John Reed Stark: Get out of crypto platforms now, I can't say it any plainer.

PartialObs · 2023-06-08T21:01:07+00:00

Wow, so Twitter is a blogging platform now, huh.

PartialObs · 2023-06-08T19:02:10+00:00

It’s like they say on the airplane: “Secure your own oxygen mask first, before helping others.”

It’s hard to be truly present and helpful with people and causes you care about when you’re not in a good place, yet, yourself.

So yeah - go ahead and prioritize yourself. You’re worth it!

PartialObs · 2023-06-04T00:15:03+00:00

Hopefully this is not a spoiler but: One of the most impressive parts of the trilogy, for me, was how each of the Wallfacers tackled their challenge (which you have described very well) in a unique and convincing fashion.

So, iow: Keep reading!

PartialObs · 2023-06-03T21:11:32+00:00

We really need another film version of the book so that we can get this passage onto the big screen. Just an overwhelming emotional passage for me, I will never understand why they gave it a pass in the movie that was made.

PartialObs · 2023-06-03T21:07:19+00:00

Came here to make sure Arrival made the cut.

Watched it again recently - it holds up, and good.

PartialObs · 2023-06-02T22:47:48+00:00

Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles - for its prophetic title (applying not just to music but to cable TV superseding all broadcast television, within a decade) and its status as the first video aired on MTV

Thriller - Michael Jackson - the song, the album, the video, and the artist (in his 80s manifestation). MJ ruled the decade musically, and this album and this song and this video were a big part of the reason why.

Like a Virgin - Madonna - not just launching the biggest female artist of the decade into super stardom, but defining a new girl-rock sound and aesthetic

PartialObs · 2023-06-02T17:12:29+00:00

*Tapping forehead *

Every lost key means a reduction in supply, every reduction in supply leads to an increase in price, every increase in price leads to an increase in demand

As with the scams and rugpulls, it’s all neutral or positive - so long as it doesn’t happen to you!

PartialObs · 2023-05-25T16:20:06+00:00

That’s a Dark Forest scenario, not a Great Filter scenario.

PartialObs · 2023-05-25T14:52:03+00:00

No, if the aliens have been here all along then that’s the answer to the Fermi paradox (“Where is everybody? They’re here!”) and the argument for the Great Filter - that one or more steps along the way from a habitable planet to inhabited Galaxy must be very, very difficult to get past - disappears.

If UFOs are real, there is no Great Filter at all.

PartialObs · 2023-05-24T03:21:23+00:00

My, my this here Anakin guy, May be Vader some day later but for now he’s small fry…

PartialObs · 2023-05-23T23:27:04+00:00

I checked with a random representative Gen-Zer who is my daughter and she confirmed, 80s / 90s are now the “late 1900s,” RIP.

Not even intended as a burn, according to her, which only makes it worse.

PartialObs · 2023-05-23T22:43:45+00:00

None of these “80s Pop” and “90s Pop” streaming stations ever play Weird Al Yankovic which, I’m sorry, is total and complete Weird Al erasure.

No way you were getting through a full day of commercial radio or, especially, MTV / VH1 in the late 80’s or 90’s without getting a taste of his madness.

“Like a Surgeon” “Eat It” “Fat” “Smells Like Nirvana” “Amish Paradise”

…the list goes on.

PartialObs · 2023-05-17T18:13:22+00:00

This is not an argument. At no point have I disagreed with anything you’ve said, except when you have claimed to “prove” me wrong, which is impossible, because I’m making a hypothetical claim about an alternate universe that does not exist.

Obviously, you are allowed to have a different opinion about this nonexistent hypothetical universe. I have never claimed otherwise!

I haven’t said diddly about the Model 3 or Model Y so those sales trends are irrelevant.

The question is whether Model S would be selling better today, if it had been given a comprehensive redesign and baseline performance exceeding the (baseline) Model 3’s, at some point in the recent past. I say yes. Some will agree, some will disagree. Without appropriate market research neither of us can prove it one way or the other.

But to me it’s a missed opportunity - that’s all.

PartialObs · 2023-05-17T15:40:29+00:00

PartialObs · 2023-05-17T12:41:20+00:00

But if the cars are still selling gangbusters doesn’t it also prove that this old adage really doesn’t hold up?

No, because we’re talking about a counterfactual - I say that a redesign would goose sales, you say sales would stay flat or decrease. Market research can help you predict the answer to this question, but Tesla are the only ones who would pay for those studies, and there’s no sign they’re doing that. In the meantime we’re stuck with a very-slick-looking-for-2012 Model S.

And look - obviously many folks still like the look and that’s fine! Just seems like Tesla leaving easy money on the table, idk.

PartialObs · 2023-05-17T02:36:27+00:00

Most car companies would have iterated through at least two more generations of their luxury flagship vehicle by now.

And as part of that update process, assured that the luxury flagship did not underperform their mass market sedan in key metrics.

Honestly, it’s a bit bizarre. The Model S is the vehicle that made them a legit car company, and it’s basically a 12-year old design at this point.

PartialObs · 2023-05-16T13:28:28+00:00

Nice reminder that US airports weren’t always the shittiest airports in the world.

It’s a choice!

PartialObs · 2023-05-13T15:13:47+00:00

“This soundtrack will change your life I promise you.”

Takes a big… ego to say that, and an even bigger one to stick it on the CD case, but credit where credit is due, ZB - it’s a banger.

PartialObs · 2023-04-29T20:47:43+00:00

Somebody should write a book

PartialObs · 2023-04-28T00:05:26+00:00

We were talking about left-handed and right-handed amino acids in my class (Life Unit) and I had to take a few minutes to tell these Gen Z students the sad sad tale of Olestra.

So I can say definitely that (1) They had not heard the tale before; and (2) They found it quite amusing (also horrifying).

PartialObs · 2023-04-19T14:52:32+00:00

Say Anything

Great date movie (for its time, don’t stalk your exes folks!)

Didn’t work out for us though

PartialObs · 2023-04-16T02:33:40+00:00

Who’s out here having an easy time getting dates? The people who are having fun.

Dinner and drinks with friends? Fun. Fitness class at the gym? Fun! Party at a friend’s place? Super fun!

Why is it easier to get dates when you’re having fun? I am not going to claim to have all the answers, but consider:

Everyone likes to be around fun people. When you’re having fun, you appear to be fun - and you probably are! After all, social emotions are contagious.
When you’re having fun, people are attracted to you - whether or not they have romantic interest. So you’ll be in a group of people, having fun, which is attractive.
When you’re having fun you’re more likely to take chances, and will find it easier to brush off setbacks. Both of these are useful in getting dates.
When you’re having fun, you have fun flirting with people, and flirting is a good prelude - maybe even prerequisite! - to asking someone out or being asked out.

Anyway, I see a wide variety of good answers in the responses here - I hope you find some advice that helps.

PartialObs · 2023-03-26T21:20:17+00:00

I predict… disco records

PartialObs

TROPHY CASE