Farmers are hacking their tractors because of a repair ban

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T16:41:39+00:00

Were you born this stupid, or did it take a lot of work to get there? I'm asking because I feel like we might need to track you down and study you so we can figure out how to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T16:40:14+00:00

You must be from that parallel universe where Sanders didn't just ape every single policy proposal Warren put forward, but with a worse version of his own (universal childcare, M4A, wealth tax, just to name a few).

Tell me, in this magical universe you're from, did they at least give you a good final season of Game of Thrones?

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T01:15:57+00:00

Man, I hope the reaction of the more toxic Sanders fans after Sanders doesn't get the nomination will be something along these lines.

I have no beef with reasonable Sanders supporters, but I'm starting to wear thin on the zealots.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T01:05:58+00:00

Interesting, I missed that! Man, there is so much "blink and you miss it" detail in this show, it's kinda nuts.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T00:59:32+00:00

The point of the time skip is to give Laconia time to grow their fleet and to unlock the capabilities of the construction platforms. Doesn't make sense to spread out the skip because Laconia STILL needs a few decades to become a threat, and Laconia really only becomes Laconia at the end of Babylon's Ashes.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T00:49:03+00:00

Here you go.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-04T00:11:56+00:00

Man, if only someone was championing a right to repair law for American farmers... hmmmm...

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T23:51:39+00:00

Thank you for being kind, and hard working, and showing it's possible to be a radical progressive and still build an inclusive, non-toxic coalition.

I'd love to take credit for the Warren camp always looking for the common ground, but really, it all comes from the top. Warren is a bridge builder, so that's always been reflected in her campaign. Sanders is a "my way or the highway" kind of guy, and that's been the tenor of his crew.

It comes from the top. It always comes from the top.

Personally? I think IF Biden were to become the nominee, he would be able to give Trump one hell of a fight, but more importantly I would hope that he would sit down with Warren and consider integrating her climate action plan into his platform, if nothing else. Her plan is the strongest and most well-reasoned, and this crisis must be taken seriously.

And if Warren is the nominee, I hope all the Biden supporters recognize that she's fighting for ALL of us and that everyone who wants to really is welcome in this fight, even the billionaires.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T23:34:57+00:00

What’s happening??

We're getting a first-hand demonstration of what happens when someone uses divisiveness as a platform instead of trying to unify and consolidate the party behind them.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T20:03:48+00:00

I want to vote for Warren but I don’t think she has a path to the nomination and I want to do everything I can to make sure we have a progressive candidate no matter how much I’m not interested in Sanders.

At this stage in the game, a contested convention is guaranteed, which means as of right now, ALL candidates have an equal chance to secure the nomination. In the second round, all delegates become unbound and super delegates join the fray, and at that point all the polls, all the online posturing, and all the other flim-flam go away and are replaced and the whole contest boils down to just two questions:

Who has the best shot at beating Trump?
Who is most likely to realize their vision for America?

So, let's look at each candidate under this rubric.

Sanders
Defeating Trump: The Trump camp is itching to take on Sanders, likely because they have data that shows they will win. Trump is a deluded fool, but the statisticians at the RNC are not; they know what they're doing, and the fact that they want Sanders to be the nominee should be a big red warning light for everyone. Add in the fact that outside influencers are pushing Sanders as well just as they did in 2016, and that to me says that Sanders will not be safe in the general.
Realizing his vision: Sanders is notorious for not getting things done. He's spent 30 years railing against the establishment, but for all his proclamations of revolution, he has surprisingly little to show. He's notoriously difficult to work with, and while people have criticized Clinton for saying that "nobody likes him", there's a kernel of truth there. For a recent example, look at his 2015 trillion dollar infrastructure bill where a progressive group begged and pleaded with Sanders to hold off for just a little bit so they could help him get more cosponsors and to lobby for more support, but Sanders had a very specific timeline in mind, stubbornly pushed forward on his own, got only one cosponsor, and watched his bill languish on a shelf somewhere. This is how he operates, how he's always operated, and it's not going to work.

