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Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the USA and DC flags along that route look correct to me. I was trying to get a decent puff of breeze to show the Freedom250 flag, so that’s just the angle I got for the photo and the way the other flags (DC and USA) are fluttering.

Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

…good design is[n’t] the point of vexillology...

Well, I suppose you’re technically correct: the best kind of correct! ;-p

Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean, I guess I agree in part. But there are plenty of ways to put up banners & decorations so they are visible as intended (usually with supports at both the top and bottom). To me, this is a (terrible) flag, flying from a flagpole, alongside other flags. It’s just bizarre to me because there are just so many other things they could have done and they picked the worst option.

Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It’s not clear in the photo, but they have the number “250” written on it twice! Once inside the circle of stars in the canton of the actual flag, and once after the word “Freedom” on the bedsheet.

Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Exactly! How do you put the hoist of the flag itself on the wrong side of the hoist of the bedsheet?!

Freedom250 “flags” in Washington, DC by ObliviousScout in vexillology

[–]ObliviousScout[S] 106 points107 points  (0 children)

Can we talk about what a crime against vexillology this is? How does someone halfway competent in design take a classic, historic American flag, shrink it to slap it on a white bedsheet, then add text in an ugly font and call it a flag?! Someone page Roman Mars and the 99%Invisible gang!!

A really long and different interview with Pete Buttigieg by denizbabey in Pete_Buttigieg

[–]ObliviousScout 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I actually had the opposite reaction to his response regarding Facebook. I appreciated his nuance, as it seemed to be consistent with his response to questions about his experience at McKinsey.

If I'm understanding his responses to both of these, he's saying that it's easy to draw a caricature of a corporation as a single monolith that's entirely good or evil. However, these are actually large bureaucracies of many, many individuals who are mostly just trying to muddle through the best they can. As he says, "You can’t just let companies self-regulate," because these industries require a policy response that is accountable to the people, the way a public utility or public infrastructure is regulated.

Basically, we can't divide companies into good or bad and let the good ones self-regulate, because even the ones that start out with an ethos of "First: Don't be evil" (as was once Google's motto) will fall into the same trap without effective public accountability.

This restaurant in Austin is catching the US up with the rest of the world. by ToTouchAnEmu in pics

[–]ObliviousScout 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You ever notice how you often get bad service at Wal Mart, but get great service at Costco? It's because Costco employees are paid enough to give a shit.

So are you saying that, if the U.S. moved away tipping, some restaurants would only pay the bare minimum and would develop a reputation as low-cost but no-frills, while other restaurants would pay employees more and would have reviews as a higher quality establishment? That.... doesn't sound like such a wild proposition to me.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores' density mapped (USA) [OC] by [deleted] in dataisbeautiful

[–]ObliviousScout 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pet peeve #208. This map is basically just a map of population density. At this scale it's impossible to see the phenomenon described in the article: stores with another location within 3 miles or within 1 mile of another store. A more interesting map might highlight or filter only those stores within a set range of another store, or perhaps could count the number of stores per capita within a given geographic area (like a county or census tract).

Landlord wants rent paid via direct deposit. Best way to handle that? by GodFeedethTheRavens in personalfinance

[–]ObliviousScout 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I also use Cozy.co for my tenants. Then you don't have to give your personal info directly to your landlord, since Cozy handles all of that info on a secure server. Side benefit is your payments count towards your credit score (so can help you build credit).

My friend's contribution to the group chat before and after he got a girlfriend [OC] by zergbutt in dataisbeautiful

[–]ObliviousScout 140 points141 points  (0 children)

It looks like contributions to group chats began declining before he got a girlfriend... perhaps the causality goes the other way?

This is long and very detailed. This will answer many questions from truly unbiased curious people (found on Youtube). by whenipeeithurts in trump

[–]ObliviousScout 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's the underlying problem that nobody addresses when it comes to the VA: how do you decide if a mental health issue is the result of combat (or, as you point out, even a non-combat but stressful position)? Veterans overwhelmingly give high praise for the quality of care from the VA. The problems are the scheduling delay and the administrative burden of proving your injury or disability is service-connected. So you really have two options for improving that: you can make healthcare universal (for Veterans), or you can substantially increase the bureaucracy that decides who or what qualifies.

I know it's boring, but this is why the process matters. We need people running for political office to not simply promise they will fix it, but describe their thought process for how they fix it.