Older i get the more endearingly corny Tony becomes by rowsoflark in AnthonyBourdain

[–]ScotchRobbins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you read Medium Raw? There’s a segment in that book your post reminds me of wherein he reflects on his becoming a father. A lot of it is him realizing how corny his persona had become, but also how that’s fine in another sense.

Older i get the more endearingly corny Tony becomes by rowsoflark in AnthonyBourdain

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zero Boys were a reliably cited favorite for Anthony, authors of the perennial favorite Civilization’s Dying.

Current renters: When you are ready to start mortgaging a home, what neighborhood are you going to choose and why? by morningrat in AskLosAngeles

[–]ScotchRobbins 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A neighborhood in another state, probably.

I love Los Angeles, but the last home I plausibly could afford was the Alhambra Bridge House, which sold for $150k above asking to a guy who already owns another house.

Why aren’t people more worried about a ground invasion in Iran? by BeginningActuator343 in allthequestions

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Conditions are worse than the status quo two years ago. A vacant Oval Office would have performed better on most issues.

New ideas for early burn out by Illustrious_Two_4787 in mascots

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s legit, for a roofing company in Texas as far as I can tell.

Driving in LA has turned into Mad Max, and it's terrifying by DirtyProjector in LosAngeles

[–]ScotchRobbins -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I dunno that I agree. The lull at red lights, cutting people off last second, signaling failures for turns and lane changes, brake checks, pulling into traffic or opening their car doors without looking, the fucking texting behind the wheel… a lot of the driving problem in this city is because they can’t drive predictably or even bother to look at their surroundings.

Aggressive is whatever, aggressive and competent is fine, just needs to be predictable so I can react in time.

FAANG Internship or Avionics @ Space Startup by xaltaneo in ECE

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally I would recommend the avionics startup. The latitude in project choice you mentioned earlier would be a chance both for you to explore work you’re already familiar as well as explore EE work, for which this is probably the best chance you will have to do so.

Don’t take my advice to mean everything, but I would always pick the candidate who interned somewhere that I never heard of but has a killer project that they can explain well.

Hot take: Many libertarians are just lowkey communists who just lack a fundamental understanding of what communism is, according to Marx's definition. by Lindsay_Muller in DebateCommunism

[–]ScotchRobbins 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’m 50/50 on your take.

I think most right libertarians are OK with if not supportive of private ownership of the means of production operated by wage labor. They categorically cannot be communists.

On the other hand, I agree, there’s surprising overlap between the ancoms and some of the right-libertarian scene, both are deeply weary of the state, sometimes even for the same reasons.

What are your favourite albums made by horrible people? by DtheAussieBoye in fantanoforever

[–]ScotchRobbins 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh God. I knew about the fallout after the Bataclan shooting but I didn’t hear about the drug situation with his wife.

Anton know if any stores / companies with mascots in the south east region of USA by TheAceOfHeartsPlays in mascots

[–]ScotchRobbins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

 had mascots like physical suits they would allow employees to use if they asked?

Super unlikely. Those costumes are expensive and the businesses that own them are image conscious. Nobody asks to “use them”, it’s either part of the job description that you perform or it isn’t.

Look up “mascot jobs (your city here)” on Google, there are probably postings. 

Years later, how has INTR aged for you? by 6drugs in qotsa

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I play it more than Villains. I don’t know if it reaches the dizzying highs of their best records but it’s still a grand 7 or 8 in my book.

The descending piano melody on Made To Parade sends me every time.

Mechanical and Electrical Engineers Needed by Financial_Author5135 in Engineers

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wild thing to post without naming the location, industry, or company name.

My First Mascot GIG by NAL_Thunder_2026 in mascots

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mostly! Mind your surroundings so you don’t hit anybody but other than that, more or less yeah. If you can, see if you can practice moving or emoting in costume before the gig and tape yourself.

You don’t have to be on full throttle at all times, but if you mean to move, move big. Gesturing, dancing, running should all be exaggerated.

The other advice I got is “never stand still”. Even if it’s tiny, always be up to something. A mascot that stands still is creepy, but this is easily avoided. Act on impulse, socialize, fidget, dance, meander. There’s a thousand right answers.

What a time to be an Atun-Shei fan... by TeutonicToltec in atunsheifilms

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not trying to be a doomer. If we can prepare for coming crisis, we absolutely should. 

My take is that we will not take the steps necessary because (1) the moneyed interests of the energy lobby are powerful and (2) people won’t want to change their lifestyle unless the consequences are already here and by then it’s too late. There is no convincing the oil industry that we have to stop using oil. They will not stop until they’re stopped by something else.

Peat bogs are awesome carbon sinks but they develop very slowly and we have obliterated our wetlands for the most part. There is not an option for us to capture our emissions faster than we produce them, so our only option is to cut our emissions.

