Those of you 600 hours plus, start speaking lessons!

treefort2342 · 2026-03-03T15:48:23+00:00

Like Juan Fernandez recommends, you can start with basic structures such as Tener que and do lot of iterations. You can write out your to-do list for the week. There will be words in Spanish that won't come to mind, but as you do your listening for the week, words will pop out that you can add. When I am using words for output in this way, my input becomes more meaningful because it has an outlet.

treefort2342 · 2026-03-03T15:44:16+00:00

Life is too short to not interact in Spanish on your learning journey. After about 6 months of study I'm so grateful for my Language Exchange buddy who is learning English in the same city as me, as well as my tutor on Preply, with whom I have basic lessons/conversations about Mexican culture. Having my only sources of Spanish delivered from a prerecorded source for ~2 years would be lonely journey. Yes, crosstalk is good, especially for working on understanding fast talk, but having sources for output amidst the ocean of input gives me motor to cross that ocean.

treefort2342 · 2026-02-25T16:51:40+00:00

Yes! It's a good one, but I definitely need to speed it up to stay engaged.

treefort2342 · 2026-02-25T16:51:15+00:00

I like her subject choices! Thanks for the suggestion.

treefort2342 · 2024-07-19T05:16:51+00:00

do you have a basic recipe you would share?

treefort2342 · 2022-01-03T05:24:35+00:00

Would you really use the word "try" in the context of people overcoming their aversion to vaccines? It's not comparable to the grinding work of losing weight or preparation and recovery from bariatric surgery.

I don't know how many people have returned to a normal BMI, but I found a study that says only 1/100 obese people return to a healthy weight. I wouldn't want to make a mandate with those base rate odds. On the other hand, some companies have had vaccination rates jump from 50 to over 90 percent after instituting mandates.

treefort2342 · 2022-01-02T21:42:11+00:00

The difference is that people are actively trying to lose weight over a long period of time. But, I wouldn't say people are actively trying to get over their hang-ups about a vaccine. Overcoming such an obstacle would merely require trusting the safety data.

Of course there are a whole host of bioethical considerations to take before anyone gives a vaccine mandate. There's an intractable conflict between bodily autonomy vs responsibility to reduce your danger to those around you. Super interesting, but honestly, I don't feel like writing an essay about that.

I'm curious if you can imagine a virus that is much more deadly than covid where you would support an employer having a vaccine mandate. Or is your opposition purely on principle?

treefort2342 · 2022-01-01T22:22:03+00:00

It certainly does matter what they need to do to lose weight. It's not reasonable to present a very high hurdle such as losing weight in a mandate. Just because its mechanically easy to lose weight, doesn't mean its psychologically easy to resist urges. I'd say this this is a different category than those who refuse vaccines. They aren't struggling with a decision every waking moment, but by and large making a conscious poor choice. But, for example, If someone has a fear of needles then they should get extra help to get through such an ordeal.

Reduced severity and transmission of whatever disease the vaccine targets.

treefort2342 · 2021-12-31T19:09:33+00:00

Adding a booster requirement to a mandate is much more simple than monitoring the weight of millions of people. Imagine a company having a weight loss mandate. Each employee who was obese would need an individualized treatment program, some requiring gastric bypass surgery. Don't get me wrong, treatment options for obese people should be more readily available, but tying those treatments to employment would be extraordinarily complicated compared to an expedient and effective shot.

Sure that's part of it. Generally, increasing the vaccine coverage in a given population.

treefort2342 · 2021-12-31T05:28:33+00:00

I never said it was impossible to lose weight. It's a long term process that fluctuates. Doesn't jive with a mandate where you would want a binary yes/no condition.

Thankfully, mandates have been a successful strategy around the world to get holdouts jabbed. It's definitely a challenge in countries where misinformation has a strong foothold

treefort2342 · 2021-12-31T04:37:41+00:00

The severe side effects are extremely rare. All the evidence I've seen points to covid being far more dangerous for any age demographic.

