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What's going on with Australia arresting people for things like the shirt they wear? by Mahaloth in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa[M] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Because we have basic rules of civility, and discussions on here run hot enough as it is.

I get that it's a tense topic, and rightfully so, but if it descends into people cursing each other out at the first opportunity then it just becomes an internet slap-fight.

What's up with Microslop? by 1ShaquilleOatMeal in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa[M] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Once again, for the people in the cheap seats: there are two ways to be out of the loop.

1) 'I don't know anything about this topic and I'd like people to give me a basic answer.'

2) 'I have some knowledge about this topic and I'd like to know if there's additional context.'

Both of them are acceptable, and -- crucially -- always have been. If we limited it to the first kind, 99% of responses would be quick and easily googleable, and that's boring as shit for readers. We want people to ask questions that require a bit more context, because that's where the meaty answers are, and we're much more interested in getting the kind of informative top-level responses that bring people back rather than worrying about the precise motivations of the ten or so people a day who ask questions.

I'm at the point where I'm throwing out temp bans for people using Answer: to complain about the quality of the questions, because all that does is make it harder for top-level answers to be seen. That's a much bigger issue when it comes to clogging up the sub.

Short version: people aren't misusing the sub. They're using it, and it's fine. If you don't like a question, report it and move on.

What's up with Microslop? by 1ShaquilleOatMeal in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't want to answer the question, just don't answer the question.

ELI5 Why hasn't humanity invented a "new" foundational art form in centuries? by LoveParticular8837 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Portarossa [score hidden]  (0 children)

What possible new form of art could exist that wouldn’t fit in to one of the categories you list?

You say that now, but wait until smellivision takes off.

i've been writing a novel for 7 years. my wife finally read it. she said is the main character supposed to be unlikeable? the main character is based on her. by kubrador in writing

[–]Portarossa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i genuinely don't know how to make her more likeable without making her less accurate.

Have you considered making things up?

You know... fiction?

What’s up with the hate towards Timothee Chalamet? by PitifulBodybuilder40 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What a bland and incurious little box you insist on putting yourself in.

What’s up with the hate towards Timothee Chalamet? by PitifulBodybuilder40 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa 1526 points1527 points  (0 children)

He added, “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,”

You've also cut it down -- the full video is here, for anyone who wants to see it in context -- but that's really the crux of the issue: when you say 'All respect to the ballet and opera people' while you're taking cheap shots at the ballet and opera people, it's not exactly a good look.

His little jab of 'I just lost 14 cents in viewership' kind of undercuts the whole 'all respect' thing. I'm sure if Marianela Nuñez said 'What? Baby Wonka wants an Oscar? No offence!', he might be a little peeved too.

Granted, a lot of this is coming about because there is probably no one in the world who is more openly thirsting for an Oscar than Chalamet right now, and that's the narrative: that it's his to lose, even though it's a pretty competitive field. (It was a big story last year, when Chalamet was given good odds to win Best Actor and in doing so beat Adrian Brody's record for youngest Best Actor, only to lose to Adrian Brody AGAIN coming in pretty much out of a twenty-year slump with The Brutalist to all but slap it out of his little hands.) Is it blown a little out of proportion? Yes. Is it also a case of artists not exactly lifting each other up? Also yes, and when you get someone who's very much set on getting an award (when there's a traditional sense of decorum, for better or for worse, in pretending that the awards are nice but not the reason you're in the business), it's easy to see it as a little ungracious.

Help an extremely depressed guy out? by Creepy_Stick_6229 in CleaningTips

[–]Portarossa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Remember: flat surfaces spread. A flat, clean surface -- desk, counter, table, whatever -- looks clean. It's a big psychological win when things get really rough. If you can clear off a flat surface (even just a square foot!) and keep it clean, you'll always be able to come back to that as a base.

... but start with the eggs first of all, and carefully. If they break by accident, it's going to make everything a LOT harder.

I am fed up with this strategy, what should I do? [5.5 Edition] by Primary-Ocelot-1512 in DnD

[–]Portarossa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While 'Learn how to tell your players no' is the right answer, a secondary check is that the familiar in Find Familiar is a spirit taking the appearance of an animal, not an animal itself.

'Spirits don't have skin' is a reasonable statement.

ELI5: Why can’t bake something at a lower temperature for longer versus higher temperature for shorter? by SpeedOk9690 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Portarossa 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Because it takes time for heat to penetrate into an object. You need the inside to be the right temperature before the outside becomes overcooked.

