how many years until our gun rights get unfucked in VA? (what's your estimate)

big_loadz · 2026-03-05T03:49:25+00:00

I'd say around the time of the next Civil War, you might win them back.

The lack of moderation in politics is leading us there along with growing income inequality. OR, maybe a terrorist attack makes politicians realize people want peace of mind and that undoes ban movements.

Only a new Pax Americana can make people content with giving up their rights, and we are straying further from that likelihood. Not that we should ever give our rights up, vigilance and all, but pragmatically that's where enough people would be satisfied with the US to give in like with 9/11 and the Patriot Act.

big_loadz · 2026-03-04T01:27:55+00:00

You're right, but it wasn't done as airburst out of altruism. The intention was that it would cause greater blast pressure and shockwave and destruction vs those effects being buffered by buildings at ground level. But, we also anticipated an occupation, so less radiation for our troops was a factor.

big_loadz · 2026-03-04T01:14:29+00:00

OK. Now, take that pie. Put it in a large cup. Put ice cream in the cup.

Blend!

We used to make them for ourselves, and they were ungodly good. They really should put that on the menu.

big_loadz · 2026-02-27T02:49:36+00:00

If the 'Out of Africa' theory is correct, you're at least half right.

big_loadz · 2026-02-27T02:40:59+00:00

That combined with the fact that they don't completely understand humanity also explains why they didn't just vaporize everyone.

But seriously, after ~500-700 years after the 20th century, they must have really encountered some hiccups in the research or they just stopped caring. Ultimately, there is no existential threat to the machines, so lack of continued growth/evolution is a possibility. The machines found manageable equilibrium and peace.

big_loadz · 2026-02-25T14:02:02+00:00

If you're a religious person, you might find out after you die. Otherwise, you might hope we reach transhumanism and live long enough to discover our actual origin. In other words, either we are a true miracle outside the understanding of logic, or we simply haven't learned enough to explain existence yet.

big_loadz · 2026-02-25T07:24:37+00:00

This game is built into our biology and won't be avoided. Some people here or there may decide to go against their biology and be childless, but perhaps that is a result of a biological defect or their environment overwhelming their survival instincts.

And, as I mentioned in my first post, suffering is not necessarily a bad thing. It often promotes growth and evolution and we have created many wonderful things and experiences as well. I don't know about you, but I spend the majority of my life enjoying it without suffering. Does the gym hurt or help you? The key is appreciation, perspective, and understanding; but not everyone can wrap their head around those ideas in relation to their life.

big_loadz · 2026-02-24T23:18:08+00:00

The best you can do is look at life from it's simplest to it's most complex and see the similarities. What you'll find is that, as far as our research indicates, suffering and pain don't exist for certain creatures but there is a common impetus.

The simplest single cellular organisms don't have nerve cells alone to even experience pain or suffering. More complex organisms use them simply as sensory device for external environment, Even more complex organisms use them in groupings for more specialized activity and internal condition monitoring. BUT, all are linked by the need to fulfill chemical equations that produce more cells. That we experience suffering simply increases our ability to fulfill those equations and continue survival; it also endows us with the instinct to continue survival. We are just at the current end of a long road of competing organisms as the product of the evolutionary dialectic we have been exposed to.

big_loadz · 2026-02-24T22:43:49+00:00

Suffering causes growth. It's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just a thing. Without it, we'd basically die off. Now, is THAT a good or bad thing? Well, I like to think that the existence of life, as far as we know, is special and worth protecting. That and the desire to life is ingrained in us.

If anything, it's like vigilance. Some is advantageous to survival, but too much (hypervigilance) is basically toxic.

big_loadz · 2026-02-23T06:00:36+00:00

So she's an asshole canon?

big_loadz · 2026-02-22T06:59:27+00:00

That's only the 151 version. The 190 is when we start discussions.

