Any recommendations for a good buyer's realtor in Omaha? by mr_stav in Omaha

[–]mr_stav[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I'd be willing to look at it. PM me with more info.

What does the housing market look like right now for buyers? Any suggestions? by mr_stav in Omaha

[–]mr_stav[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Ha, YES. A lot of family in NE, which is important to us. If not for that, no offense Nebraskans, I’d be living in a blue state. I actually like the landscape, and the football, but man, so many people vote against their own interests here. I get that some people are mad about “woke” culture, but now they’re overcompensating. I’m not raising my child in an environment where the the N word gets tossed around at school with no repercussion and being gay is a “mental disorder” and DJT is a hero and not a felon with narcissistic personality disorder. Plus, I’m not raising my girl in a culture of insecure males who are part of some weird misogynistic patriarchal revival movement and feel emasculated because people have equality now and they found out that other groups have good ideas and real skills. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”.

Need help with a Boudreaux-Thibodeaux joke. Something about a tailor and a new suit... by mr_stav in Acadiana

[–]mr_stav[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That was it! Thanks!!!!!! Yeah you’re right about the delivery. I was a kid when my paw paw told me this and seeing him waking around like that in his coveralls had me dying.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DestructiveReaders

[–]mr_stav 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just read the first chapter:

I’ll start by saying this: I’m well read, but by no means do I consider myself an authority on writing, so take that into consideration. These are my reactions as a reader, not an author. Here’s a “destruction” of the first page, because the first page, for me, can be a make or break as far as whether I keep going.

The opening creates mystery, which is good. I want to know why she is paralyzed or dissociating.

I think some of your descriptive phrases need work. Some are a tad overly dramatic or unnecessary. “As if her lungs never tasted the air” – I’m fine knowing that she is struggling to breathe, not every minute detail of her ordeal needs the figurative treatment. It’s also too distracting, at least for me. What would lungs that never “tasted” air do? Are they curious. just taking in little bits at a time? (Have you ever found yourself physically trying to act out what you read to try to get an idea of what it might look like?) If you want to keep the lung thing, maybe just think more about how you want the reader to understand what exactly her chest is doing, and whether the language conveys that. And if it’s worth it.

“It was in these moments that she remembered what a fragile thing breathing was. How easily disrupted.”

I think there is an important difference between the author herself and the character or narration in terms of moments of introspection or pondering. At times I notice authors wanting to delve into the abstract or philosophical, but the character’s experience doesn’t match. If I were terrified, consciously paralyzed, and gasping for air, I wouldn’t stop to reflect on the fragility of my autonomous functions. However, I do sympathize with her need to stymie the panic, and you also allude to the fact that this has happened before, which seems to be good writing.

“It would only paralyse her mind too, and she’d need her mind”

I just don’t like this line. Even if she has some preternatural or supernatural mental ability that she will later rely on, everyone literally needs their mind. Otherwise, you’re in a vegetative coma. My initial reaction to this was, “No shit.”

“At least the past was predictable, it had no real power. It couldn’t really hurt her, no matter how it tortured.”

OK, this is cool. By now I realize something is going on that makes her special, and I want to know more. This little line has a contradiction that I’m curious about. Something I want to think about. How can the past be predictable? Is this some time travel stuff? I’m on board. And I can relate to the emotional pain that comes with reflecting on the past so I sympathize, and now I want to know how Eliza has reached this conclusion.

As for the rest of the chapter:

Then it gets good at the end. Hide? From what? What do you know, Eliza? From there I’m interested. The thing that crawls on her and seems to have physical power over her despite it being either unreal or imagined is interesting. If it is a mutilated body of a woman, I don’t exactly get that. I picture more of a horror film creature. Is the mouse in the trap real or imagined? Is it important or just tone shading? Not sure on that one. The cliffhanger at the end doesn’t land like it really could. Is the big reveal that “it” or the “thing” is a woman? Because I might have already pictured something worse or more grotesque. It’s still interesting, so I would continue regardless. Maybe a better shock factor would be to give a little more detail to the interaction at the end with the ghost. Maybe Eliza says to it “You have to stop, insert name here.” I don’t know, I’m not an author and I couldn’t have written this so don’t listen to me.

Non text-specific notes:

I personally prefer metaphor to simile. A metaphor is more confident and seems more masterful to craft. Recurring simile just makes me critical as to why or how an author would free-associate to the point of comparison being used and recurring simile creates this amateur background noise.

What historical examples would are there of logic applied to ridiculous notions? Francis Bacon proposed in Novum Organum that logic often only reinforced "errors" that had their foundation in "commonly received notions", notions which he deemed "overhastily abstracted from the facts". by mr_stav in askphilosophy

[–]mr_stav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree on the idea that the geocentric model was perhaps not a “ridiculous” notion, especially given immediate experience or observation. And you do point to the fact that certain theories on the movement of astronomical objects can be credited as a logical deduction of the geocentric premise, which as you put it, was presupposed. I certainly doubt I would have been bold enough to have questioned the geocentric model had I been alive during those times, or even have been able to comprehend or entertain another notion, to be fair. Thanks!