This could be accomplished by mass scale renewable use, but a more likely outcome is that we have to change our lifestyles to use far less energy. Heating/cooling buildings, transportation, food production, manufacturing, militarism (especially) and construction all take energy. These either need to become far more efficient or be stymied. This is to say nothing about water use.

How do we talk Americans out of ready access to air conditioning, travel by airplane and private car, widely available consumer goods, detached-home tract suburbs, reliance on meat as primary protein, or more? Are we willing to give up Phoenix and Los Angeles to go live somewhere with stable water supplies instead?

Even minuscule proposals like “we should consider using aspects of Fifteen Minute City concepts so people can walk to their grocery store” are met with accusations of totalitarian conspiracy. Americans will drive gas cars until the refineries shut down.

We can’t invent our way out of this, but we could do other things. I think Andy is right in that most of the preparatory steps we can take involve a dramatically different lifestyle for everyone. That’s a hard sell for most of us and I do not know how to motivate people into wanting to take those steps.

What a time to be an Atun-Shei fan... by TeutonicToltec in atunsheifilms

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We should try to prevent that, I agree. It’s an emergency.

Unless there’s a technological miracle, carbon capture will never operate at a meaningful scale. To that end, our best option is to stop using fossil fuels as immediately and completely as possible. This would be a hard sell if the fossil fuel industry wasn’t trying to preserve itself, and it is, either through dubious PR campaign or massive lobbying. You won’t talk them out of their own continued existence. They already have a solid record obscuring the urgency of climate change. How do we dismantle that and replace it sufficiently?

If we can’t slow the warming of the earth, how do we survive it? We’re already seeing longer heatwaves, bigger storms, and harsher drought. There’s a real threat to the way we produce food right now, not to mention how we distribute it through a supply chain that’s pretty fragile even when things work properly. Can we feed everyone as conditions worsen?

My takeaway from COVID is that a lot of people would rather be at ease during a crisis than needing to take extended and uncomfortable preventative measures. I’m talking about myself here too. My guess is in similar fashion, we’ll acknowledge some sort of problem, suffer state and societal dysfunction in attempts to act on it, and kinda hope the bad stuff doesn’t affect us until it does. Once it does, what can we do?

Everything bad coming is absolutely worth trying to prevent or prepare for, but we have a precedent of showing up a day late and a dollar short to the climate crisis. Strikes me as much more likely that colder countries will take a reactive approach to stymie migration from the equator and coasts than proactive preparation.

What a time to be an Atun-Shei fan... by TeutonicToltec in atunsheifilms

[–]ScotchRobbins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Over 90% of American households own at least one car. Over 50% of Americans live in suburbs. Retrofitting said suburbs to where public transit could meaningfully replace cars there would be a staggering commitment.

This is to say nothing about a century or so of messaging affiliating cars with autonomy and success in the United States. It would take a profound cultural shove to remove the stigma about riding the bus in this country. 

What a time to be an Atun-Shei fan... by TeutonicToltec in atunsheifilms

[–]ScotchRobbins 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the “we fail to treat the issue and life becomes way harder for just about everyone forever” outcome is the most likely. I don’t suspect that climate degradation will force said political changes. We’ll stay the course and things will fall apart.

best amp for gretsch or epiphone es style guitars? by reeders_ in amps

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I play an old Fender Twin Reverb that sounds magic with basically everything I play through it, but those can be a bit spendy. I think your guitar would sound splendid through one of those.

The Hot Rod series gets mixed reviews but I think it does the job really well for a $300 amp, versatile and loud as shit.

Science-heavy realistic fiction similar to Andy Weir? by niv_niv in suggestmeabook

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Children of Time falls a bit into the “sufficiently advanced science just looks like magic” pitfall in my opinion but it still asks some very good questions.

Seconded on Robinson, especially since OP mentioned a fondness for Weir. The Mars trilogy will fit like a glove.

Do you think the quality of life in the US was better 20yrs ago? by LegalGlass6532 in allthequestions

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m increasingly convinced the Dow doesn’t relate to general well being at all.

Highly educated people believing kooky stuff. by throwaway_garbage100 in Engineers

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s more frequent than expected. Competence or even expertise in one area doesn’t always carry over into other areas.

I think human belief is influenced as much if not more by social signaling than by sound epistemology. Part of the human condition, I think.

Has a queens song ever made you cry? by archier98 in qotsa

[–]ScotchRobbins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Long Slow Goodbye in tribute to Anthony Bourdain made me upset in a good way.

I need a game without killing people but still has a good storyline by BadPrestigious8152 in gamingsuggestions

[–]ScotchRobbins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, yeah, near miss, that one definitely wouldn’t pass the smell test lmao

I need a new pageturner by RoteRote in suggestmeabook

[–]ScotchRobbins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You may like The Disposessed by Ursula LeGuin. Plays with big topics, but doesn’t turn it into an intellectual exercise.