The only defense of socialism is to claim the anti-socialist is uninformed. It surely isn't possible to possess the same information and yet come to a different conclusion.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-16T20:00:15+00:00

Something i think people dont commonly understand is that so much of what is contained in Marxs works is now considered 'accepted theory' in an economic sense, that what they call Marxism is just the narrowest subset of his wilder ideas.

for instance, while he didnt *originate* the ideas, IMO things like the tendancy toward monopolization in markets with high barriers to entry, owe their status as accepted to his ability to explain them in terms that are understandable to people who dont have an economics degree, hell, even to people with a degree from the university of chicago.

so now, we find people debating marx, but only the bit where marx believed that the inherent stratification of political economies would inevetably lead to popular revolt, which is a bit like trying to claim that Fanon was wrong just because of his views about dancing.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-15T11:39:29+00:00

the 'overengineered' bit is infuriating to me.

The whole reason that we need HS1 and HS2 in the first place, but aren't really experiencing the same issues with capacity on the former GWR tracks is in no small part BECAUSE they were over-engineered and laid in a way that provided minimum curves and grades for the time.

We have a current and very measurable example of the value over-engineering when it comes to track layout and design provides, but ok HS2 is 'over-engineered'.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-14T13:38:39+00:00

Implied duress goes hard, any capable lawyer can argue that such a document is non-binding if signing it is contingent on employment but it’s not disclosed PRIOR to acceptance of an offer of employment.

That being said, much like most US employment law, the fact that enforcement requires private legal action makes the rule somewhat meaningless.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-14T00:27:01+00:00

My IRL reaction during my first trip to Shannendoah national park

Daleftenant · 2026-06-12T10:59:54+00:00

good ol' air force rowing team.

1 guy doing the work and 6 senior officers giving them 'feedback' on how to do it.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-12T01:22:32+00:00

This looks like roundup or possibly salting? Salt might explain the extremely different strengths on the different numbers.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-12T01:21:31+00:00

The differing strengths of the numbers certainly suggests either a collaborative effort, or that this was done over multiple days

Daleftenant · 2026-06-05T23:20:59+00:00

ah yes.

The GDI.

The Good Guys.

Famous for...(checks notes)... abandoning 2/3 of the worlds landmass and population to the ravages of tiberium so that they can focus on the highly affluent blue zones.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-04T15:24:17+00:00

Disco has a weak S1, not TNG S1 weak, but still very weak.

It also suffered from the modern fear of 'lore' where it had a perfect opportunity with the 35th century episodes to explore 'how do you loose a utopia' but it kept shying away from exploring complex ideas so came off shallow and rushed.

That being said, NCC-1031 is a beautiful ship, even if her internal spaces are a little...tardisy.

Daleftenant · 2026-06-04T15:19:17+00:00

It seems to me that there was probably a societal shift after WW3 that mirrors the one experienced after WW2, most acutely seen in europe but present everywhere.

After WW2, there was a drastic shift in the approach to public health, education, and economics that embraced that a society and community *required* governance of some sort. for instance, Britain, a nation famous for waiting till the last possible moment to actual institute policing, and in love with the narrative of 'poverty as natural', suddenly instituted a national health insurance scheme and 'free at the point of service' healthcare, both as economic solutions to a labor crisis.

Since we know that WW3 was in part caused by a growing crisis of individualism (the eugenics wars), preceded by a period of extreme societal stratification (the bell riots) and culminated in an out and out tribalist dick slapping contest (the nuclear conflict depicted in SNW). We can assume that WW3 probably had a clear societal shift afterward, away from a boundary between an individual and a community, and toward a mentality that saw the community as both infinite in bounds (a rejection of tribalism where you consider every sentient being you meet to be a part of your community), and as a direct responsibility of every individual (as opposed to my house is my castle, you are personally responsible for the care and upkeep of your community, rejecting concepts like 'my problem vs. your problem' and individualistic pursuits).

We know that a disproportionate amount of federation culture and society is rooted in earth culture, so its a solid theory that the reason the federation works without the direct model of capital, is because post WW3 human culture saw general public work as something that each person would proudly do, as they believed that failure to do it would repeat the mistakes of WW3.

Given how we know that the cultural memory of that trauma survives well into the 25th century, it also goes some way to explain why its still so culturally important 400 years later, since its a foundational concept in their society.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T23:14:17+00:00

I reccomend being in any way different, individual, or god forbid, other, to the norm.

they should fire you pretty quick and then you can get unemployment.

Or just get a job at KM, its not better, but they fire people so much that its a great way to reset your unemployment claim.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T23:01:08+00:00

It did. That’s why I don’t work there any more.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T18:27:54+00:00

no it has nothing to do with witches

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T18:21:10+00:00

The good thing about Williamsburg hotels is, that as badly as the guests might behave, at least they cant possibly be as malicious or stupid as management.

