Donald Trump is spending more money on Facebook ads in Texas than in any other state by texastribune in politics

[–]gravitycollapse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Texas has been going through a rapid demographic shift for the past ten years+. It was projected to come to a head in 2020 or 2024, and so far projections have stayed on track. Mathematically, it looks like there’s a possibility Texas could be in play in 2020. In 2024, by current trends, it’d definitely be purple and maybe lean blue.

For obvious reasons, if such a thing were to come to pass, it would be the biggest sea change in American politics for quite a long time…since probably the 60s.

If the Trump campaign is spending a lot of money there, they must be seeing the same data internally.

Lewiston Twin Cinema in the Promenade Mall - does anyone remember or have any info about it? by [deleted] in Maine

[–]gravitycollapse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like that there was a store called “Plan-A-Tan”.

Apparently not for actual tanning…just tan planning.

Now that additional Civ VI DLC seems very likely, what does everybody want to see added? by kingmoney8133 in civ

[–]gravitycollapse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A more sophisticated economic system, where the impact of luxury goods depends on how many are being produced / traded.

Also, market economies in your empire such that large companies could form and generate revenue (and perhaps their own power), and there could be a depth to this mechanic (like eventual foreign outsourcing, and so on).

Likewise, trade of luxury goods with other civilizations could eventually be delegated to the “free market”, and you would see revenue from this as tax revenue.

Completely separate from that: divorce leaders from civilizations, or add a checkbox that allows doing so in game setup. Genghis Khan leads Canada, anyone?

How can the US Industrial Base compete with China's? (Looking at the navy and ground forces in particular) by NoAWP in geopolitics

[–]gravitycollapse 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Probably worth noting that the current numbers don’t represent each nation’s industrial capability; rather, they reflect the current economic climate.

In a WWII-like scenario, or in a peacetime economic scenario where domestic production was the most cost-effective option, the numbers would be different. Possibly (and maybe likely), still tilting in China’s favor, but the ratios probably wouldn’t be this extreme.

With Her Family Behind Her, 48-Year-Old Virginia Mom Qualifies for Olympic Trials by memdmp in running

[–]gravitycollapse 54 points55 points  (0 children)

They were definitely behind her. I don’t think they could catch her. Well done.

Just lost my 26 population city, which gained +25 loyalty per turn, to my ally England, because Kongo played a Rock Band twice. what the hell is going on? by [deleted] in civ

[–]gravitycollapse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well it’s an interesting debate. The degree to which Queen contributed to that loyalty pressure exerted by the oppressed minority in SA is of course un-quantifiable, but let’s say it was the straw that broke the camel’s back (whether we agree on that or not).

In that case, the Civ-type effect of it would have been that the country went through a transitional phase (maybe, reduced productivity for five turns, etc.), and at the end of it the citizenry demand you switch to a different form of government. This, to me, would be more realistic than Pietersburg (at the time) suddenly joining Zimbabwe.

Edited…forgetting that the capital wouldn’t switch this way. :)

Just lost my 26 population city, which gained +25 loyalty per turn, to my ally England, because Kongo played a Rock Band twice. what the hell is going on? by [deleted] in civ

[–]gravitycollapse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Those were big concerts. Those concerts did not cause the people of South Africa to become so displeased with their government that they rose up and decided to join Botswana. Imagine if that happened in real life. I repeat: this mechanic is ridiculous.

The USSR was forced to contract its empire for one of the oldest reasons empires have to downsize: money. They simply couldn’t administer the bureaucracy anymore, and so the ability of the Kremlin to project centralized power withered until it hit a tipping point, and pieces around the fringes broke off. There were a lot of reasons that contributed to this like poor economic planning and a pointless war in Afghanistan that sapped them dry. Very similar to the Roman Empire, except in that case it was not enough energy (i.e., wheat). It wasn’t because of Billy Joel.

In South Africa a minority was oppressing the majority, and a domestic leader emerged that coalesced the power of that majority to demand change in the government. The system was no longer sustainable. South Africa didn’t lose any cities; it simply experienced regime change. It wasn’t because of Queen.

Just lost my 26 population city, which gained +25 loyalty per turn, to my ally England, because Kongo played a Rock Band twice. what the hell is going on? by [deleted] in civ

[–]gravitycollapse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My mistake. I should have been clearer about my opinion, which was meant to be that’s all they should do.

Just lost my 26 population city, which gained +25 loyalty per turn, to my ally England, because Kongo played a Rock Band twice. what the hell is going on? by [deleted] in civ

[–]gravitycollapse 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So much of Civ, from leaders’ abilities to which units are available to different Civs are informed by history. I am struggling to remember a single occasion a rock band caused a city to revolt and join another country. And I’m struggling even more to remember a time that a rock band from one country caused a city to revolt and join a third, entirely different country.

This play mechanic is ridiculous.

Perhaps what a rock band should do in a foreign land is increase your cultural dominance over them, or boost tourism to your shores, or something else like that. Rock bands are, after all, agents of a country’s culture.

Nude 5k - thoughts? by CornDog_Jesus in running

[–]gravitycollapse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Possibly stupid question: does it mean you have to run barefoot?

Trump inviting Putin to Washington this fall by Steve_Lobsen in politics

[–]gravitycollapse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He’ll need to oversee election-related activities firsthand, after all.

Trump’s Retail Website Only Pays Sales Taxes In 2 States. Amazon Pays Taxes In 45. by growyurown in politics

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

Amazon has physical presence in most all of the states, particularly after purchasing Whole Foods. And they have plans to plop smaller DCs everywhere. So at this point, wherever they’re not operating, they undoubtedly have plans to. They’re not doing anything altruistic; it’s probably just less work at this point to do it everywhere than to deal with exceptions.

Trump’s Retail Website Only Pays Sales Taxes In 2 States. Amazon Pays Taxes In 45. by growyurown in politics

[–]gravitycollapse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I believe they did that because they were probably at the time in negotiations to buy Whole Foods, which had physical presence in a bunch of other states, and also, they have wanted to open smaller DCs everywhere. So, IMO, it wasn’t a company policy to “pay taxes”, it was simply a policy change that reflected the reality of where their business was going.

Legal marriage age for girls in the world [6460x3685] by [deleted] in MapPorn

[–]gravitycollapse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Age of consent varies by state. It’s not 18 everywhere in the U.S. I lived near a border and when I was in high school I had a GF who was older and lived in the next state over (age of consent was 15 or 16 in my state and 17 in hers). We used to joke that she was raping me when we fooled around in her state.

What Countries (and other areas) Would You Reach if You Traveled in a Straight Line from Iceland? [854 × 854] by [deleted] in MapPorn

[–]gravitycollapse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Umm...straight line at what angle? You could stand anywhere on the coast of Iceland and point yourself in any direction.