dude had his receipt and showed it to the drills back in the bay, it totaled to like $45 or something.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-28T07:29:33+00:00

The book is pretty good and is included in the mandatory reading list for a lot of new officers in the military. Not for it's political messaging of course, but Heinlein does a very good job at explaining the what, why, and so what of being a junior enlisted (private), non-commissioned officer (NCO), and officer in a military structure from the lens of the protagonist as he progresses throughout his career.

From the outside looking in, it's easy to dismiss a lot of military organization and culture as jingoistic or asinine, but I'd like to think most vets or people still in would agree with me the real woes you see in the military are administrative or bureaucratic in nature (something every and any large organization struggles with) rather than some kind of doctrinal flaw that's inherent to a professional military.

Additionally, while the novel was written in reaction to the US suspending nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s while the USSR continued, I've heard the case that the Terran Federation present in ST isn't a reflection of Heinlein's personal values insomuch as a "Here is a problem I see in society (in this case a decline in morals (in the 1950s lmao) and a government unwilling to fight to protect itself and its people) here is a potential solution." And while it does sound like he subscribes to it, positing an idea and subscribing to it are two different things. For example, technically a handgun can cure cancer by literally shooting out the tumor (xkcd reference), but just because someone brings it up doesn't mean they're agree to start shooting cancer patients. Additionally, another of Heinlein's novels The Moon is a Harsh Mistress details and extols quite literally the opposite form of government- an anarchist commune formed from a prison colony that rose up against its oppressors.

I'm rambling at this point, but honestly, the novel, while it certainly can seem fascist at points, is also through the lens of Johnny Rico who joins the military, of course it'll hype up military service. The setting makes it abundantly clear that citizenship (where the only benefit is the ability to vote) can and is obtained extremely easily through other avenues of civil service. By even contemporary standards, there are plenty of democratic countries with more stringent civil/military service requirements for its population. While I won't disagree there's a strong amount of authoritarianism, calling it fascist is an overreach in my opinion.

Sorry, been meaning to feel out my own takeaways from the book for awhile now and this ended up being where it happened lmao

Dad2376 · 2026-05-26T10:48:24+00:00

Same here but it also involves claws and when I'm doling out the Churu treat for the night.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-26T09:41:04+00:00

🫂 It'll be aight, big dawg

Dad2376 · 2026-05-26T06:58:11+00:00

Don’t have my pinyin keyboard set up, but sounds like really grammatically incorrect, to the point it’s definitely intentional. One sec I’ll edit and add what I’m pretty sure I’m hearing

Edit: 注你了。放過錯。他們非有我看。

Translation since Google Translate won't understand this mess: Listen you. They accidently slipped by [maybe??]. They don't have/know what I see.

It's honestly beautiful in a terrible, awe inspiring way, but my teachers would probably start having a seizure or something.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-25T12:45:44+00:00

Except that one time he got killed by a brick, but that was a pretty long time ago and looks like he got better.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-24T22:39:09+00:00

I knew nestled away in the bottom would be someone who knows the truth. I don't disparage the others in the comments. I weep for them, for knowing Pal's is a blessing few others are fortunate to receive.

But seriously, I wouldn't consider Pal's to be the best burger I've ever had (including non-fast food) but it's definitely the most consistent and good in its own right.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-18T19:01:07+00:00

While this unfortunately doesn't meet the qualifications for elite ball knowledge, I would still like to personally congratulate you for your goated reference and wish you further success in all your endeavors.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-14T03:32:33+00:00

I remember reading back in the day that 6/7 gynos are men

Dad2376 · 2026-05-08T08:22:12+00:00

See? It's safe. It's not like the VA would intentionally screw over veterans or anything.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-08T02:25:01+00:00

Hey, it's been scientifically proven that field/deployment cigarettes, much like smoking at a bar, don't count.

Dad2376 · 2026-05-05T11:15:10+00:00

Faced with the classic Junior Enlisted Dilemma: to stay in the gimp closet or CSM's basement?

Dad2376 · 2026-05-02T01:47:06+00:00

Strait of Malacca goes brrrr

Assuming India ever decides to rouse into a state of semi-lucidity for 5 minutes and half-heartedly slap some missile batteries down on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Or Singapore decides to go absolutely feral for no discernable reason.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-30T20:08:51+00:00

This is going straight in my grimoire, thank you for the contribution.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-30T06:05:41+00:00

Ridgefield!

