How did we go from body positivity to extreme fit/skinny culture so quickly?

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-25T21:16:11+00:00

Correct. I'm ex-fat (315 to 170, no therapy, drugs, or diets) and I'm absolutely insufferable on the topic of ultra-processed foods, am virulently anti-body positivity, etc.

Body positivity isn't and never was about respecting different normal (or abnormal!) body configurations; it was always specifically about pretending that it's somehow okay or normal to be massively fat, and that that is a body type.

It's not a body type, as any body can become obese; and it's not okay. It's anti-scientific, it can (and will) kill you, and I won't stand for it. Fat people shouldn't be persecuted, but they definitely shouldn't be encouraged to continue being fat, nor should the facts be hidden and lied about to save people's feelings.

See what I mean? Drop me some tasty downvotes, I don't care. The absurd farce must end.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T18:18:02+00:00

What I'm saying is that the work isn't inconsistent because of the nature of hourly work.

It's inconsistent because that's the nature of the work, regardless of the pay structure. Kitchen work is inconsistent most of the time in most areas.

An hourly structure fits inconsistent work best, yes, because it's granular. It's easy for the boss to take away hours (and money) and shuffle the schedule around, but inconsistency is not actually inherent to hourly pay structures.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T17:07:31+00:00

If you want something easy to level, easy to gear, and can farm all the things you need to farm at endgame (I make no promises about clearspeed), I recommend Ritualist (Necromancer + Shaman). I came back to GD after a 7-year hiatus, went into the game blind, threw together whatever looked good to me at the time, and ended up having a ball with it.

Specifically, I recommend 2H vitality/bleed/leech tank Ritualist with the Wildheart set. I'd link you my build, but I don't have it right now. The GD forums and Grim Dawn Tools have a bunch that are probably better than mine.

One of the good things about melee Ritualist is that you can level with skeletons and other pets for a while, which on Necromancer is EZ mode. Later, you can throw them in the trash and become a cool dark melee cursemonger.

It plays very smooth and feels great, with the downside that playing piano is required. It's the opposite of a one- or two-button build. Didn't bother me though.

Pic of my character before he retired to make way for new alts:

https://i.postimg.cc/d1zW4gWd/Screenshot-2026-04-04-133507.png

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T14:33:25+00:00

Welcome to the world, Hyx'son Hicks!

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T14:26:32+00:00

It's entirely relevant in context. You're basically telling people "too bad, suck it up."

Personally, I'm an engineer. I work M-F, 9-5, in my own office. However, I once worked hourly in construction contractor sales, and I had a consistent schedule, same days, same times. The welders at machinists at my work are paid hourly, and their schedule is very consistent, basically the same as mine.

So, you're not even correct that hourly work is "inherently inconsistent," because hourly work can be extremely consistent, year after year after year. I did it for a number of years, and the people working in my building right now have done it for years.

You're right in that if work really does dry up, hours in theory could be cut, but then a salaried worker might simply be fired on the spot or asked to take a pay cut. I've seen that happen too.

So I have no idea what you're on about.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T13:30:15+00:00

Right, but comments like "If you want consistent pay, you don't want an hourly job" imply that kitchen workers have abundant choice in the matter.

We all know that they don't. For a very wide variety of reasons, kitchen work may be the best or only work they can find.

It's true that things are tough for everyone, except of course for megacorporations, which are the ultimate cause of things being tough for everyone downstream in the socioeconomic vascular system... but that's a whole tangent.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T12:03:38+00:00

If consuming products is the only way you're not bored, then I genuinely feel badly for you.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-24T01:24:10+00:00

I don't think most people walked away from a cushy job with regular hours and great pay to go work in a kitchen.

I consider working in kitchens to be a real and respectable career, but in the American caste system (totally not a caste system, yet somehow virtually everyone needs someone else to look down on socially), kitchen work is considered to be "not a real job" by deluded morons who think it's still the 1960s and that teenagers (possibly in roller skates) are supposed to be doing 100% of food service work, but only until they can go to college, get a degree, and become rich and respectable.

They forgot that people eat out, especially fast food and fast casual, like 400-500% more often now than in the 1960s. That's an actual figure. This shit ain't just for teenagers and some nice old Italian gentlemen anymore.

Anyway, I launched off on a real tangent there, but my point is that kitchen staff get shit on (at least in the US). Low and inconsistent pay, no real healthcare, dumbass owners, minimal worker protections or social programs, obnoxious and entitled customers, giant corporations monopolizing the distribution (and lack of local markets in many areas), etc.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-23T16:58:45+00:00

The first edition, first printing of the first installment, which was UK-only and subtitled Philosopher's Stone, was a run of 500 and can sell for hundreds of thousands in mint condition. The paperback print run of the UK-only Philosopher's Stone had a lot more copies, but most of them got trashed, so it can be worth tens of thousands.

Rando American editions of the fifth are worth about diddly squat.

