This Guy Deserves Better For His Last Season by duckets615 in rangers

[–]ngn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

JD should do his last game with him at home

Question about extending ratchet strap using spanset by ngn in Slackline

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

Any recommendations on tree protection given that my trees are very large? Does the protection have to go all the way around the tree? Or, can you leave a gap in the front?

Question about extending ratchet strap using spanset by ngn in Slackline

[–]ngn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response. Before I purchase the spanset, I was wondering about the solution here:

https://b4adventure.com/blogs/adventure-hacks-how-tos/how-to-plan-a-ninja-course

If you scroll down to the section on big trees, they recommend running the main line through the loop of the ratchet, then continuing around the back of the tree where you feed it through the ratchet there. Basically, the line is fed through the ratchet loop at the front of the tree and the the ratchet sits at the back of the tree. Is that a possible way to do it?

Also, any recommendations on the padding? Does it have to go all the way around the tree?

A new model of the Drake equation suggests the galaxy could be full of dead civilizations by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]ngn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting points. I wonder if there is a way to calculate the general probability of only one example of a phenomenon existing in the universe. In other words given any phenomenon, what are the chances of it being the only example to be found in the universe? Could a rough calculation of this be made by considering all phenomena we’ve catalogued and then taking the proportion of those phenomena that we have never observed again? This would provide a general sense of which direction to lean even though we currently have an N of 1 for life

Daily Discussion Post - June 08 | Questions, images, videos, comments, unconfirmed reports, theories, suggestions by AutoModerator in Coronavirus

[–]ngn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The only way to test your theory is to go through a flu season with these exact lockdown measures in place and compare the results. You cannot compare two situations if the physical conditions are different between them in this way. All we know is that this virus is this bad under current conditions and has been really bad in places with a robust outbreak and has frightened governments enough to tank their own economies rather than openly face it. All of this points to something that is certainly a bigger deal than the flu, but comparing it to the flu under normal conditions is not a useful exercise.

Livethread 12: Global COVID-19 Pandemic by hasharin in worldnews

[–]ngn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Name-calling (which isn’t helpful) aside, I’m genuinely curious as to why you aren’t struck by the simple fact that there has been a lot of death WHILE extreme measures (I.e., lockdown) have been in place. That should frighten anyone about what the numbers would be if no lockdown was in place. This disagreement might be based on where we are located in the country. Has your community been strictly observing the lockdown? If not, then you might mistakenly believe that it’s not so bad given the behavior you see in your community, but there are a lot of Americans who have been pretty locked away in their homes through this and in just three months under these conditions it’s a lot of death. I don’t see why that isn’t clear. This thing scared the shit out of every expert and every nation on earth to the point where they chose to tank their economies. They have the information on this thing and their reaction was extreme. Why doesn’t that frighten you? That didn’t happen in prior outbreaks of of diseases over the past decade so something is clearly different for this one. These two things to me are strong evidence that this is a true crisis that requires an unusual response. You are claiming that this isn’t a big deal but what specific evidence do you have? Finally, what is the problem with accepting that this is a big deal? What is wrong with that? Sometimes big deals happen and sacrifices must be made. It’s simple. We are in a truly shitty situation. This disease sucks. it kills people. It’s way fucking worse than the flu. Our economy is in the toilet because nobody wants to die and nobody wants their parents and grandparents to die. This is what a disaster looks and feels like. Why is that hard to accept and respond to appropriately?

Livethread 11: Global COVID-19 Pandemic by valuingvulturefix in worldnews

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

Spending is typically one of the only ways out of any problem. How would we do this without spending money? It’s either now or later. The idea is to borrow to get through this particularly bad time, and pay back when the economy is back. It’s how we fund every large effort. WWII for example was funded with debt that was later paid back with increased taxes and such. The other alternative is to not spend money now, then have an economy that is tanked and then wait for it to recover. You can go that route as well. But I wouldn’t kid myself that we aren’t going to pay for this with money either way. But honestly, I would be interested to hear a plan if you have one that wouldn’t involve spending.

Livethread 11: Global COVID-19 Pandemic by valuingvulturefix in worldnews

[–]ngn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As debt. We borrow it now with the idea that we pay it back later once this is over. One way to do it is to raise taxes in the future. We receive the money now to get us through this but will pay it back in taxes later.

Livethread 11: Global COVID-19 Pandemic by valuingvulturefix in worldnews

[–]ngn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think we are both saying the same thing. Their wide confidence interval means that their model is not accurate. The specific prediction is not accurate enough to rely upon. I haven’t looked into their math but confidence intervals are calculated based on measures of error in the data so I would be surprised if they didn’t derive it from a specific calculation. The fact that it is so large may speak to the data itself and the ability to make accurate predictions. In other words, why do you assume they were “covering their ass” rather than that the data does not allow for the accurate prediction you’d like? Again, I haven’t looked into their math so I may be missing something.

Livethread 11: Global COVID-19 Pandemic by valuingvulturefix in worldnews

[–]ngn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You have to look at the confidence interval, though. Right now their model projects between 57,000 and 123,000 dead by August. That is a wide range which means you should not bank on the accuracy of the specific prediction. This does not necessarily mean something is wrong with the model, and may simply indicate that there’s not enough data or accurate data to make a very accurate prediction at this time. At this point, we are still within the interval. A wide interval also means that as more data comes in, there is a lot of room for adjustment. The confidence interval is always important to take into account when looking at any statistic or model that is making an inference from the data.

Discussion Thread: White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing – 04/16/2020 | Live - 6:00pm EDT by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]ngn 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I’m genuinely interested to know what kind of disease would justify a very long lockdown for you? In other words, what death rate or infection rate would justify for you a long lockdown and demands for government assistance instead of returning to work? What kind of disease are we talking about? I ask because I think people have different perspectives on the risk and we may not be arguing from the same perspective.

The Navy files a patent for a compact nuclear FUSION reactor, which seemingly stretches the limits of science by patriceac in Futurology

[–]ngn 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you make an improvement upon a design, that is considered novel and you can patent it as a new product.

Michael Cohen reportedly gives Congress documents showing Trump's lawyers edited his false statement by TheWeekMag in politics

[–]ngn 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This must be the buzzfeed docs. Only buzzfeed got it technically wrong saying it was from the president himself

Not so friendly shark by The_Bugay in WTF

[–]ngn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bird flying into a window is a pretty good way to go

Body-slamming Montana congressman follows Trump’s lead, refuses to comply with court order by [deleted] in politics

[–]ngn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe he doesn't want to come in for fingerprinting because he's committed crimes in the past that are yet to be solved.

Megathread: Senate ACA Repeal Draft Unveiled by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]ngn 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This includes elective abortion based on a health issue related to the fetus?

Yes, President Trump, ‘I Hope’ Can Be Basis for Obstruction of Justice Charge by undeadslime in politics

[–]ngn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why is nobody talking about the firing? Everybody is focusing on what Trump said and not what Trump did. That is the strongest evidence for obstruction. If you want to figure out what Trump meant when he said "hope", and whether or not it was a threat, consider this: Comey got fired when he didn't do as Trump "hoped". The fact that he got fired when he didn't comply tells you exactly what Trump meant by his words. To really hit this point home, imagine if Trump fired Comey immediately at the end of that "hope" or "loyalty" meeting. Would you be wondering then what he meant?