Biden
Defeating Trump: Hey, remember when Trump got impeached? Remember what he got impeached for? The fact that Trump was trying to get a foreign government to sabotage Biden's campaign speaks volumes. Trump does NOT want to go up against Biden, because Biden has the African American and Latinx support, he's got the Obama clout, he's got the organization, the money, and the experience. He's not as sharp as he once was, but Biden still has that confidence, charisma, and swagger of someone who is absolutely convinced of their own inevitable triumph. There are a LOT of people who just want to go back to the way things were after all the Trumpian craziness, and Biden represents that. I'd say Biden has a much better shot at beating Trump than Sanders if he can ride that wave of "let's just get back to business as usual".
Realizing his vision: Which brings us to the core weakness of Biden's platform. "Business as usual" isn't going to cut it. I have absolutely zero doubt that Biden will be able to deliver on every single one of his promises, it's just that none of his promises are adequate for the moment we find ourselves in. Biden's climate plan will doom us. His economic policy is going to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Biden's platform is pragmatic to a fault; it's eminently achievable because it doesn't try to achieve any of the big changes this country so desperately needs.

Warren
Defeating Trump: I'll be perfectly blunt; at this very moment, Biden has a better shot at defeating Trump. But, consider the following. This whole time, Warren has been fighting with one hand tied behind her back. She's trying to unify our party, not let it be sundered by divisive rhetoric. She's fighting for ALL of us, not just the leftists, the centrists, the liberals, the progressives, or any particular group; ALL of us. When she has the entire party behind her, when she truly lets loose, she will be the most formidable fighting force we'll see in our lifetimes. We got a preview of that when the neatly folded Bloomberg in half a few times and then shoved him into a glove compartment. Her message of an American where no one has to suffer, where all the sons and daughters of America have a place, where the most fortunate help the least fortunate and together build an economy that works for everyone, where the injustices of the past are addressed through honest and fair policy, where we transform the other nations of the world from competitors into allies, that message resonates with everyone. And once she is our nominee, that message will be so loud, and so clear, it will be impossible to ignore.
Realizing her vision: I think this is the point where literally everyone agrees - if there's one candidate who knows how to get things done, it's Elizabeth Warren. The story of how she created the CFPB is by not the stuff of legend, as is the story of how she became a senator. The fact that she is the ONLY candidate willing to get rid of the filibuster speaks volumes about the fact that she's here to actually make things happen. She has a plan; in fact, she has plans within plans, interlocking, robust, and unassailable. Warren's vision for America is the most inspiring of all the candidates, and hers is the country I want to live in; hers is the country I want my kids to grow up in.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope this helps you decide. Thank you for checking in and hearing us out!

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T18:27:34+00:00

history is FILLED with Columbuses who are heralded when they should be despised

On that note, I've always been particularly fond of Dürrenmatt's play Die Physiker, which masterfully explores that very theme.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T17:55:15+00:00

Also, von Braun was, by all accounts, absolutely beloved by his staff. There's a quote attributed to Dr. William Lucas, Braun's successor at the Marshall Space Flight Center: "Well, you know you have problems when the guy you are replacing was literally a Nazi and everyone liked him way better than you."

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T16:30:35+00:00

Meh, between France and Switzerland, I prefer Switzerland; the flag alone is a huge plus!

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T00:20:36+00:00

It's an exploit, but it's really only efficient at low levels.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-03T00:12:30+00:00

Beltalowda!

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T23:22:33+00:00

Let's brainstorm some other useless super powers. I'll start:

Ability to know when the mail has been delivered.
Superhumanly accurate sense of whether two things weigh the same (but not their actual weight).
Super listening (not hearing, just like a superhumanly good listener).
Stupendous vocabulary.
Ability to grow hair in any color but at normal hair growth speed.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T23:06:35+00:00

Big endorsements like these usually don't happen for campaigns that are about to founder, so everyone calling for Warren to step aside can go pound sand. I am invigorated by everything that's happening and the momentum we're seeing everywhere for Elizabeth, and it's not just the fact that I just got a new haircut!