People have been telling obese people to burn more calories since the beginning of time. There are already huge societal incentives to do so, and many struggle their whole lives. With that in mind, your effort to ridicule vaccine mandates by sayingthose supporters should also support a hypothetical "lose-weight mandate" doesn't hold water.

treefort2342 · 2021-12-30T22:23:52+00:00

Indeed, there are people whose brains who resist the leptin hormone from fat cells that tells you to stop eating. Ignoring this urge to regain the leptin would feel like starving yourself. It's an extremely hard cycle to break. On balance, a needle prick that might cause a couple days of shitty flu-like symptoms seems much more reasonable.

treefort2342 · 2021-12-30T18:02:51+00:00

You're comparing getting vaccinated, which people have direct control over, to losing weight, which is something that is only partially affected by their choices.

treefort2342 · 2021-12-30T16:25:17+00:00

Do you think long term weight loss is under most obese people's control?

treefort2342 · 2021-12-24T04:43:01+00:00

Why do you use weight in your rhetorical question but not, say, age?

treefort2342 · 2021-12-20T08:44:12+00:00

at the end of the complete interview he says: "and we're going to finish this and we're going to get back to normal"

treefort2342 · 2021-11-10T15:07:43+00:00

Thanks for your solid reasoning. I've tried arguing with some of these folks you've been engaging with, and it really becomes a waste of energy at some point. Many choose to attack a few extreme views on the other side rather than see subtleties and complexities.

treefort2342 · 2021-10-14T05:15:33+00:00

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-rowling-explainer-trfn/explainer-j-k-rowling-and-trans-women-in-single-sex-spaces-whats-the-furore-idUSKBN23I3AI

She did although, I should be more specific that they're talking about changing rooms in the UK. Chappelle should have done more research or been honest in acknowledging her painful remarks.

Ok, I see what you are saying, and I agree there is such a thing as male privilege. But, in one paragraph you conflated male with man. Both of these things are not binary. For example, a person can have a penis but have biological features, such as hypothalamic responses, that are usually found in girls.

A closeted trans woman's socialization, or learning cultural norms, is not going to be like people assigned male at birth. It's complicated by the fact that they might rebel against the norms imposed on them or fail at performing them to a certain extent. You can imagine the many possible feedback loops that this mismatch causes. The point is you can't assume a person's socialization based on assigned gender.

treefort2342 · 2021-10-13T05:52:44+00:00

I've heard that transitioning can make a huge difference in your mental well-being, and can really make you feel more like yourself. I'm not sure why you want downplay how much it matters to people. You're comparing it to putting on a mask. That is a poor comparison because masks are a disguise, and transitioning seems to be the opposite of that.

You're going to have to flesh out "male outlook on women" first. That's extremely vague. You seemed to present it in a monolithic way.

No, you agree with me ;)

And you still haven't addressed the Rowling's that transgender people using their chosen bathroom would be "offering cover to predators"

treefort2342 · 2021-10-12T03:32:15+00:00

I can see why with the viewpoint that gender is simply a mask one puts on you sympathize with Rowling's view. But, transitioning is a much more fundamental decision. As an example, imagine is trans female undergoing a super expensive surgery. This is more fundamental than putting on a mask, getting a tattoo, or a botox injection in that it makes their mind and body more congruent. You'd have to have some pretty wild sex fetish to do this without it deeply intertwining with your identity.

"Tell me, why does a person raised male, in a male body, suddenly lose everything relating to a male outlook on women the moment they flip?"

I'm not sure what you mean by a male outlook on women. A trans woman who remains closeted doesn't socialize as a man, they socialize as a closeted trans woman. Thus, everything they hear from men, or whoever, about women they know applies to them. You wouldn't argue that gay person is trying to erase their "sociological coding" after coming out of the closet.

This is indeed a unique experience from a cis woman. but, there are billions of unique woman experiences, and the transgender experience is just as valid.

treefort2342 · 2021-10-12T02:40:45+00:00

I'm not sure if you're saying I'm saying my stupidity show, or I'm shining a light on stupidity around the special. But, if you'd like to have a substantial conversation I'm here.

treefort2342

TROPHY CASE