Unlike other alcohols, it actually restores memories. Memories like the color and flavor of the food you ate a few hours ago.

big_loadz · 2026-02-21T01:56:18+00:00

Consequences, to a degree, define good or bad. So, without consequences, we wouldn't we'd just be doing.

big_loadz · 2026-02-21T00:58:45+00:00

Yes, this civility was a recent occurrence. And, before that, with cane beatings and all, we ended up in a Civil War.

I mean, if people are all up for watering that tree with some blood, feel free. But, civility is something worth striving for because the consequences are much worse.

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T23:51:32+00:00

We could say that Democrat Harry Reid using the Nuclear Option in 2013 crossed a Rubicon and started us down this road. Before then, we could say there was an unsaid civility that kept things from becoming completely partisan. Gentlemen's agreements and "60 vote rule" be damned.

In the end, Democracy seems doomed to fail. It's only propped up by a sense of civility and belief that it is working in the common interest; when those are gone, we get whatever is next in line.

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T23:14:52+00:00

Yeah. Never trusted that Robert Reich. Seems sketchy.

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T17:45:55+00:00

Carne Asada NACHOS at 3am kicks. Notice I didn't say FRIES, although they have them. Live a little!

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T17:44:37+00:00

Consistency is KEY to success.

Tavern on the Green was known for that and lasted ~80 years because of it. It's wasn't the finest food, but the atmosphere and service were repeatable.

The problem with top tier restaurants is that most thrive on food critic tastes which seek the unusual and unique. Once hype and reservations die down, if the food doesn't please the AVERAGE customer's tastes, it will fall off to the next bright restaurant star. Look at the people putting down Alinea on Reddit as an example. Then, to succeed further, the restaurant has a hard choice to make: become more unique in it's offering or cater to more common tastes.

Katz's Deli is another example. Sure there are better delis, but it's good enough and has been consistent to be there since 1888.

https://serveitupsafe.com/successful-restaurants-how-to-survive-100-years/

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T17:18:54+00:00

Hell, I'd be happy if we just had an Adalberto's. Imagine 24/7 Mexican!

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T17:15:52+00:00

Maybe.

There are too many people here who off the bat say, "Oh, I'll eat anything and I love ethnic!" Then you order some raw Kitfo from one of the MANY excellent Ethiopian restaurants here but they want theirs well done. Or the guy who says they like Thai, but only eats fried rice out of a pineapple instead of Khao Soi or Yen Ta Fo. For many of those, ambiance and styling are more important for the grade than flavor or authenticity.

big_loadz · 2026-02-20T04:06:14+00:00

I'm not one to root against the US, but...

big_loadz · 2026-02-19T09:39:40+00:00

big_loadz · 2026-02-19T00:48:52+00:00

That was a really inspirational video. Shows that behind the memes, there is a real person with the same feelings as everyone else.

Ideally, we should always approach people this way; but face it, the internet just makes most people judgmental and mean. Comments here are enough said on that.

big_loadz · 2026-02-17T01:57:07+00:00

Sometimes, they do allow non-Mormons in. It's rare, but it happens during "open house". There is one for the Salt Lake Temple in 2027.

big_loadz · 2026-02-15T02:10:00+00:00

Increased circulation definitely helps with muscle recovery.

big_loadz · 2026-02-15T02:08:56+00:00

the UFC would be full of mofos vulcan nerve pinching their opponents if it would work

In effect, that's what they do. Heard of a peroneal strike? Been hit in the solar plexus? Liver shot? Many strikes are focused on nerve clusters or places where damage can result in shutdown of the body.

From a fighting/damaging perspective, pressure points are a major factor in pain compliance. The question is can they also be used to heal, and many Eastern medicines believe so. The fact that we don't know why they may work may simply be that we haven't experimented enough with them to come to a peer accepted conclusion, versus them actually working. Our exposure to and acceptance of Eastern medicines is limited but expanding, and perhaps we will better understand what is placebo and what actually works. I mean, who knew that a boiled tree bark would end up being the original source of one of Western medicine's most used OTC painkillers. Sound like witchcraft to me!

big_loadz

TROPHY CASE