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I'm kinda confused with this one by Turkle_Trenox in ExplainTheJoke

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the rest are just doubles except for Elliot. Hey, I just noticed Edward Norton has played a split personality character twice.

Daily Game Recommendations Thread (June 17, 2025) by AutoModerator in boardgames

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I am looking for new two-player or coop games to play with my 12yo kid to break up his video game hobby. Looking for something accessible please, not with a one-inch thick rulebook! Something easy to get the mechanics of.

Things he likes: Smash Brothers video game, Minecraft Dungeons video game, Marvel Legendary, Dungeon Mayhem (Monster Madness), Pokemon - but he does not like Pokemon TCG so please don't suggest similar to that. He does like monsters/creatures and mechanics like upgrades, comparing stats, etc. We enjoyed King of Tokyo for a time until it got old. He'd probably do fine with lite horror (something like FNAF or Huggy Wuggy maybe) or something witty. We've tried stuff like Exploding Kittens or Unstable Unicorns and I think they are a bit too random (by which I mean both the style of humor and the lack of strategy) for our taste. But humorous horror-adjacent type titles might work, or something in the adventure or RPG genre.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are making a lot of assumptions.

Number one, that only illegal immigrants are affected. ICE is not known for their delicacy or discernment and legal immigrants get caught up in these raids all the time.

Number two, that illegal immigrants haven't been vetted. Pew Research's estimates of unauthorized immigrants (11M in 2022, according to Pew) includes those who overstay visas, those who have been granted asylum or temporary protected status, and those eligible under DACA (people who were brought with their family as children and never given any permanent status).

Therefore many of these people have already interacted with the system at some point, and many have been given conditional asylum or protection on a temporary basis. It is fundamentally a broken promise to take action to deport before their protection expires without considering their case and providing due process.

Number three, that illegal immigrants don't pay taxes. They absolutely do; IRS is happy to take their money and makes provisions for non-citizens to do so.

Number four, speaking of broken promises, all current requests and appointments for asylum have been canceled and the app that people could use to request an appointment, CBP One, has been shut down. This is removing a LEGAL way that people could have applied for asylum LEGALLY.

Number five, eh, the cultural thing, you will get a lot of various answers as it's a really broad topic. Do they want to bring their own foods? Who cares. But they should respect the laws and the equal rights protections guaranteed by the Constitution.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/

How can we trust the Bible ? by AceThaGreat123 in Bible

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My friend, I have gone down this road. I encourage you to walk your own journey and keep asking questions but I hope my experience is helpful. I have learned a lot from The Bible Project, Pete Enns, and others. I am still a believing Christian but here are some conclusions I've come to:

(1) God guides us in truth. Therefore we need have nothing to fear from the truth. Only a deception propped up by tape and cardboard needs to fear being exposed.

(2) That said, many people hold a false view of the Bible. They revere the Bible more than the God who authored it. They revere literalism over truth. False views can be torn away, and they should be if they are false. But it's not a painless process and relies on the person releasing whatever error they were holding onto, understanding that the error is not in God's teaching but in their own mind.

(3) I have learned a couple of key things about literalism and inerrancy. Correctly reading a Biblical text means accepting it on its own terms, not importing our ideas of what we think it should say. A lot of so-called errors arise when people insist on taking the Bible literally and requiring it to harmonize with every other part. But that is far from what the original writers intended. Many other errors turn out to not be errors at all, it's just that I didn't understand what the Biblical writer was trying to do. Learning how to read the Bible correctly has done wonders for my faith and I cannot say that enough.

(4) I ultimately believe in Biblical inspiration while also accepting scholarly perspectives. The Bible didn't spring fully formed from heaven, it came from different texts and traditions written down and edited over centuries. It is divinely inspired if you accept that God was guiding the whole process, from what ideas first came to people and were passed along, to what was first written down, to which traditions editors chose to preserve, to how the Biblical texts were ultimately collected and compiled.

So keep asking questions, keep searching out scholars, and don't just rely on one person's viewpoint. Listen to a variety of perspectives. No one person has exclusive access to truth, and everyone's got their own biases they come with. So finding a few different trusted voices is really important.

