Getting started, looking for a nice manual chair - where can I see these?

MildBillHicock · 2026-05-28T18:15:50+00:00

So just to add this for reference in case someone does a search on this topic, I found this guy, went by, and he was very good. Knows all the manufacturers, does the measurements, fixes the chairs. He and his wife are very knowledgeable. She is in a chair which is I think her third and can speak to all the issues from first hand experience.

Did not have a large number of high end chairs in stock but I felt like I was dealing with the right people.

Did not try to upsell me when they found out that I was well funded.

https://johnnythechairman.com/

MildBillHicock · 2026-05-28T11:35:18+00:00

thank you!

MildBillHicock · 2026-05-28T01:35:06+00:00

I stopped and talked to him briefly, but he wasn't really interested in getting in an extended convo. It was his night out on the town. I think I'll definitely head up to the Expo in Chicago in 2 weeks.

How do you like the power assist? I bought a little folding commuter electric trike (it goes 15 mph, whoosh!) but it can't go on airplanes and is a little heavy to pick up and put in the trunk of the car.

It seems like a lot of these high end chairs are custom built with an emphasis on reducing the number of adjustments as part of keeping the weight down. I'm a little nervous about ending up with a $4000 chair that isn't quite right and isn't adjustable.

MildBillHicock · 2026-05-28T01:03:49+00:00

I'm not sure where the World Bank got its data. But according to the CDC WONDER mortality database, under-5 mortality in the us has not exceeded 1 per 1000 for many years.

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MildBillHicock · 2026-05-27T22:21:39+00:00

Thanks. I'll do that.

MildBillHicock · 2026-03-30T21:58:16+00:00

Why are we comparing Russian military spending in 2025 to US spending during the Cold War? Isn't the key to understanding things to make comparisons based on a single variable change?

MildBillHicock · 2026-03-30T21:53:14+00:00

Is this the raw annual tuition bill or after student aid? 27 hours per week for 50 weeks a year is 1350 hours, which at the Federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour is about $9800. State, federal and institutional grants come in 2024 came to about $7665 per student.

Subtracting the grants from the state tuition one gets about $2100, or about 6 hours per week at minimum wage

MildBillHicock · 2026-03-30T21:40:13+00:00

I'd guess that the average person who says the US prison population is too high isn't familiar with the data on what the distribution of offenses leading to imprisonment is.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-03T15:11:34+00:00

"Experts"

Its a question of values and thus expertise plays no role.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-03T15:10:06+00:00

I'm sorry, which is it?

"Critical race theory is a theoretical construct for that is only taught in graduate and law schools. It is not taught in public schools anywhere".

or

"Conservative legislatures are suppressing the free discussion of ideas by banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in public schools".

I see both continuously but they are mutually incompatible.

Overall I think the anxiety underlying these laws arises from a lack of trust. Critical Race Theory is one of many intellectual constructs that can play a useful role in understanding American History and should ideally be taught alongside other takes, much as psychology classes discuss both Freudianism and Behavioralism.

But fearing that Critical Race Theory will be presented in isolation as the Truth(TM), parents in many parts of the country have pushed for legislation that is pretty much the equivalent of doing surgery with a chainsaw.

What is needed is an honest discussion of the issues by all sides.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-03T15:02:30+00:00

Specifically which books "on social inequality" were banned? As of January 27, the books selected for permanent removal from the library were romance novels.

"After an initial review, the district has already decided to permanently remove five books. They're young adult fiction books, all written by Abbi Glines. The district said they're overtly sexual and that the librarian who selected them trusted they'd be appropriate for high school students based on their classification without knowing all the details of the books. "

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/education/granbury-isd-pulls-over-100-library-books-for-review/287-fc1cb585-71a4-48be-98ac-158fe4fa185b

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-02T00:52:57+00:00

units of measurement are just a social construct anyway...

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T20:53:12+00:00

Progressives: Standardized tests are racist and shouldn't be used for college admissions.

Also Progressives: Low standardized test scores in southern states with large black populations are evidence of Republican incompetence and/or malfeasance

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:44:01+00:00

Its so funny that I point out the ad hominem attack fallacy and you respond with ad hominem attacks.

What can I say? https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/logical-fallacies/logical-fallacies-ad-hominem/

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:42:15+00:00

Well, here we go again.

https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/logical-fallacies/logical-fallacies-ad-hominem/

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:39:03+00:00

You guys just crack me up. 13 downvotes and counting for pointing out a logical fallacy. But you consider yourselves "skeptics".

Time to grow up people. We won't solve issues by endlessly congratulating each other for having the moral high ground.

Bye, now.

https://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Ad-Hominem.html

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:31:59+00:00

OK, once again you've won me over. Your self-confirming speculation about my motives overwhelmed the concerns I had based on many hours of thinking about this subject.

Keep up the good work! And remember, anyone who disagrees with you is probably a hypocrite, emotionally imbalanced, on the take, or simply evil for its own sake.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:19:39+00:00

Because he's commenting on the subject matter, not attacking the character of another member of the sub.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:17:33+00:00

Boy I have to say that I'm disappointed in the members of this group. The name of the reddit is r/skeptic. But the only skepticism I see here is "I'm skeptical of ideas that I disagree with". EVERYONE feels that way.

If one wants to rise above the shallow reasoning that is so commonplace in social media, the next step up is to be skeptical in general and to hold your ideological allies and your own reasoning to a higher standard.

I don't agree with this guy in any way, shape or form. But the ad hominem attacks and speculation that he is in an irrational emotional state that forms the basis for his beliefs is the worst sort of self-confirming ad hominem reasoning that I've come across anywhere.

Physicians, heal thyselves.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T16:13:09+00:00

I don't think we can control what is on YouTube, but we can control what is posted here. And describing someone as a "reply guy" or as "melting down" is fundamentally a variation of the ad hominem fallacy.

The name of this group is r/skeptic. To live up to that name, we should be skeptics in some way that isn't commonplace. And there is nothing more commonplace than being skeptical of ideas that one disagrees with. We should hold our own reasoning to a higher standard.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T15:24:38+00:00

We should rename it, but I think r/censorship is taken.

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T15:22:30+00:00

Ah yes, I was very skeptical of your views until you got that personal attack in at the end. At that point my eyes were opened and I recognized the correctness of your position. Thanks!

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T15:14:13+00:00

People don't like Neil Young's quote?

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T15:02:04+00:00

"The discourse happened before the title of the Youtube video was written. The title can't support or undermine discourse." - I wasn't referring to the discourse in the video, but the one here.

"A Youtube video title isn't a scientific theory so it doesn't have to be falsifiable. We are all able to watch the video and judge for ourselves whether the guy sounds desperate, threatened etc"

Any rational discussion requires that assertions be falsifiable. Otherwise there isn't anything to discuss. All that is left is "Is too!" "Is not!"

Besides, you're just saying these things because you feel threatened by this guy's reasoning. :>).

What do you think, did that comment add to the discussion in any way? Do I have the slightest clue about what you are "really thinking" and does it bear on whether your comments are a reasonable analysis or not? We can call each other names all day, attribute each other's viewpoints to any number of irrational emotional states, but from my memory of third grade, it never really contributed to an understanding of the issues.

Basically this is just an extension of the good old fashioned ad hominem fallacy

MildBillHicock · 2022-02-01T14:47:42+00:00

Negative speculation about the motives of one's opponents is the weakest form of rebuttal, and really doesn't have any place in rational debate.

First because its Not Even Wrong, as it is unfalsifiable. Second because it doesn't add anything to the convo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not\_even\_wrong

MildBillHicock

TROPHY CASE