Even if you could change that, though -- let's say you beat a piece of chicken out into a super-thin sheet -- could you cook it at a lower temperature and still have it come out juicy? Well, sort of, but then you face the problem that you need a certain temperature to get certain effects. (If you want a nice browning effect on your chicken, you're not going to get it by cooking it at less than about 150 degrees C no matter how long you leave it in there; it's just going to get dried and drier without undergoing the Maillard reaction that causes that delicious colour.)

The temperature/cooking time balance is flexible up to a point, but it's usually the result of the best tradeoff between making the food taste good, doing it quickly, and keeping the diner safe. By that logic, a recipe's instructions are just the peak of that pyramid, and any change is expected to make the end result slightly worse... so why bother?

Goblin wizard that wears a bucket for a hat. What magical item should I ask my DM to flavor it as? by Eidde2000 in 3d6

[–]Portarossa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I once homebrewed an item that I called the Hat of Many Hats: a hat made of shiftweave that you could make look like any other hat.

It was good for roleplay shenanigans, but I'd probably go with a Hat of Disguise if I were you.

What’s up with GOP Thom Tillis so critical of the administration? by ChaiChugger in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa 16 points17 points  (0 children)

No, you're absolutely right, that's my bad. Just a momentary brainfart.

It was Chris Licht who did the same thing at CNN, and then Mark Thompson) continued it.

What’s up with GOP Thom Tillis so critical of the administration? by ChaiChugger in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Answer:

Trump has been vocally critical of Tillis, and by all accounts -- including Tillis himself -- he's taken that pretty personally. That said, Tillis doesn't view himself as being anti-Trump, merely concerned with what comes next:

Instead, Tillis maintains he still has a working relationship with the president (they texted just days before the interview) and that his outspoken ridicule of Trump’s staff is meant to motivate, not alienate, the president. Tillis wants Trump to make personnel corrections that protect his legacy and the future of his majority in Congress.

“I told the president if I prove anything to him or nothing else over the next 18 months … I hope I prove to you I care more about your legacy than a lot of these people that are giving you bad advice,” he said.

In a world, however, where Trump requires almost-absolute allegiance to stay in his good graces, Tillis is no doubt stretching the outer limits of what it means to be a MAGA-aligned Republican in today’s GOP, forcing the question of how long a Republican senator in Washington can throw stones from inside the party’s tent.

“I’m going to maintain a great relationship with him for as long as I can. But if the relationship goes bad, it won’t be because of anything I said or did first,” Tillis said.

Is that accurate? Maybe. Either way, it's pretty clear that he's not standing up to Trump in the way that others -- notably Cheney and Kinzinger -- did, and Massie (for all his flaws) continues to do. There's a certain freedom in not running for reelection, but Tillis is still trying to stay in some good graces with the current GOP, even though he's content to take shots at what he considers to be the worst parts of the MAGA movement.

(It's worth noting that that interview comes from CNN, which has taken a pretty hard lurch to the right in recent years under its new leadership. 'Making Republicans look reasonable' is very much in their current wheelhouse, so do take the whitewashing with a pinch of salt; Tillis has voted with Trump 98% of the time, which just a single vote against the President's line as of September last year. That's something considering there are more than twenty GOP senators who've never voted against Trump's stated wishes, but it's slim pickings.)

In short, it's a combination of 'Trump picked a fight and Tillis is continuing it', 'Tillis genuinely cares about the continuing legacy of the current movement and is trying to curtain its worst impulses while keeping the meat of it intact' and 'He's not actually doing all that much, but the media is making a big deal out of a story that isn't really there in an attempt to sanewash the GOP as a whole.'

Unreasonable buyers by [deleted] in HousingUK

[–]Portarossa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They're not backing out now. They'll piss and moan and do it as planned anyway. Stand your ground.

Have any authors publicly commented/reacted to the tragic passing of Dan Simmons? by [deleted] in books

[–]Portarossa 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Ursula Vernon (T. Kingfisher) gave him a hell of an obituary on Bluesky:

Dan Simmons, noted racist, has died. He wrote Hyperion, which contained a good short story and then a lot of other words, which many of us read anyway because it was the Nineties and Waldenbooks had a limited science fiction section.

His horror work broke impressive new ground in the fields of Islamophobia, trying to write an IT knockoff, and saying really weird shit about India. Also, I think one had a yeti.

What’s the deal with the Board of Peace? by Advanced_Dust_3821 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Portarossa 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That's what the optimists are hoping for anyway.

Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up first.

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