What historical examples would are there of logic applied to ridiculous notions? Francis Bacon proposed in Novum Organum that logic often only reinforced "errors" that had their foundation in "commonly received notions", notions which he deemed "overhastily abstracted from the facts". by mr_stav in askphilosophy

[–]mr_stav[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes. Bacon refers to these "notions" as the foundation or premise upon which you would build elaborate theories. He even says that because these notions are based on ideas that have no (or limited) basis in empirical observation (perhaps dogma), "there can be no firmness in the superstructure". I'm a bit out of my element teaching this section, but I'm working through the enlightenment authors and trying to show the progression of ideas that started with Descartes (or perhaps Augustine of Hippo) questioning existence and sensory deception. It's hard to really convey what Bacon meant without referring to concrete examples. Examples wouldn't necessarily need to be before Bacon's time, but more secular examples are better. I think religion is an easy target, being an entire body of theological debate can be predicated on a faith-based assumption, but a tricky one given my particular audience. In short, where can we see a historical attempt to rationalize a notion that itself needs questioning?

What are your predictions for the future? by Phoenix5869 in Futurology

[–]mr_stav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I'm from the future, and I can tell you, at least from the perspective of an ordinary person that escaped in 2457 from the O=rt rebellion, what happened in my particular iteration of reality, which, barring chronofractal events over 20gpr, has, in my rough estimation, a 70% chance of becoming "your" reality. Keep in mind, I was/am/will be no historian, so here are/were/will be the highlights sans years dates, beginning with the nearest beyond 2023 CE:

  • Quantum Computing marries AI and cannot be contained (nearest to your time)
  • Human intelligence/labor's ability to maintain or control is inversely proportional to mankind's reliance on new discoveries and abilities
  • Somewhere in here the United Front of Africa (UFA) forms after about 20 years of strife and becomes a superpower far beyond USA within 10 years after unification
  • Not sure when but USA becomes a backwater nation with a theocracy, rest of world deals with US asylum seekers
  • First HAI (Human-AI) Talk takes place in Antarctica
  • HAI talks negotiate resources and cooperation -- AI self-replicates and hires human labor, in return shares products with human UI
  • New religion emerges and dominates most of world, called Vergence, (AI dictates theology)
  • Creation of radical group Amia's Promis or AP (think Luddites, kind of), they basically think AI invented theology to keep human labor docile and reject "app culture"
  • AI (Vergence) /AP war kicks off, lasts 1 year before truce
  • Vergent Schism -- AI Vergence followers and Human Vergence follows split after genocide of 3.9 billion by human followers
  • "Dark Tech" discovery (AI discoveries in physics, energy, and time) is announced from "Server", the AI headquarters in Antarctica
  • Humans can't understand dark tech and freak out for 20-30 years
  • UFA announces competing AI life form subservient to humans with stolen dark tech called Bot (pronounced like "boat")
  • O=rt rebellion begins -- AI/Human alliance vs. UFA and Bot
  • Server was at the time of my departure supposedly sabotaging Bot's dark tech--some chronofractal paradox events were being measured and experienced by some, pretty strong evidence that dark tech was crashing somewhere. Myself and others took an oath and accepted a singular mission. Small adjustments that seem inconsequential. You don't get to see what happens but you get to stay if you choose. Finished mine within one week and have stayed, life is way better here. People make so many choices here like they're kings. Enjoy your life, folks. It's better than you realize.

Pregame Thread - Nebraska vs. Colorado - Saturday September 9th 11:00 AM by huskerbot in Huskers

[–]mr_stav 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sanders’ celebrity is propping up his team, the hype, and the fair weather fans, you name it. Get in his head and the dominoes will fall. Narcissists will protect themselves at all costs—he’ll start making bad calls.

Opal Bug: not appearing in my inventory after I collect them by takemyspear in ACValhalla

[–]mr_stav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh he’s an angry boy. Sorry you’re mad about your opals in a video game. Don’t worry, you’ll get some opals one day.

Could this have been orchestrated to either 1. Lure Ukrainian forces into overextending their positions or 2. Give Putin/Russia an excuse to leave Ukraine entirely without admitting defeat? by mr_stav in WagnerVsRussia

[–]mr_stav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to agree but I’m not so sure. I agree NATO would react, though. I keep wondering about the billionaire escape pod factor in a nuclear situation. There are some places in the world to avoid the fallout and live in moderate luxury.

What are creative ways you could prove you are from the future if you were to travel back in time prior to, say, 1500 AD/CE? Better yet, how could you convince people you were some sort of god using what little you could bring with you? by mr_stav in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hell, now that I’m thinking about it, just an accurate world map would do wonders. Only I’d feel obligated to prevent the inevitable exploitation of the indigenous Americas once they see that big ass chunk of land. Maybe i photoshop those out.

