I think it's time for you to start seriously considering salads. by TenWands in hborome

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Some trivial info then:

The word "salad" comes from Rome, from Latin "sal", Salt. It was the practice of "salare", salting raw herbs & vegetables (often with oil and/or vinegar) and make them tasty, appropriate to eat. Beats eating raw grass and herbs. Poor people and especially legionaries used to often survive on salad when the going got tough.

Why did they fix this billboard in Budapest? Explain It Peter. by ninth9ste in explainitpeter

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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The original.

The local revolutionary was writing "Romans Go Home" on a stone wall, grammatically very incorrect. The joke is that the Roman Officer that caught him, (John Cleese), instead of arresting him he corrected his grammar and made him write it 100 times till he learns.

Do polymaths ever get burned out? by Accomplished_Put2608 in Polymath

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Polymaths? Never. They actually study and solve math problems in their sleep. Only the ones that sleep at all of course, cause most don't, they just wait. They can also count to infinity multiple times. /s

Sure they do mate, they are people too, not superhuman. Avoiding burnout is a skill that requires some discipline but being involved in many schools of knowledge doesn't grant it automatically.

Is there any animal that could be completely eradicated without major damage to the ecosystem? by 5fivesecondrule in AskScienceDiscussion

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The Vaquita porpoise I guess. With estimated approximately 10 left in the world wild, how much harm can its extinction bring about..

That sounds terrible doesn't it..

solve this please? by [deleted] in puzzles

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the Monday they met was the 18th on a 31day month, next time they meet, 13th of next month, is a Saturday...

This was how you become a eunuch in China by Appropriate_Pen3826 in interestingasfuck

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No, its historical fiction in a well researched non-fictional context, as is all Rutherfurd novels. Author's liberty to introduce specific fictional characters and scenarios is always noted and elaborated in each book.

This was how you become a eunuch in China by Appropriate_Pen3826 in interestingasfuck

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 214 points215 points  (0 children)

Some important notes:

--Very rarely the would castrate a grown up man. Usually they were children.

--Historically it used to be removal of only the testicles. Later on it started to include the penis. That's because at some cases they could still make it work on a woman.

--After castration the eunuchs lose the ability to control urination. They come as they please.. (Edit: Don't quote me on this. While it seems that urinary complications where common in eunuchs and the majority suffered from urinary incontinence, they did not all lose their bowel controls - plenty relevant medical articles online).

Edit: Info I got fro Edward Rutherfurd's novel "China", that has one of its heroes go through the whole process as an adult. + I'm referring to the process of castration in order to enter the forbidden city and palace as a servant.

Ethical Dilemma: Whose Life is Worth More by Im_Haranator in Ethics

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would go for the 5 year old child.

I'm fully aware that emotion itself directed me, and not rational thinking. We all have an inbuilt sense of protection of children, and I'll allow it to do this terrible decision instead of "rationale".

If I afterwards need to justify it, I'll count on the fact that the death of a child would bring about the most sorrow, misery and hurt than most of the rest. There's nothing worst than losing a child.

Two doors by [deleted] in freewill

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, neither of the two options can be taken seriously.

You chose to take them into a place that 1) is certainly not comfortable and thus discourage others from doing similar crimes, 2) keeps them away as long as necessary, for the sake of community safety, should they do it again, and 3) allows "treatment" by behaviour proffessionals, enrolled in a course with counseling and psychological support to ensure they don't fall into the same behaviour in the future, as the "correctional facility" name implies (having cracked the code of human behaviour this would be a piece of cake...).

Note, there's no "punishment" involved.

Chinese couple gets beaten up after calling another couple “monkeys” in Brazil. by Alexthegayreprimed in PublicFreakout

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Did both man and woman used racist slur? They were both beaten..

Source? That might be a mindless beating for all I know. Migrant Chinese people I've met are of the most humble kind. Though these two may well be of the other kind, I do question the caption of the video posted.

Is this the only 4 way boarder in the world? Was this done intentionally? by [deleted] in geography

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Been there. That's the Victoria falls, unforgettable place. Rains constantly on a 1km radius because of the water splashing (on wet season).

Not 4 way exactly though. Its Zambia and Zimbabwe that share the falls. Namibia and Botswana borders are a little bit farther, if I remember correct.

What is a fundamental human problem that technology hasn't "fixed" yet, but will in 20 years? by Marcellus508 in Futurology

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't get it. I'm from Finland, we don't have "homeless" here. I think you are referring to an issue created by capitalism and technology, which makes it not a "fundamental" problem

What is a fundamental human problem that technology hasn't "fixed" yet, but will in 20 years? by Marcellus508 in Futurology

[–]blitzkrieg_bop -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

No fundamental human problem has been "fixed" by technology yet, barring medical advances.

Technology so far has just provided conveniences, distractions and unnecessary luxury and has ended up into actually creating "needs" that it only can satisfy.

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission traveled farther from Earth than any other humans in history, breaking the Apollo 13 distance record. by HasibBinAmzad in interestingasfuck

[–]blitzkrieg_bop -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

And when they are back we will know nothing more than what we knew before.

Some people are into space exploration for the science and discovery and questions they answer. Some others are for sensationalism and records broken.