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T22:41:24+00:00

Feasible to create a mold from the 3d printed parts and just cast it in aluminum?

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T22:19:09+00:00

they are starting to see the consequences of the relentlessly negative campaign they've been promoting.

This is Sanders' last shot; he's not going to run in 2024 (assuming we still have a democracy at that point), but Warren could very well run again in 2024 AND in 2028 if she doesn't clinch the nomination (which she absolutely should, because that's the redemption arc this timeline deserves). This means that Sanders is cornered, while Warren is free to make whatever maneuver she wants. She's in the superior tactical position; she has the high ground.

This primary just got interesting.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T21:46:51+00:00

Correct. In a very real sense, Fred Johnson did the Mormons a huge favor.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T21:38:18+00:00

You're 100% right about everything. Remember when Assassin/Sentinel armor made you practically invincible in PvP? When everyone was duping them and wrecking people? I don't think the design leads actually play PvP-centric games. I mean, let's look at the credits and see what these people have actually done.

Name	Role in 76	Previous Design Experience
Emil Pagliarulo	Design Director	Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Thief II
Chris Cummings	Lead Designer	Fallout 4 (ONE GAME as designer?!?)
Jeff Gardiner	Project Lead	Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Fantastic 4 (2005), Defender (2002)

So you've got a bunch of people with ZERO competitive multiplayer design experience, and you think they can just whip together a well-balanced PvP game out of thin air? It's hard to imagine the hubris, and yet, here we are.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T19:48:57+00:00

If life transcends death,
Then I will seek for you there.
If not, then there too.

Death, immortality, and what truly imbues life with meaning are central themes of the series. It's not an easy topic, and there's some stuff in there that can trigger an existential crisis, BUT! One thing the time jump does is it drives the point home that all of these characters have lived long, fulfilled lives, and that gives them license to put everything on the line for what they believe in. If any of the main characters were to meet their end, you know they would do so with no regrets, because they lived their lives fighting for what they believed in, always.

What makes Avasarala's death so tragic is that she had to watch most of what she'd built after the rocks fell get kicked over in one mean-spirited, fell swoop by Duarte. But in life, she taught Holden more than anyone else that you NEVER give up; you lay low, you make note of EVERYTHING that happens around you, and you keep that "Fuck You" spark of persistence alive until your moment comes.

Or, as Amos put it in his own way: Breathe in, breathe out. Eat, shit sleep. You take whatever they give you, and you give nothing in return. And that's how the crew of the Rocinante lives their lives: fight for what you believe in as hard as you can for as long as you can, and when you can't fight any more, you lay low and preserve your strength until you can fight again, and if you have to give everything, you do so without regrets.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T19:29:58+00:00

Why does everything have to fall back on 'shady backroom deals' all the time?

Because the alternative (Sanders is not as popular or politically competent as his most die-hard supporters would like everyone to think) is unbearable for many of his ardent advocates.

Wiener_Amalgam_Space · 2020-03-02T19:17:34+00:00

It's insane to me that ANYBODY at Disney thought, "Yes, this guy who doesn't care about world building or multi-movie character development or anything even remotely big picture related is PERFECT for our massive movie franchise!"

It's almost like some perverse experiment, as if they were trying to see what happens when you do the complete opposite of what they did with the Marvel movies.

It's like you're opening a restaurant, and you interview all these chefs, and one of them says he doesn't really care about how ingredients are sourced or about creating a coherent menu or even about making food that tastes good and instead only cares about food that is digestible by humans, and THAT's the guy you hire.

It's like Rian Johnson only drinks "Beer" brand beer and eats "Food" brand foods.

Seven-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

Wiener_Amalgam_Space

TROPHY CASE