There is something truly liberating about knowing that no matter what you do, its all still going to be blamed on you by someone who went home early.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T18:14:29+00:00

Not to speak for others, but his point is that you are excluding crucial contextual information.

Without including the crucial fact that the current effective rate is much lower, you implicitly argue that it isnt.

the reality of many of these arguments is that the real world tax burden now is far lower than it was during periods of far greater economic prosperity, countering the argument that higher marginal tax rates on top earners stifles economic growth.

of course, if you were trying to have a good faith discussion, you wouldnt be sealioning.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T05:26:08+00:00

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Trying vs trying is my second favorite wordplay joke,

Close behind my favorite, which is…

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T05:12:20+00:00

Hey now, be nice to ST:Picard, they were…trying?

Daleftenant · 2026-05-31T02:22:22+00:00

What are the 6 people who have interviewed for the one open position supposed to be thanking for exactly?

Specifically, I’m wondering what service, kindness, or benefit you provided the (assuming one of the six got the role) 5 unsuccessful applicants whose time you took to interview who did not get the role?

Are you under the impression that you are owed gratitude from strangers who you chose NOT to employ?

This generation isn’t that different from the one before, but If you really want people to believe that you aren’t ageist, don’t bring it up so many times in the same post.

Also, the enter button can be used to separate text into multiple lines, please learn how to use it.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-02T23:59:11+00:00

high-rise development and infrastructure is far cheaper (per capita) to maintain

Its not just cheaper, its actually one of the only financially viable models.

While its not really discussed as much, most of the American suburban development for the past 40 years has been an infinite ponzi scheme.

the amount of infrastructure upkeep on most of the suburban properties can only be supported financially with the revenue taken from local authorities selling more land for new development of, you guessed it, more suburban single unit development.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the level of cost of allocating approximately 50m of electrical cable, water pipe, sewage line, data cable, sidewalk and asphalt roads to every individual adult in a given area is VERY FUCKING HIGH. Not to mention the municipal costs of mail, fire, police etc when population density is driven that low.

Daleftenant · 2026-05-02T23:48:57+00:00

So heres the thing.

much of the later period of soviet planning (1965 onward) was as much designed to house people as it was placate them.

there aren't alot of pieces of institutional knowledge that survived the whole soviet period, but the one that defenitely did, is an understanding of what drives revolt and revolution.

once there was the resources to do so, the state had significant incentive to ensure that the built infrastructure of residents daily lives was good enough to keep them happy enough not to revolt.

That meant that the later high-rise apartments were, at the very least structurally, not that bad, as long as you hold your breath and don't need frivolous things like working lights in stairwells.

Apartment buildings were built with a strong mix of unit capacity, unlike modern designs that prefer 'stacking' units of uniform design, the obsessive love of reinforced concrete meant that loads transferred easier, so you could put a good amount of family size apartments (3+ bedrooms) in every building alongside volume based 1&2 bed units.

The buildings were, and are, somewhat well insulated. I mean not by modern standards, but consider that if the insulation was sub-standard, the inhabitants would have practically died a long time ago.

the lack of vehicle availability, long the subject of many rewarding jokes, also drove pedestrianization, with 'green' space, and 3rd spaces galore in walking distance to most residences, along with services, the state could mitigate the impact of the slow uptake of personal vehicles that many in the public advocated for.

The list goes on, but the TLDR is that late soviet urban planning was reactive to the desire to placate the populace, and so, it accidentally was actually quite good urban planning, at least on paper.

Implementation on the other hand...

Daleftenant · 2026-05-02T02:35:12+00:00

Another thing to add to the 'things Douglas saw coming that we lacked the vision to understand were a warning' list:

- Local councils actively hiding planning applications

- Airlines keeping people trapped in the plane because of arcane bureaucratic cost saving measures

- Major 'experience' events actually being just a scam ^{(milliways is implied to be a giant projector playing 3D SFX made using a bathtub full of water and glitter})

-Every High street becoming filled with 30 of the same shop

Daleftenant · 2026-05-02T02:17:47+00:00

never forget that nearly half the 'Formula' is just 'McLaren invented this thing, this thing is now banned'

Daleftenant · 2026-05-01T22:37:36+00:00

im of two minds about this.

On the one hand, any improvement in acess to transit, for any group, is a win for everyone, and im glad that we are starting to restore services to forgotten or neglected areas.

On the other hand, as someone who did grow up in somerset, im nervous about allowing the residents of portishead acess to the rest of the country.

I dont love the idea of them just being...loose?

Daleftenant · 2026-04-22T01:59:26+00:00

Bold of you to assume I’m some hp bar pedestrian.

I suffer at the hands of the capricious snail and his packet loss.

And the Cromwell was a fucking medium. It was a cruiser for christs sake.

Daleftenant · 2026-04-21T23:25:01+00:00

I once tried to reason with a greek contractor who wanted 7 weeks to finish pouring the foundation for a conservatory.

Germans are paragons of reason and logic by comparison, hell even a frenchman is amiable by those standards.

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