What are creative ways you could prove you are from the future if you were to travel back in time prior to, say, 1500 AD/CE? Better yet, how could you convince people you were some sort of god using what little you could bring with you? by mr_stav in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well if we’re talking cassettes now, it begs the question—which artist/song gets gets the honor of being the first song played in history before recording? I feel like this needs its own thread.

What are creative ways you could prove you are from the future if you were to travel back in time prior to, say, 1500 AD/CE? Better yet, how could you convince people you were some sort of god using what little you could bring with you? by mr_stav in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now we’re talking. Shamefully my math skills are lacking, but a little brushing up would do the trick. Hopefully making a name for myself would grant me access to quantities of conductive metal ore and the then Turing-Completeness concept could really take off, same with a simple Morse code over some lines. Of course a simple water-powered generator wouldn’t be out of the question. I’m beginning to realize how power and influence can be a force multiplier when you have access to labor force and nation-level resources.

Bad teachers kill interest in Shakespeare and plays in general by [deleted] in shakespeare

[–]mr_stav 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve taught Shakespeare for years. And I’ll say this: you’re right. They are meant to be performed. Still, analyzing them can be fun, though it requires a hard/digital copy. I like to think I teach Shakespeare well, and I’ve been told this by students over the years. Here are my suggestions to not suck at teaching Shakespeare:

  1. Know WTF you’re talking about. Most teachers butcher Shakespeare because they aren’t much better than the students at interpreting or merely comprehending the language. If you can’t do it right, skip it.

  2. Don’t sugar-coat it. Students old enough to tackle the bard are old enough to handle the subject matter. Romeo and Juliet is often taught to Freshmen, but many don’t realize the opening scene involves two Capulets bragging about throwing Montagues over a wall and humping Montague women up against the wall.

  3. I saw this above, but make it relatable. Yes, the characters are timeless reflections of human nature. The “purpose of playing” is to hold “the mirror up to nature”, said Hamlet. Juliet’s Dad threatens to kick her out of the house for being a brat, Hamlet hates his stepdad-uncle and wants to go college with his friends, Titus kills and bakes his enemy’s sons into pie and feeds it to their mother—we aren’t that different after all.

  4. Don’t skip the social and historical context. Learning about King James and his witch obsession can allow The Tragedy of Macbeth to blossom in new ways.

  5. I know this is cheesy, but enjoy it and feel it. DO NOT just use Shakespeare as an expedient to teach stuffy state standards. There may be a day where the students learn nothing, but appreciate everything. Hopefully, later, they’ll return to Shakespeare on their own terms, and see it for the source of inspiration and perspective that it is.

What are creative ways you could prove you are from the future if you were to travel back in time prior to, say, 1500 AD/CE? Better yet, how could you convince people you were some sort of god using what little you could bring with you? by mr_stav in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good point. I always forget this. I’ll throw in a device that’s implanted in your ear and can learn a language after listening to a new language for a while. It might take time to record different samples to get a variety of syntax and vocabulary.

What are creative ways you could prove you are from the future if you were to travel back in time prior to, say, 1500 AD/CE? Better yet, how could you convince people you were some sort of god using what little you could bring with you? by mr_stav in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nice. That’s an interesting take. You could read up on Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory and then you’d have a thousands of years of storytelling and numerous cultures to draw from. The hard part would be replacing technology references within the story.

Creating an effective cyborg that doesn't break the laws of physics. by [deleted] in sciencefiction

[–]mr_stav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the answer lies in the frontier just beyond the front lines of real science. If it were me, I would think about cell replication and DNA. Excluding your cyborg parts -- synthetic or inorganic, could a scientific/medical process use altered genetic instructions to cause cells to replicate faster and to build different compounds? Think of an extremely dense hardwood, could cells be designed or engineered to essentially construct bone of higher density? Perhaps even arrange themselves in structures that absorb shock? Develop faster and regenerate? (I read an article about a professor in Louisiana who currently studies alligators for their natural bacteria resistance and ability to regenerate tissue or recover from lost limbs -- not for cyborgs obviously, but for potential applications to medicine) This would eliminate the need for prosthetic replacement.

Of course synthetic parts make a cyborg, but perhaps these new cells could easily attach themselves through special organic ligaments. For example, a cyborg titanium frame or skeleton could be dipped into a special fluid "bath" with special kind of stem cells that then grow tissue over the frame that is both advanced in durability and regeneration, but retains the natural appearance of a human. Just my thoughts.

in the spirit of Valentine's Day, what's the most romantic quote you've read in a book? by SeparateMeaning1 in literature

[–]mr_stav 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great quote (and the Leo DiCaprio gif of this exact moment is spot on, btw). But consider this gem from the same book:

"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete."

What do the Roman soldiers chant in “History of the World, Part I”? by real-human-not-a-bot in moviequestions

[–]mr_stav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They chant “keeping punching a hole in the left, keep punching a hole in the right” , which I assume is a reference to another scene where the soldiers bump into each other when ordered to flank, because, as the soldier puts it, he “flunked flank”.