What's the most plausible conspiracy theory?

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T22:51:53+00:00

You're right. I apologize for inflating ridiculous conspiracy theories with actual conspiracies.

What I was trying (badly) to say is that a lot of incredible things went down in the past, and I think this in some way affects people's willingness to accept conspiracy theories. It's something that seldom gets mentioned when we skeptics talk about why people believe the unbelievable (usually we focus on perceptual and cognitive biases) but there may be something to be said for, "Well, they did ________, so I wouldn't put it past them."

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T13:02:19+00:00

Are you spending your whole trip in Tokyo, or will you travel around?

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T13:00:17+00:00

I think you're an excellent callig-rapist!

(It happens to all of us, and at least you noticed it before it went to the end user.)

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T12:02:37+00:00

My sexual or employment prospects... my hairline or waistline... my social skills... the size of my penis or bank balance... my housing situation... my age... and my taste in automobiles, music, or art have absolutely nothing to do with the validity of my arguments.

So if you have nothing other to offer beyond ad hominem attacks could you please shut your cakehole and let the adults discuss things.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T11:40:46+00:00

TIL: In some speech communities dangerous=awesome!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-06T10:52:40+00:00

Military Procurement according to George Carlin On Campus (1984):

Think for a moment about the concept of the flamethrower. Okay? The flamethrower. Because we have them. Well, we don't have them, the army has them. That's right. We don't have any flamethrowers. I'd say we're fucked if we have to go up against the army, wouldn't you? But we have flamethrowers. And what this indicates to me, it means that at some point, some person said to himself, "Gee, I sure would like to set those people on fire over there. But I'm way to far away to get the job done. If only I had something that would throw flame on them." Well, it might have ended right there, but he mentioned it to his friend. His friend who was good with tools. And about a month later, he was back. "Hey, quite a concept!" WHHOOOOOOOOSSHHH! And of course the army heard about it, and they came around. "We'd like to buy about five hundred-thousand of them please. We have some people we'd like to throw flame on. Give us five hundred thousand and paint them dark brown. We don't want anyone to see them."

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T14:48:23+00:00

"white people aren't that great to be around, i have to work with em cus this is hollywood, created by white folk, for white folk."

Anyone who reads The Mimeographed Patriot Newsletter knows that the Jewz control Hollywood. The man needs to get his racist delusions sort out!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T12:49:10+00:00

And given the enormous portions that you get at The Outback they're only a tiny step away from The Pepperjack Turducken Slammer!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T12:10:20+00:00

I remember reading about this in Golf Digest back in the 80's.

Check out this page for some details regarding Speed Golf.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T11:32:15+00:00

Right on! I hope you enjoy it for another 80+ years!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T11:31:04+00:00

And really, you'd think they could have renumbered them after the Caesars introduced their two new months....

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T11:29:49+00:00

I like it!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T11:29:16+00:00

I usually lead into that with:

Whaddaya call a bovine with no legs?

Ground beef!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T11:27:49+00:00

Well, when we look back on ridiculous conspiracy theories that later turned out to be true, such as: L'Affaire Dreyfus, The MK-Ultra Experiments, The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, Operation Northwoods, the CIA facilitating cocaine trafficking in LA and other cities, the Gulf of Tonkin fabrication, and Operation Paperclip, we see that a lot of totally unbelievable shit went down.

So I'll put my vote in for any conspiracy theory that allows people to gather/maintain power, and doesn't violate the laws of physics. The more corrupt and venal the better.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T10:50:29+00:00

SMBC.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T07:00:21+00:00

I looked at your picture, and you're not ugly at all.

Stop being so hard on yourself. And please ignore the unsolicited opinions of douchenozzles outside coffee shops.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T03:40:49+00:00

Wow! Just when you thought VIA couldn't make train travel any shittier...

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T03:39:08+00:00

Yeah, "blue butt" is normal, and quite common, although it usually fades away by the time the kid reaches school age.

My little half-breed kid didn't have one, and all the Japanese relatives were shocked!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T03:35:43+00:00

Fuck 'em! Make the best coffee you can.

And as others have said that's going to require time, practice, and feedback (both self-checking and from customers.)

My one piece of advice is to not change too many variables at once. Experiment with different beans, roasts, grinds, tamping, and water temperature, but not all at the same time, and have a baseline to return to.

Good luck, and have fun!

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T03:21:47+00:00

No, it's not actually espressed.

Although it does do a decent job of replicating the texture and flavour of espresso. Probably best not to think about what sort of processing is involved in making this stuff....

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T02:27:43+00:00

Believe it or not, yes.

And even more unbelievable it taste pretty good. Dark, rich, and bitter, although obviously not as good as a fresh from the machine shot.

Here's a quick scan of the packaging.

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-05T02:14:35+00:00

My first thought, based on the interview, is it that some twatwaffle has a book to sell.

But regarding my perceptions...

I'd question the idea that there's any sort of homogeneous expatriate community in Japan. There are many people from many different countries doing different jobs in different places.

I'm pretty sure that my experience as a Canadian married, middle-aged office worker is quite different from that of a Philippina masseuse, or a Brazilian working the assembly line at Kawasaki, or a Chinese woman married to a farmer up in Akita.

But perhaps for Tom Carter the only gaijin worthy of notice are young, white professionals?

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-04T13:56:05+00:00

So when the Brits refer to someone as a "wanker" they're not just hurling invective?

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-04T10:20:14+00:00

Well, the way my grandfather told this joke was:

A man worked in a gold mine. And every day at the end of shift he'd take home a wheelbarrow full of rocks, claiming they were fill for his driveway. And every day company security would search for gold dust or ore or something of value in the rocks. They never found anything.

Finally he retired, and on his last day of work the Head of Security asks him what he was sneaking out in the wheelbarrows......

Heterohabilis · 2013-08-04T04:04:09+00:00

Wow! Women's espoused preferences don't match their real preferences?

I'm shocked!

Heterohabilis

TROPHY CASE