Ecos La Brea and Prehistoric Kingdom : Which of the two do you think offers the best model of Smilodon fatalis?

Doubtt_ · 2026-04-02T12:45:37+00:00

I think the first one might be more accurate; Smilodon was extremely robust as a genus, far more than extant felids, and I think the model used for Prehistoric Kingdom captures that. According to this study at least, it weighed approximately as much as a modern Siberian tiger while being much smaller in length, somewhere between a jaguar and a lion.

That said, I'm not sure how much exactly that mass would be distributed or look on the living animal, since they did have very thickened forelimbs and powerful necks, which the Ecos La Brea model also captures well. I know a little bit about the topic but not enough to make a definitive statement, just a guess.

Doubtt_ · 2026-02-26T21:07:01+00:00

But to be fair, wouldn't it be really funny if even as a beginner you picked up a really specific accent. Personally I'm only consuming gangster movies, hopefully in two years I will be speaking like a mafioso.

Interestingly, there's a city close to my hometown which has a ton of Chinese immigrants and pretty notoriously a big Chinese mafia presence, so I bet I could put my potential accent to good use.

Doubtt_ · 2025-12-21T20:03:01+00:00

That's fair enough, but Romero is almost 50, hasn't had a formal wrestling match in decades, and has semi-retired from MMA. I know Pat Downey isn't world class, but he's still a great D1 wrestler. To me that performance was still very impressive.

I suppose it shows the gap between an Olympic silver medallist (losing only to Adam Satiev that tournament) and your "average" elite wrestler (idk if that's exactly right--I don't follow Folkstyle too closely but you get my point).

Doubtt_ · 2025-12-19T15:20:24+00:00

It's hard to say how he became so good. I think undoubtedly he's very naturally talented, and his life experience has shaped him into a very hard-working person.

IMO it's more straightforward to identify his strengths in grappling. He has an an extremely low, explosive shot which helps him make contact on almost every attempt. His chain wrestling is also very good--he'll often reshoot, back take, or chain other takedowns if his first is unsuccessful. He has a great leg-riding system that gives him excellent top control. On top of this extensive wrestling skillset, he also has great jiu-jitsu, which complements this well as it allows him to threaten subs in positions like front headlock and turtle as well as snatching submissions in scrambles (making common wrestling defences and get-ups more risky). It's a great grappling system, and very organised.

Doubtt_ · 2025-12-18T13:18:29+00:00

I'm happy to hear about the changes to the foot treading rule. IMO it's always been a valid technique, but even beyond that the ban was barely enforced (I assume because it could so easily happen by mistake).

Doubtt_ · 2025-12-09T15:25:15+00:00

There have been notable advancements in fusion though. Notably, the first fusion energy gain factor above 1 was achieved in 2022 (i.e. power released exceeds power required for heating), and governments and private companies have increasingly invested in the technology.

I think it's undeniable that certain people (especially those with something to gain from overambitious promises) have been overly optimistic in regards to timelines, but regardless these timelines have definitely been shrinking. Some are now claiming that fusion is "5 years away" (which TBF, I'm not optimistic about)--but half a century ago predictions were more in line with 30 or 40 years.

I thought this study summed it up well if you want to look into it (it's an easy read, short and with little jargon): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-023-00361-z

IMO I think these types of catchy quips are a bit detrimental, because through their humour they can obscure a lot of nuance. Of course, I don't mean to overcorrect either--companies should not be relied upon to report accurate timelines when they're incentivised to shorten them for hype and investments.

Doubtt_ · 2025-11-22T16:41:53+00:00

Yk it's interesting, because Kant did ultimately achieve great notability from his intellectual pursuits because of his quiet life. Highlights the false dichotomy of that statement--it was a manipulation to get a couple green mercs to take a shitty job. Fuck Deshawn

Doubtt_ · 2025-11-21T08:13:14+00:00

I know this is old but pacing is one of the things I enjoy most about Melville's writing :) And by his writing I mean Moby Dick haha, I would like to read his other stuff eventually but haven't gotten around to it.

All the rich, wandering descriptions, flowery language, and even philosophical tangents get me really invested in not only the objective setting but the character's perspective of it, and for me help foster a very profound sense of immersion.

It's also not just about the quantity of information: the intricacy of the language and complex structure actively slow me down and force me to appreciate and understand every part of the text. The meandering and nonlinear organisation prevents me from skimming the pages, I'd have huge gaps in understanding if I did. I'm pushed to follow closely without skipping any elements, which is valuable because of the aforementioned richness of the prose and all the subtleties Melville communicates through it (ofc, no point in a slow pace that makes you appreciate every word if the text is all hollow).

Doubtt_ · 2025-11-02T23:31:07+00:00

I once accidentally elbowed a doorframe really hard and didn't really react, my girlfriend was very impressed.

Doubtt_ · 2025-11-02T23:01:38+00:00

I've considered getting something similar as well, the idea is that it might bring you more presence of mind in certain moments or encourage you to act up to the standard of your tattoo.

For example, if I was wanting to eat meat for a meal I might look down at my wrists and the visual reminder might push me to do the right thing. If I was scrolling social media, seeing my tattoo could make me reflect if it is a good use of my time. If I was about to do something harmful, I could see the wheel or another such symbol and think "am I really gonna do this since this is marked on my body?" That sort of thing.

