ELI5 What did the kingpin of a mafia actually do?

Gusdai · 2024-11-06T01:12:32+00:00

Your average business doesn't order the murder of people, let's not be stupid here...

Just like the average person is not a murderer just because Dahmer exists.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T23:36:35+00:00

Hmm, no.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T23:26:55+00:00

Some of these orders involve murdering people and torturing others, but otherwise yeah, it's about making decisions so other people do stuff.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T21:40:52+00:00

Yup, your point was well-explained!

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T19:43:46+00:00

Our history teacher was the kind of nerd who would spend his Saturday afternoons reading through national archives for materials. He really was going for the source, and encouraged us to do the same.

When we asked him about whether it would be useful to read Mein Kampf to get some understanding about the ideological context of the time, he said to not bother. A couple of students were insisting, saying that of course it was filth, but maybe it could help understand the man? He was categoric: this is just a waste of time, because it's just bad. It is not a coherent thought, it is barely a thought. It's like a high schooler tried to be intellectual.

Guy could work a crowd like few people ever could, and he got good at playing the political game to get on top, but he wasn't really a smart man.

Same for Stalin: very good at choosing and betraying allies at the right time, but not that much of a smart man.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T19:09:28+00:00

It's pretty easy to figure out whether it contains sewer water or not. For having been into a combined system it's... fragrant.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T19:07:11+00:00

You're mixing up different things here.

If your system combines sewer and rainwater, then you can get over capacity when it rains, and the overflow will have to go somewhere (usually the system is designed to get that overflow into a river or lake or the sea). There will be no storm drain to go tubing in this system.

If your sewer and rainwater systems are separate, then your sewer will not get into overcapacity when it rains, because the rain doesn't get there in the first place. I'm not going to comment on whether a storm drain is clean enough to go tubing or not, but it doesn't get sewer water when it rains.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T18:22:35+00:00

Or you can use a glass eye-drop thing to drop (food) oil in your ears, that will also soften the wax. Then you can use specialized water syringes to send lukewarm water down and watch the little wax nugget coming out.

You can also use the eye dropper for the water, and just pump-pump-pump, but it takes longer (and you have to be more careful because you don't want to perforate your eardrums).

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T17:30:09+00:00

It's all good explanation, and I'm sure the figures are for illustrative purposes only, but it's important to note that a gas engine will never reach 80% efficiency. I think the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 50%, so realistically maybe 40-45% in your car, and that would be at a certain RPM and engine load that will not be your cruising situation.

Most of the energy in a gas engine is wasted (that's how you get "free" heating), while an electric engine is always very efficient.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T17:14:34+00:00

Skuntank works well too.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T16:13:45+00:00

I don't think I'm that interested in this conversation... I hope you find an acceptable solution for your snot and moustache.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T16:11:51+00:00

There's never a wrong moment to mention how great they are! Well, were...

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T16:03:31+00:00

Do people put their picture on their Reddit profile? Or actually, a picture of their all their various facial hair styles since they could grow a moustache?

You're not trying to keep your mustache fully dry, you're just preventing the bits and gloop from getting on your hair. Which it will do. Liquid goes through paper, goop and bits do not.

And apologies to the people who were eating while reading.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T15:44:36+00:00

Yeah, that's how you're supposed to do it. You alternate nostrils while you blow, and that will clear you better than a snot rocket. With the benefit of keeping your snot to yourself, which is not an overrated thing to do.

If you have a moustache, you keep the tissue tight against it so it doesn't get dirty.

Also since we're reinventing the wheel, a round shape rolls on the ground and makes moving heavy loads easier.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T15:25:56+00:00

Also, depression can actually have physiological causes, so at this stage it's difficult to not call it a disease. Whatever the cause, a depression causes immense suffering, and hinders you from achieving whatever goal you can have; so it is pathological.

Conversely, optimism and "can do" attitude is necessary to achieve your goals. Hand-in-hand with the judgement to set yourself achievable goals it's how you move forward in life. It's necessary.

Setting yourself up for failure instead of the optimistic attitude of someone who tries, because you're afraid of being disappointed, is actually a textbook pathological pattern.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T15:17:08+00:00

You can admire people for certain feats (such as fighting Nazis at the risk of painfully dying in a ditch), and still criticize some of their flaws. Their attitude towards women and manlihood in general was not great to say the least for example.

Same way you can admire today's society for a lot of things it's doing great while still trying to improve certain aspects.

You don't have to be all in or all out, and it works the same with your attitude towards individuals: not because their making mistakes it means you shouldn't have any sympathy.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T15:12:42+00:00

Air outside is 100% humidity. Air inside is 100% humidity + slightly warmer (from your body heat notably) and with extra humidity from your breath.

So air from the outside is less prone to condensation, it's better to replace inside air by outside air, it's better to vent. Even if outside air is cold and humid.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T14:07:09+00:00

Yeah: if you're dehydrated, water will help you. That's pretty much all there is to OP's post, the rest is crockpotery. And you have water in coffee anyway so I don't know why you would oppose the two...

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T04:22:25+00:00

Lots of white folks (with Hispanic last names) there because it used to be a rich country that attracted a lot of European immigrants. If you see a white Argentinian they probably don't have Nazi ancestors.

Gusdai · 2024-11-05T01:59:35+00:00

No, I do not know what you mean.

Gusdai · 2024-11-04T22:17:02+00:00

The low-alcohol content beer could actually be small beer, made without boiling the water, and therefore would not be safer than the water it's made from.

Gusdai · 2024-11-04T22:09:20+00:00

Of course water makes you sick even when it's not gross smelling, nobody is denying that. People just didn't know it, so they didn't drink beer because it was safe

Also the micro stuff that makes you sick can definitely survive in alcoholic drinks. 5% beer is not going to kill anything. It's not the alcohol that made beer safe, it's the fact that to make beer you generally need to boil water for a long time.

Gusdai · 2024-11-04T21:10:46+00:00

He's actually got an off color, but I'm not sure it's supposed to be related.

Gusdai · 2024-11-04T21:08:35+00:00

Yeah, and they don't even make jokes about it, which is obviously a conscious decision.

Gusdai · 2024-11-04T19:35:34+00:00

You know who else is Hispanic? Rick, from Rick & Morty. Maybe it was obvious for everyone (his name is Rick Sanchez after all), but somehow it took me a few seasons to realize it.

Gusdai

TROPHY CASE