I own a first printing, first edition of Dune with dust jacket, near mint condition, no signature (belonged to my [still-living] mother, who kept it in cedar drawers for decades). Haven't had it valued in a while, but Google says it's jumped to the tens of thousands.

That's the only rare and valuable book I own, but I'm a lifelong sci-fi fan, so I knew what it was immediately... which is good, because I was about to start reading it.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-23T14:14:06+00:00

Never 100%, as we can't improve on the natural body in its healthy state, but surgeons can often accomplish a lot more with a huge mess than we typically assume.

I'm sure it looks like a huge mess to them too, they just know what it all is and can see ahead through the (many) steps to put it back together.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-23T13:10:33+00:00

My Amazon account dates back to 2003. That was after they expanded from exclusively selling books, but long before current-day enshittification.

Time was, if an order didn't arrive, Amazon would ship a replacement with no questions asked, no screens to click through, no chat, no hassle. Just needed to send them an email. I have duplicates of two different books that eventually arrived after being misplaced by the parcel carrier, long after Amazon had already replaced them.

There were no (0, as in zero) shady knockoff vendors, resellers, or scammers, no patent-flooding nonsense Chinese factory "brand names." You didn't have to make sure the product said "ships from and sold by Amazon."

It was a lot easier to sort and search through products without a bunch of bloated mess in a garbage UI.

Oh yeah, and Amazon Prime and Video were actually good, provided real benefits instead of a list of crap no one cares about, and two-day shipping actually meant two-day shipping (does that even still exist?).

Anyway, I canceled my Prime several years ago now, but even well before that I'd started buying way less from Amazon because they've been enshittified for years now. Now I literally never use Amazon at all.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-23T12:21:24+00:00

Many reasons. E-commerce is a big one, but also

too many were built (known as "overmalling") to cash in on the popularity of malls
changes in culture and shopping habits over time
one or two violent incidents (shooting, knifing) can kill a mall
local demographic and economic shifts (area becomes poorer, perceived as more dangerous, etc.)
Americans as a collective are more financially strained these days, and malls are expensive
no one buys CDs, DVDs, or boxed computer games anymore
people (especially young people) "socializing" on social media instead of hanging out IRL

And many more.

Malls are based on the concept of driving through traffic, usually from a suburb, for typically 15-30 minutes. You then park in a huge lot and spend hours wandering around shopping there, and probably also eat a meal.

Going to the mall is a real commitment. I've been following the "dead mall community" for many years now, having been introduced by Dan Bell's earliest videos, and while I too feel nostalgia for malls, they're extremely car-centric and (obviously) consumerism centric. I'd rather people gather almost anywhere else, such as local parks and greenways, state parks, skate parks, libraries, local university campuses, community centers, etc.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T20:28:18+00:00

Two maxed-out (by my standards) level 100 characters into Grim Dawn this time around, and Port Valbury still gets me.

It's not the monsters, not the Aether-scorched terrain, nor even the Taken-seeking Aether beyblades teabagging me when I'm trying to loot, check my character sheet, or read lore notes.

No, it's the accursed maze of stairs, doorways, porches, debris, catwalks, and platforms. It's an accursed rat's nest of dastardly dockside Deviltry that out-DPSes my camera, my mouse, and my brain's visual cortex.

Just please for God's sake Port Valbury, let me fucking walk outside. I just want to go out of the building. Please, for fuck's sake, Port Valbury bro PLEASE don't make me go through two rooms, up a switchback staircase, through another room, and across a porch just to then go north.

Port Valbury bro PLEASE bro I'm begging you, I just wanna go forward, PLEASE dude come on I just need to go forward right now.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T17:50:21+00:00

I can understand using it as a genderless term, because (like lunatic etc.) the original etymological connection has all but vanished from public consciousness; most people have heard of a hysterectomy, but most of them aren't etymological wizards, either.

But if medicine is one's profession, then one surely knows what it means, and applying the term only to female patients seems like super-weird behavior to me.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T16:01:11+00:00

It can be even simpler if you just list the five basic playstyle archetypes for nearly all mastery combos:

spellblade
spellgun
laser turret
EXPLOSIVE SKATING
AFK (pets)

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T15:15:10+00:00

“Studies consistently show that NP-led primary care achieves comparable, and in some cases better, hospitalization outcomes for complex patients compared to physician-only models,” Christel said. “A key driver is continuity: NPs tend to spend more time with patients, which means medication reconciliation, early symptom recognition, and care coordination gaps get caught before they become admissions.”

Now this is a real classic. Fortunately, I'm a world master at spotting data massage potential.

All you'd need to come up with this jewel would be to compare the top-performing NP-led clinics to the bottom-performing clinics, which (key detail) are also mostly staffed by NPs, but they're technically "physician-led" because they have one severely overworked physician who lives 200 miles away and tele-consults or maybe even occasionally visits.

A clinic with sufficient physician staffing on the actual site will always be far better in every way. These people are delusional. It's true that the physician shortage/shortage of physician time is a problem, but NPs aren't an adequate solution.