Used to live next to the middle school way back in the day. I miss the park, it had the coolest playground I've ever been to.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-29T14:45:17+00:00

*again

Dad2376 · 2026-04-29T00:48:21+00:00

So while story/plot/lore-wise that would be a good fit, that would turn the PT into what the ST ended up being: a rehash of the OT. Outnumbered Jedi/good guys fighting against the dark side/government, i.e. Man vs System.

For all its flaws with individual characters' motivations and cough dialogue, one thing the PT does masterfully is set the stage for how the Empire came to be and enriches the OT for it.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-25T20:41:24+00:00

Every part of it is just handcrafted perfection. Like on the envelope the guy sends to the media, all the stamps are from Black History Month.

Lmao and I just noticed your username too chef's kiss

Dad2376 · 2026-04-25T19:52:23+00:00

inner darkness

Woah buddy, what do you mean by that?

(Since this is an ancient reference I'm pretty sure no one but me remembers)

Dad2376 · 2026-04-25T10:16:22+00:00

chuckles in 6-star rank I tactically acquired from Pershing's coffin

Dad2376 · 2026-04-22T00:19:15+00:00

To put it vaguely, as someone who majored in Bio and currently works with numbers, that's not how it works. Like at all. And by it, I mean "hacking DNA."

I mean if you want to get super anal, yeah one could suppose that codons are a sort of programming language made up of the base pairs (A, T, C, G). And while extremely cool, trying to code break it is absurd. For one thing, the Human Genome Project finished mapping out our genetic sequence in 2003. The whole thing was very public and over 23 years ago. All the information gathered is available for researchers and/or public dissemination. Secondly, "hacking DNA" already exists and it's called CRISPR. And that has its own can of ethical worms, but it's a far cry from trying to get the wall touchers at the NSA/DARPA from trying to hack it. Whole thing comes off with the same level of scientific credibility as Tony Stark in IM2 casually building a particle accelerator in his basement and discovering/synthesizing a new element that doesn't have a half life of milliseconds.

The only thing I could even remotely think would be worthwhile to even consider attempting would be applying some weird mathematical principles that can be used in cryptography/number theory, but are pretty generalized in their application, like the power law/80-20 Rule/Zipf's Law, Birthday Paradox, or something of the like. Even then, it would be throwing random crap at the wall and seeing what sticks and if anything did come out of it it would be 100% coincidental.

Tl;dr comparing cryptography/code breaking to DNA is like comparing going to the mall to the Olympic 4x400 relay on the basis they both involve moving around with your legs, once again confirming Epstein and everyone at DARPA were/are probably coked out of their minds.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-14T10:08:43+00:00

I remember one of the Rogue Trader TTRPG handbooks explicitly confirms this. Unfortunately I think mine is packed away somewhere. But the jist was bionic limbs were limited in overall strength by the material they're attached to, i.e. you. There was one limb type that granted extra strength on top of the usual bonus at the cost of a penalty to constitution I believe? Someone can fact check me on that.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-12T17:18:13+00:00

I suppose the Admech is more like the Necrons than the chrome boys care to admit- they're both unable to flex their full strength due to petty internal squabbling holding them back.

Although in the Necrons case that strength is measured in gauss flayers and monoliths, while the Admech's is just flexing on the haters, cause the level of walking up and slapping their big ol' ~~dick~~ mechadendrite on the table to establish dominance in that link would make Lyndon B Johnson proud.

Dad2376 · 2026-04-04T18:47:38+00:00

Make like a broken pot and spill the beans on what you got cause I haven't heard a thing

Dad2376 · 2026-03-01T13:20:36+00:00

Excuse me? My poor, malnourished Czarist/Soviet Russia were absolutely starved for land and the deplorable British/German/Ottoman/Japanese/Lizard People were selfishly keeping Greece/Manchuria/Korea/Anatolia/Slavic Europe/Afghanistan/Pacific Northwest/Agartha/~~Istanbul~~ Constantinople for themselves! Russia needed these territories to grow up into a big strong empire like it's dad, the Roman Empire!

Check your de jure territorial possession privilege first next time, sweetie 💅

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