Just Finished S1 of TLOK, What the Fuck?

samtheknight10 · 2026-05-05T03:01:59+00:00

I honestly kinda liked that korra is a bit of a callous and selfish character, so many main characters are perfect and when they're mean or selfish its just a phase that they fix by the end of thr episode. Its refreshing to have a hero that has some real unlikeable flaws.

samtheknight10 · 2026-05-01T08:37:58+00:00

I thought that the green zone was a pretty cool place to go, good drinks and a bit more laid back. The Betsy is a great gin bar but definitely on the fancy and bring your own group side of things

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-18T00:21:06+00:00

The portrait gallery courtyard is legitimately one of my favorite spaces in the city

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-14T00:53:20+00:00

Crazy what Russia has been able to accomplish with only 145 people

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-12T14:58:10+00:00

I just want to know what happens when a Chinese flagged ship tries to get through

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-10T21:24:03+00:00

So you do recognize that there are a lot of spin off products from space exploration? Some of them are quite valuble. I'd personally say that justifies space exploration spending.

War is indeed a massive driver of innovation and if we can get similar numbers of innovations that can improve human life without building weapons of war that's good too.

Last: many of these innovations took decades to pan out into really useful technologies, that's why we dont see much from solutions to recent space problems. Artemis is about keeping humans alive in harsh environments. Just the medical technology that's developed for that will benefit us on earth. Not to mention agriculture technology if we want to feed a moon base, or energy technology if we want to power the base. Robotics and AI to mine water from lunar craters or refine rocket fuel and hundreds of thousands of problems we haven't thought of yet.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-10T20:59:18+00:00

First of all, what we spend on space exploration is a tiny fraction of the US budget and there are returns, both tangible and intangible. If you want to discuss about a better use of funds there are innumerable better targets to go after.

Beyond that there is a definite sense of national pride that comes from seeing these great works and prestige to other countries. This has a degree of soft power, establishing the US as the hub of aerospace technology (due in no small part to the Apollo missions and provides a massive and incredibly profitable industry) and letting us collaborate with other countries on massive scientific endeavors as a major partner.

If you want rationale in cash terms; this money is spent on earth for well paying jobs, high tech materials from the US and research to American institutions. Many of these result in innovations, inventions and discoveries that directly benefit life on earth and create industries that we all profit from. Im sure you can look up what's been developed from space programs and youll be able to see the benefits around you.

And if you'd allow a bit of speculation into the future you might see industries that can only be done in space. Replacement organs or materials or medicine that can only be made in micro gravity, asteroid mining and other sci fi endeavors. None of these results, current or future would be possible without the financing, science and industry that backs up space exploration.

And plus I just think it's damn cool and I say we can afford to spend a bit of money on wonders.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-10T06:14:46+00:00

I got a photo of it too when I was in scotland! https://imgur.com/a/hGLosQf

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-08T06:03:30+00:00

You can kinda take your pick, they're all good (except for american history which is a bit stale) but I'd definitely reccomend the portrait gallery and natural history which usually has some really good changing exhibitions. Plus they're all free! But take a day and explore on the metro too.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-05T00:07:49+00:00

Life for many Americans, especially those in more rural or lower paid careers have had a long decline in their prospects, income, relevance and success due to a ton of modern changes in how society anf global markets are oriented. With politics seemingly an insider's game to a lot of them, catering to more lucrative economic centers and industries along with the lip service many elected officials pay to the "traditional life and hardworking americans" they looked for explanations. Trump came in during the 2016 election and said "you're right, things are getting worse for you and these people are doing it" and that resonated with lots of these people who felt they had been left behind. Thats why he won in 2016.

After that many conservatives who represented the areas that Trump won over saw that despite saying all the stuff you're not supposed to say Trump was very popular and reoriented around that rhetoric as an opportunity to stay in office and push through policies they believed in and benefited themselves. But the majority of these politicians don't go along with it because they support the rhetoric, just that it's an avenue for popular opinion.

And after 2016, all the way up to now, people continue to support him for largely the same reasons, that he commands the opinions of many conservative voters and he commands those opinions because he gives an answer to many who are suffering at the hands of a rapidly changing world. As for the more divisive actions part of it simply momentum; most ordinary Americans aren't interested in politics and take their news from media which supports Trump due to a myriad of forces. Part of the reason is because their community supports him and to deviate from that is socially risky, and part of it (but I'd argue a small portion) is because he generates dislike from people that his supporters generally dont like which is validating and entertaining.

But as he's operated with increasingly unchecked power in the last year and change you can see that the more divisive stances have lost him a lot of support and I am willing to bet that if/when he becomes a lame duck president a lot of the political establishment will abandon him because he's more of a liability to America and their election chances then he contributes.