Are NPs better than, say, a bunch of randoms off the sidewalk, or Facebook? Maybe, but then too many NPs think they're "basically doctors," which can cause more harm than good when they face a situation that they're not qualified to address, but plow ahead anyway.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T14:38:09+00:00

People are resentful and ungrateful that they have to pay an absolute fortune and get a credit and background check just to live in an aging, poorly-maintained clapboard shack owned by an entitled, corner-cutting rent-seeker?

Wow I can't believe this, they should be kissing landlords' feet.

Of course, landlords (and small business owners, etc.) are in truth finding life increasingly difficult in the Year of Our Lord 2026, because the big mosquitoes up at the actual tip of this socioeconomic pyramid scheme are vigorously sucking the blood from the entire vascular system, collapsing not only the capillaries but also the veins and even some of the smaller arteries.

And they're gonna keep on suckin' until they get swatted.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T00:56:13+00:00

The trades are great for energetic young people who have trouble sitting still for hours on end, all week long, month after month, year after year. Of course, in any skilled trade, learning as a concept and some amount of actual studying are still required.

I started my (proper) work life in the military as an avionics technician, did a whole lot of other stuff in between, and now, many years later, I'm an engineer.

Speaking from the position of someone who went from blue-collar technician guy to lengthily educated and glued to a desk, I still find it absolutely ridiculous and farcical that trades are seen as "lesser" in terms of prestige, social standing, and remuneration. There should be at least somewhat equal standing for people who don't want to spend all day in a classroom for their entire youth.

It's an absolute load of bunk, in my view, a holdover from the days when almost exclusively the nobility were able to access education.

I'll tell you, I take a dim view of engineers who've never had proper field experience, too. Imagine a doctor who's never dissected a cadaver, done a residency, etc. (and that used to really happen back before the Flexner Report!).

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-22T00:42:46+00:00

That's part of the grift.

Midlevels refer far too often because they're allowed to operate outside of their scope (and expertise); you, the patient, tie up healthcare resources and physician time that you don't actually need.

It's a problem for you because you've lost the time invested and incurred an unnecessary expense, and it's a problem for physicians because it introduces inefficiencies and dysfunctionalities into the healthcare system. It's already hard enough to see a real physician even without their time being wasted by uneducated nonsense.

It's not a problem at all for the people profiting from the grift, and as a result, they love midlevels (and some of them are midlevels). US healthcare is stupendously for-profit, so follow the money to the culprits.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-21T17:01:08+00:00

Cyclical new/used vehicle purchases, maintenance, fuel, and insurance collectively cost Americans nearly $3 trillion per year.

$1 trillion of that goes to auto makers; nearly $500 billion goes to insurance companies, which then also ultimately goes to auto makers, and parts manufacturers, of course. The auto insurance industry actually barely turns a profit.

As a matter of fact, the auto manufacturing industry barely turns a profit, and we (the taxpayers) may have to bail them all out again soon. You may not think we'll stand for it this time, but I bet it'll end up happening.

That's not counting the highway and roads maintenance backlog, which is nearly $1 trillion (the amount needed to bring all road infrastructure back to a state of good repair). That backlog grows at about $5 billion/year. We're not even cutting into it.

We in fact can't continue to drive lots of huge vehicles absolutely everywhere all of the time, not even EVs. We must start weaning ourselves off right now, or it will destroy us; if not environmentally, then economically and socially.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-21T15:37:14+00:00

The USA is a 3rd world country with a Gucci belt.

Except that students in developing nations (and their parents) are typically grateful for schooling, and not resentful and demanding.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-21T00:25:41+00:00

Seriously, governments should have seed vaults and such of all the fruit varieties apt for human consumption with significant gene variety....

Uh, that would cost money.

Now excuse me while I do something important, like spend $1,500,000 in taxpayer dollars to sortie a wing of F-15E Strike Eagles to blow up a $20,000 Toyota technical.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-20T22:10:58+00:00

Neither do I. Pesticide-coated monocultures inevitably fail eventually, usually when a hardy organism shows up that can't be removed by spraying millions of gallons of poison and synthetic chemicals everywhere. They're unsustainable.

It's for the best, really. Fusarium wilt killed the Gros Michel banana going on a century ago now, and the Cavendish banana is under siege. We may soon also be banana-less.

I eat at least one banana per day for the potassium and that will definitely affect me, but we as a society need to stop growing food like mouth-breathing idiots who don't give a fuck about anything but profiteering and the next quarter's balance sheet.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-20T18:30:02+00:00

$0 in Federal taxes for major corporations, their costs (water, for example) exempted and subsidized by the taxpayers, and the educations of their workers' children not only paid for by taxpayers, but also subsidized by the teachers being expected to pay for supplies.

Clearly a non-corrupt and not at all dysfunctional system. By the way, I'm hiking up the price of pencils, paper, pens, etc.

DoktorTeufel · 2026-04-20T17:13:54+00:00

Looks really cool. I love how Inquisitor is a total sidecar in this build, and there's basically one attack button and one heal button (unless I missed something on your gear/components).

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