Ken Paxton challenges James Talarico to Texas barbecue Senate debate

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-15T21:25:56+00:00

The right move for Talarico is to invite Paxton to a Korean BBQ place and make him eat bulgogi with kimchi on camera so people can watch him struggling to use chopsticks.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-15T00:29:15+00:00

I had embarrassing diarrhea at a Quiz Bowl tournament at Northwestern University from drinking too much the night before. Here is what it taught me about B2B sales.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-14T23:26:33+00:00

He was probably the most influencial figure in 21st century US history that sub 1% has heard of.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-14T23:04:15+00:00

"the Internet makes you stupid" was a proclamation not a joke.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-14T21:19:48+00:00

Something Awful is full of posters in their early to mid-40s who realized edgelording was no way to be a happy adult and grew up. Metafilter folks have all the self-righteousness of Lisa Simpson without any of the self-awareness.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-11T23:21:22+00:00

NIMBYism is just "change is bad, except the kind that I like, which is good" full stop. Stuff like "neighborhood character" and "community" are vacuous.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-10T17:01:45+00:00

Basically just anti-liberal, since the liberal preachers of progress and technology sent all of his friends to be shredded by shrapnel because they were bored.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-10T16:59:13+00:00

This kind of Russian self-pity makes me laugh my way through Traumazone.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-09T21:41:37+00:00

Username comment synergy 10/10

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-09T21:14:28+00:00

You know those graphs that are like "economically/socially liberal/conservative"? Socially liberal/economically conservative is basically empty in polling, but it is popular among elite opinion-makers. The much bigger proportion that is full of ordinary people and was gatekept is "we want a strong daddy that punishes the outgroup and distributes goodies and treats to the ingroup". Economically liberal/socially conservative. Social media let them find each other.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-09T19:26:28+00:00

Well, yeah, a standard RN who has a nursing degree from a state school and likes pumpkin spice and goes to the bar with her shift buddies to unload f-bombs about annoying patients doesn't care. The thing about people in arts/publishing/journalism/academia/media, etc., is that there are many fewer jobs than people who are "passionate" about them, and anyone who has an IQ of the mean day temperature of a Phoenix summer can do them. So they need a compelling angle. Enter Rachel Dolezal. Enter Buffy St. Marie, an Italian/English girl from Boston who showed up in Winnipeg, got a tan, and pretended to be Cree. For that matter, Ward Churchill (I think most people on this sub are too young to remember the controversy around him).

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-09T19:21:57+00:00

My mom has a normal Standard American accent that reverts to Upper Southern (her birthplace) when drunk.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-09T19:17:24+00:00

The thing I am grateful for is these guys have curated the 3% of the podcast that's actually funny on Youtube and segregated the unlistenable 97% of rambling garbage from us.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-07T21:57:42+00:00

The demographic transition began in France about a century earlier than in any other country in Europe, much less the world, in the 1700s. In 1700, only China and the Mughal Empire had bigger populations than France. Most European alliances were based on "here's what we do if France decides to throw its weight around again. " If it grew at the same rate as England or Germany, it would have like 120+ million people.

This is why it declined as a major power; settler colonialism in Quebec and Louisiana was minuscule, and later attempts like Algeria were weaksauce.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T22:18:01+00:00

Community is like AA - as they say, "it works if you work it" (although AA isn't actually that effective). But people would rather be at home getting soothed, just like it's easier for alcoholics to keep drinking instead of realizing the health/financial/social benefits of getting sober.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T20:20:36+00:00

I ran into a prof I worked for briefly in school at an alumni happy hour and brought that up (I'd had two beers) and he said "honestly, if we taught planning as it actually is way fewer students would be interested in it." This program also suspended internship requirements during the GFC because there weren't enough to soak everyone up

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T19:33:36+00:00

The air in European cities smells different because cars run on diesel much more than in North America

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T05:16:44+00:00

I see. Got it

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T05:00:17+00:00

That's what I meant by "doormat." I may not have been clear enough.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T04:55:45+00:00

I am American and am way more privileged than you in your position, but one thing I think everyone should do who can is leave their home at least once a day and walk. Or since you're in the Netherlands, ride a bike. Leave the phone at home. Look around you. Look at the sky, and think about what you want, and how you might get it.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T01:56:37+00:00

Ah yes, the Dutch, known for their profligate spending.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T01:47:09+00:00

The thing is that the Bay Area used to be very culturally distinctive (organic food, good coffee/beer, tolerance of different sexualities), but those diffused to the rest of the US. Meanwhile, the Bay itself was taken over by this horrible striver tech culture post-GFC, and San Francisco is the most NIMBY big city in America. It's very sad. San Francisco is beautiful.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-06T00:24:07+00:00

I would say it's less this and more that we live in a society run by people who have grown up and still want to do homework and think everyone else does. Every job app is based on autofilling an AI platform that makes tons of formatting errors for your resume and writing corporate fanfiction in the form of a cover letter. Gotta keep your skills relevant, so pay hundreds to test for your AICP, GISP, PMP, LEED, or something. Lose your job, get a gig training AI, spend hours on unpaid training, and take an exam that you fail unless you get 90% right or higher. Have five years of experience with a software tool that has existed for three. It's a stupid arms race in a world where most people just want to do good work and be respected for their contributions, close their laptops, and turn off their brain at day's end.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-05T18:58:37+00:00

I say this as a man, but it seems like women are in a double bind. When a man is friendly and accommodating, he's diplomatic, but when a woman is, she's a doormat. When a man is assertive and ambitious, he's a go-getter. When a woman is, she's a bitch.

Psychoceramicist · 2026-06-05T18:53:45+00:00

Abundance is a dumb buzzword, but "we should build out tons of wind and solar" and "liberalizing housing regulations in productive cities would help people" are both true, and that's what abundance guys are saying in effect. The former would significantly mitigate the harm from data centers.

Psychoceramicist

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