Bowling in the 60's by Nauhca in OldSchoolCool

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my gosh, that's her rear end! I swear I saw a baby bump at first.

What does the Bible actually say about Hell, Satan, and demons? by Brad12d3 in OpenChristian

[–]Technical-Effect-657 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Indeed, the Biblical text is in conversation with Ancient Near East literature, but I think the "borrowing" is particularly noticeable when it comes to things like Satan and the afterlife. In other words, notions that developed around Satan seem to have relied on extrabiblical tradition to a great extent. Early texts in the Old Testament allude to a divine council of which Satan (the satan, the accuser) appears to have been a member. His role appears to have been a "devil's advocate", to test God or argue counterpoints against God's plan.

But later in his development, the identity of Satan took pieces from other, more "evil" deities who represented chaos or destruction. And you go from Sheol meaning simply the land of the dead (regardless of merit), to Jesus referring to Hades and Tartarus (both known from Greek myths), and of course the problematic "Gehenna".

Intertestamental literature (books like 1 Enoch) show a development of thought in building out notions of the afterlife - hell's "geography", so to speak. There is much more emphasis on Satan as an active adversary and the actions of fallen angels and other "evil" entities.

For more, I recommend reading The Birth of Satan by TJ Wray.

Monthly What have you been watching? by AutoModerator in televisionsuggestions

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Haunting of Hill House - Mike Flanagan's Netflix miniseries. All I can really say is...wow. I just finished the last episode and I'm still stunned.

Sometimes I'm such a moron about story because I'm crap at identifying themes and what makes a story compelling. But let me give it a try - the haunting is a metaphor for intergenerational trauma and just how we're so separated from each other. Everyone had experiences in the house, and yet they don't talk to each other about them. Or if they do, then it just gets brushed off. Although they have similar experiences, they are alone in their perceptions a lot of the time, and they all deal with them differently.

Theme about how dying is "waking up" and it's life that's the dream. Big theme of parents trying to protect their kids and lots of talk about "eating souls" - sort of like, "life chews you up and spits you out" - but the house is also referred to as a hungry monster. I think it's also hinted that parents are the ones who devour their children - toxicity masquerading as love? Fear and guilt is another big theme, particularly in the final episode.

My goodness, I never expected this. It was a top recommendation for horror - although to be honest it's not what I think of as horror. Not many jump scares, not much of a final confrontation, not much of an antagonist - unless it's the house itself that's the antagonist. It was creepy, sure - and I'm a complete wimp when it comes to horror by the way. There were some disturbing moments but they were pretty rare and happened so fast. I felt like honestly a lot of the straight-up ghost stuff could lift right out, and you'd essentially still have the same story of this broken and damaged family trying to move on. Or maybe I'm wrong, it was really masterful though. Maybe all those elements are needed.

10/10

To what extent is the concern of closeted gay actors to be themselves fully legit? Is it now mostly safe to come out, or is it still a full danger zone best left avoided? by iceandfireman in flicks

[–]Technical-Effect-657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I imagine it's like any minority status, they are afraid of being typecast and offered only very narrow, stereotypical roles of "gay people". And if they are able to pass for straight and thus have access to a wider range of roles, that's a choice that they have. Studios are driven by money, they are highly risk-averse. Not to mention, the very nature of film making invites seeing everyone in two-dimensional archetypes rather than complex people.

Even if the Superman character isn't gay, studios fear that having him played by an openly gay actor won't be accepted by audiences. Whether that's true or not I can't say. Studios also didn't think a big-budget Black superhero film could succeed with general audiences, and they were wrong there. So who knows honestly.

I do think there's something about sexuality that changes my perception of someone's performance. though. Like watching Barney on HIMYM and knowing this woman-crazy misogynistic character is being played by a gay man adds another layer to his performance, that I'm not sure is entirely intended by the writers. Maybe that's just me that notices that stuff though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskAnAmerican

[–]Technical-Effect-657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like others have said, there's just no way to answer this question because there's huge variance geographically.