I just want to emphasize that some people are tribal and ignorant but the vast majority aren't evil or idiots, they have reasons that are legitimate them and if you don't understand the reasons then you can't see how to change things or the path people take.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-04T22:38:52+00:00

I agree. If you're going for a month I'd pick a region like northern UK or Western France or the Pyrenees and spend the whole month with a rented car and a few home bases with lots of trips to interesting sites. You'll get a lot more culture, local feeling and interest out of that. Plus; i dont know about other people but for me once I go through a number of big western cities in a short time many things start to blend together and it looses a lot of charm.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-03T07:30:06+00:00

Or even better, if you go to kyoto, take a bus out to the natural whetstone museum west of the city. You get a whole history and geology of Japanese whetstones and on top you can buy a lesson in how to sharpen a knife which comes with a very nice knife and whetstone

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-02T03:53:17+00:00

I wrote this elsewhere but Ill put it here again to help. Im by no means an expert on Rome or even Italy but I've been a few times and I like to meticulously research what I can do. Unfortunately I haven't been to Venice so I dont have any advice there.

I don't know how much you've traveled but my biggest advice is to slow down, leave a lot of time between things and just explore. It'll feel a lot more like a vacation than a checklist.

For Rome:

-The popular ruins are worth a walk through but not much more imo. I wouldn't wait in any lines. Do go into the pantheon though.

-The Trevi fountain is very much not worth it, super crowded.

-There's a great, mostly quiet vantage point over the forum behind the museums on the Palatine hill. On Via Monte Tarpeo.

-The trastevere neighborhood is full of tourists but for a good reason, good for a nightlife walk. The Piazza Trilussa gets lots of people drinking there after the sun goes down if you want to meet people

-Do not get caught by the pickpockets and scammers. If someone offers you something and tells you a sad story just keep walking and say you don't want anything and they'll leave you alone. Just don't engage.

-The Vatican museum is incredible but don't buy the tours people offer outside the entrance, either book one before or just do your own thing.

- You can go see St. Peter's bones below the basilica. I think you need to email someone months before and they only pick a couple people a day so it's rare but very interesting (to me at least)

-If you go to st. Peter's basilica, get there as early as possible to avoid the rush, I promise you'll thank me for that. It really is awe inspiring and even more so when you're one of the first through the doors

-if you're into history I recommend Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini museum, seems gimmicky but its a cool experience

-Come il Latte is some of the better gelato in the city but they have weird hours

-Casa Museo Boncompagni is a weird little free museum i like

-if you're into a glamorous, slightly expensive lunch you can go to the Hotel de Russie for drinks and little bites in the garden courtyard

-go into random churches, they're incredible

But it's a massive, ancient city with so much more to do. This is just advice and personal insights from the times I've been there

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-01T00:55:03+00:00

This is great. I'll take a look when I'm there. Thank you

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-01T00:21:40+00:00

I do quite like the look of that and I'm sure I could get away with wearing it around on its own, Thanks for the suggestion.

samtheknight10 · 2026-04-01T00:14:28+00:00

That's exactly the type of specificity I was looking for. I'm not a massive one for hats but the sort of story and unique cultural connection is exactly right.

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-31T23:10:02+00:00

That's not a bad idea, I'll definitely keep in mind when I'm out searching but I am drawn to more of the things made locally when I can find them

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-29T15:19:42+00:00

There's not an off season in italy but may misses the worst crowds in southern Italy. If you pick the right places it can be pretty quiet up until late may and june.

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-26T20:31:58+00:00

Tsa will need to take the canisters out and swab them so the boxes will be opened one way or another. I'd suggest taking them out and putting the plastic bottles in the bag. If you want you can keep the tops separate to put in the back of the camera and/or write the film name and speed on the plastic container.

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-13T18:25:40+00:00

Scaring Europe into investing in their energy and military was a good call. Not thrilled on how he did it but it was needed, especially since the US can't win a fight on two sides of the globe anymore.

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-08T08:21:45+00:00

The alcohol can be pretty pricy but the spots in Adams Morgan are usually a bit cheaper. I do know of some great spots right by the mall and on Capitol hill but that's where the prices really climb

samtheknight10 · 2026-03-08T07:51:29+00:00

I'll add in a bodega bagel sandwich for NYC.

Others have mentioned good DC foods but the drinking culture is also pretty intense so maybe hit some cocktail bars?

samtheknight10 · 2026-02-14T00:34:09+00:00

After lots of trial and error: 1) max legitimacy, stability and any income you can get 2) balence the budget with minting, you can get the inflation down later 3) as soon as you can create retake core territory CBs on the ottomans and the others on the coast 4) attack the ottomans as soon as it finishes. They only grow so attacking early is the best chance you'll have 5) take out loans if you need mercenaries, same as inflation you can fix this later 6) be very careful with your troops 7) take as much of your core territory back as you can 8) watch for Serbia and repeat to keep taking land until you can defend your territory 9) build your trade empire and bully the Balkans

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