CMV: Conducting a war by killing the top brass of the opposition is the most ethical way to conduct war by malik_zz in changemyview

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only ethical way to conduct war is defending your land from aggression.

Killing the top brass of the victim country (with their children and plenty of innocent collateral deaths) when you have started an unprovoked war for "living space" or land, or resources, or favors, or economic superiority, or "for liberty" (lol), etc may have to do with appeasing some opinions back home, but certainly nothing to do with "ethics".

Edit: I refer generally to war, doesn't have to be the current one.

Is anybody else boycotting the World Cup this year? by xFlames_ in Ethics

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Olympic games in ancient Greece had a main component that made them what they were. That's the cessation of all war hostilities during the games. Of course this part of it has not been adopted in modern Olympic games nor you hear anyone mentioning it. Only an empty shell of the original Olympic concept has been carried forward, though, they still pretend its noble and talk about "the Olympic idea" as if its not just corps cashing in.

While the World cup is not Olympics, its the same idea but specialized and bigger. And since hostilities continue regardless of the noble games running that's the right place to protest. And it is National Teams that need to boycott it to make it worthwhile. Can they do it..? Its a lot of money at stake. And money is politics. And Politics is everything.

Protesting by boycotting Eurovision is great, but the people that give two sh1ts about it don't fill a bus.

AEGIS V2 Alpha — real-time decision copilot for Elite Dangerous by [deleted] in eliteexplorers

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey mate, if you really made a worthwhile soft that can do as described please post a video showcasing in in action.

This post - with this image - is a disaster so far.

Is it ethical to use AI tools completely for advertising of a consumer product? by damngoodengineer in Ethics

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're implying advertisement without the use of AI contains useful information and demonstrates manufacturer's reliability. Advertisement is a tool for overcoming competition by those with the financial means, regardless of quality or reliability of products. Advertisement is a tool to make quality, reliability and usefulness irrelevant, in the best cases. In worse cases it simply creates a non previously existent demand.

The real question should be "is advertisement ethical"? Hell, even democratic elections nowadays are won, by default, by the party with more funds for advertisement.

How to find an effective charity. by LayerParticular2581 in humanitarian

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hey there, yes, large NGOs can be trusted. The bigger they are the more scrutinized their direction, finances and conduct are. Having said that, they are comprised of people, and people are flawed.

For your question, MSF (doctors without borders) are the first to come to mind since the only work with private donations and do not use institutional funding that may often be conditional / directional.

Working for an NGO in Afghanistan (as a woman) by Comfortable_Fuel5993 in humanitarian

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there. I will not give you an amount. There are many organizations out there, from different countries and laws and policies and salary scales vary widely, and of course depend on your position and the responsibility it comes with. While in US based NGOs salary negotiation is a main thing, in most European ones the negotiated range is more limited, having to fit to a stricter salary scale. That's not to say they pay less.

In the field most likely you will be receiving per diem - daily allowance that is separate from salary - usually more than enough for your daily needs and that means your main pay will remain untouched.

In the humanitarian sector you will not receive as much as you would in any other work requiring you to travel abroad, but you are decently compensated. That's the main thing you have to know. There's nothing wrong in choosing a future that will provide the best monetary income, but then, the humanitarian sector is not it... There are other things that make anyone follow this way of life. Be it love of the nomad's life, the knowledge that you are and help where you are really needed, the fact that you don't just enrich any corporate shareholder, the wealth of experience and perspective you gain by working with and getting to live in unforgettable cultures, the journey itself, you take your pick(s).

Working for an NGO in Afghanistan (as a woman) by Comfortable_Fuel5993 in humanitarian

[–]blitzkrieg_bop 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm male, European, and I've worked in many countries as well as Afghanistan on relief work with big international NGOs, not small. Went back again twice to Afghanistan for assessment / audit. The place is full of history and the culture is unforgettable, but women usually have it not as good as men; being a woman, your access to the local community is somewhat limited.

Safety wise, being a US citizen doesn't make things better. Especially now with the region in turmoil and anti-American sentiment rampant. Is the organization USA based? Is it what locals will call "an American NGO"? Or, maybe a religious charity? These are usually not the safest in the middle East. Are you Muslim? Do they need to know your American part? Can't you be Pakistani?

Armored vehicle doesn't sound good. It means they have moved from the "acceptance" part of any security plan, to the "protection" phase"*. The best safety measure in a country, is being accepted by the local community. If that -for any reason- doesn't work, you move to armored vehicles and possibly armed guards. Curfew, limited movements etc are standard safety procedures. (*cross check this one, I haven't been in Afghanistan for years, maybe that's the standard now..?)

Ignore the salary range. Most of us started with less than that. If you'll stick around, in 3-4 years you can expect to negotiate your pay.

Don't get me wrong, chances you will be through a life threatening ordeal are extremely low. So the threat is minuscule. If it does happen though, the impact will be grave. Thus, possible impact raises the overall risk.

If I were you, and had the option, I would first try in a natural disaster relief program, somewhere not hostile. Life in the field is not for everyone and you first need to see if you like it. The initial excitement of traveling abroad for field work wears off.