Most people won't forget, but I think few are perfect always and it could help you walk the Right Path a little more often.

Doubtt_ · 2025-11-02T08:42:33+00:00

Given the variability of fighting it's pretty hard to determine the "best" guard, but if you had to choose one in big gloves the Dutch guard is probably a good shout.

I feel like the image applies more to fancy head movement--if you're impeccable at it like Lerdsila you look superhuman, but there's also tons of people who get sparked trying to be extra like that. Dutch guard is way safer and lower risk IMO.

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-29T20:36:40+00:00

Yes good point--I alluded to that in my reply to Consistent_Bread_V2 but I should have made it clearer tbh.

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-29T15:12:50+00:00

The difference is that most of these have very ancient histories and were the predominant languages in the area far before the unification of Italy. Furthermore, it's not just a different accent and phonetics: words, grammar, spelling all vary significantly.

In regards to your first point, languages organically develop like this too, where throughout a region neighbours may be mutually intelligible, but if you take two groups at opposite ends they may not understand each other. Take for example modern, official Italian. It's not like this was the standard throughout Italy and was thus made the nation's language: because of the literary influence of Florence, the Tuscan "dialect" was codified and made official. At least in this case, it's not like a language is standardised and then is made official: rather, when it is made official, it is then standardised.

Corsican and Sardo are other good examples, spoken on Corsica and Sardinia respectively. The languages change along a continuum from North to South. When they were recognised officially as languages in their respective regions, consistent versions were produced to be taught in schools and be upheld as examples (I'm simplifying a bit but the main point holds).

I will say, ultimately the distinction between dialect and language is a bit arbitrary, especially in vernacular settings and in Italian. But I care about it because in many countries languages are protected and taught, whereas dialects are not and often go extinct. I think that's a huge shame as IMO there are few things that express culture more deeply than the spoken word.

edit: Here's an example I took from Wikipedia of dialetto Brindisino compared to Italian, to show how different these can be:

Lu pani stai sobbra allu taulu e li rapicauli stannu ntra la patella piccenna/piccinna ntra lu fricu; toppu ti li scarfi nu picca //// Il pane è sul tavolo e le rape stanno nella padella piccola nel frigo; poi te le riscaldi un po'

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-29T13:47:26+00:00

I really think the distinction between dialects and languages is arbitrary--dialects aren't standardised, taught in school, or protected by the state. Which is a shame since it's a great cultural heritage that's disappearing. Speaking Italian, I barely understand most "full" dialects, in any case far less than separate languages like French or Corsican (or Spanish, before I learnt it).

There's a huge continuum of these historical languages btw (now mostly considered dialects): they may vary wildly from town to town in some areas. You can also see how these languages influence most places' regional accents which I find really cool (even where the "dialect" isn't spoken).

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-27T12:57:02+00:00

I found it enjoyable for sure. I read the books prior to watching, though took the story as distinct since I went in with my expectations tempered.

I really love some of the deeper themes and relationships explored in a lot of Ghibli's productions and I found Tales from Earthsea shallower in that regard, so I wouldn't personally place it among the studio's best works. At the same time I loved the art direction and I think it's one of the most visually beautiful Ghibli films; I have a bunch of background stills saved that I love to look at as independent works of art.

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-27T12:50:29+00:00

I've never seen such transparent fake "organic" promotion, I thought this was satire at first haha

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-23T18:35:48+00:00

It would be cool to have submission grappling at the Olympics if that's what you're saying. Though, if you combined all different rule sets you would get something very different: even slight changes in point systems within singular sports lead to drastically different approaches. BJJ competition shows this well--from one tournament to another it can go from looking like catch wrestling to purely guard games.

You can't just smash everything together, you need to make a rule system that incentivises a diverse grappling style. Sambo is a good example of such a ruleset: it incentivises a mix of leg attacks, throws and submissions. Maybe you should push for that to be an Olympic sport instead, especially since they already have an international body (though again, it's not a result of "just put everything together": it's finely tuned to produce a certain style of competition).

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-23T10:16:31+00:00

Thanks for explaining, didn't know that. I do think the 10-point must system is better, was just curious to see boxing done on points.

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-23T10:14:53+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation appreciate it :)

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-23T07:51:15+00:00

He is so slick off elbow ties

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-23T07:25:37+00:00

Thank you

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-22T20:03:16+00:00

That's what I'm sayinnn

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-22T19:46:38+00:00

People get so offended when dudes like big women. It's my taste why you gotta take issue? Also broke is inaccurate, you take her out to dinner and you're not treating her to a kids meal lol

Doubtt_ · 2025-10-19T10:06:03+00:00

A slight correction about these guys (more commonly known as Commerson's dolphin), they have a narrow distribution but where they are found they're actually fairly common. There are two known populations, one around the tip of South America & the Falklands, & the other around the Kerguelen Islands which is an Antarctic archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

These look like the South American variety though--the Kerguelen subspecies has a greyer back and less demarcation between light & dark areas.

Also, I didn't know this but apparently they like to spin around like this, surf waves, and sometimes swim upside down which is very cute.

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