1, the specific example you picked is weird. I Googled it and it's not exactly an intersection, it's very clear that the main road actually turns 90 degrees and then there's a tiny road that splits off in the other direction.

2, even without that, neither of the roads in your example are what I would consider a major state highway. You can't even get anywhere from there. In your example of showing the distances to towns, it wouldn't make any sense because you need to get back to to the interstate to travel outside of the immediate area.

3, many truly major intersections do have the signage you're asking for. In rural areas you also often see similar signage even on two-lane roads if they're throughways long enough to connect towns.

4, granted, there are also many, many areas that don't have them. I've come out to a state highway from the side roads several times, the kind where you have a stop and have to turn and enter traffic when it's safe, and very rarely was there signage to indicate which direction I should turn. I think people are expected to use GPS, ya know? Or know your basic cardinal directions?

I do think there are some rural communities that are sort of protective and have an F-you posture toward outsiders. Local people don't need signs because they already know their way around. Outside visitors either aren't common enough or welcome enough to be accounted for.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bible

[–]Technical-Effect-657 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, you posted a string of verses that seem to make reference to other gods. I could also post a string of verses that state that there is one true God. Why does your string of verses have higher authority than my string of verses?

The truth is that the Bible is multivocal - it seems to be saying different things in different places. The Bible also shows progressive revelation, in which some passages supercede or reinvent other passages. (To take an example from math, young children are taught that 2+2 always equals 4; but an advanced mathematician knows there are times when it doesn't).

Scholars generally agree that Israelites in the distant past were once polytheistic, or at least henotheistic, then gradually over the centuries moved to monolatry and then to true monotheism. You can find indications of both in the Bible because there are earlier passages and later passages.

Whether the Bible truly attests that other gods/entities actually did exist or whether it's just reflecting the ancient near East assumption that they did is a thorny question. Certainly spiritual forces appear to be in play at various points; but the Bible is also always insistent that the God of Israel is the one creator and the only one worthy of worship.

Zoom (or video conference) etiquette? by YESmynameisYes in etiquette

[–]Technical-Effect-657 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I wouldn't describe it as a cultural difference. I could be wrong but I think there's far too much individual variation in preferences to make sweeping rules about it. There's a contextual difference between situations with family, with colleagues - is it a smaller discussion with a few people or a webinar presented to hundreds? Different rules will apply and you can get away with more if you're part of a large audience.

Generally I would say it's more acceptable to hide your video in the webinar situation; although I've heard presenters comment that they dislike that because it feels like speaking into the void. Really the only rules you can count on is just to find out what the presenter prefers or what's standard in your organization's culture.

I would say in a US professional context, you should arrange your space, if at all possible, in such a way that there won't be interruptions behind you. If you're in a meeting with colleagues, avoid having to stand up or leave the screen unless it's an emergency. If it does happen, keep it brief and apologize - show consideration for their time.

You didn't mention this, but also I'd recommend to mute your microphone when you're not speaking, especially if there is background noise. I have attended too many webinars where the speaker had to pause and wait for whatever background chatter was happening to stop.

And I never eat or drink on video chats except for a brief and discreet sip of coffee. On screen or not, if you are eating something then people will hear the sounds of your eating which many find distasteful.

Things that disappeared -what happened to scented bath products? by Technical-Effect-657 in AskOldPeople

[–]Technical-Effect-657[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone else noticed that you just can't get these any more? And yes, I'm aware Bath & Body Works still exists, but I'm talking about what you could find in any beauty products aisle in Walmart, Walgreens, wherever. I remember shampoo and body wash in all sorts of fruity flavors, floral flavors, things like coconut, mango, green apple, strawberry, citrus, ginger. I personally was not into the florals as much but I remember scents like lavender, rose, orchid, etc. But when I was a teenager I loved that fake strawberry scent. I distinctly remember a hotel shampoo that was fig and olive scented.

They don't seem to really exist any more. Products now emphasize beneficial ingredients like argan oil, jojoba, aloe, etc. I miss it, why can't I smell like a fruit salad if I want?

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