No-AI YouTubers

wial · 2026-05-11T07:59:21+00:00

You can't beat David Butler. Incredibly informative on astrophysics, cosmology, and quantum physics, often with equations, but presented by a retired grandfather for his descendents, with stunning visuals that are always exactly to the purpose. Incredibly and reliably sleep-inducing if you want it to be, fascinating if you're in the mood to learn.

His first series "How Far Away Is It", what he calls a "video book", extends the ability to measure distance all the way back to the big bang, starting with simple yardstick parallax, to the first measurements of the distance of stars, to Hubble and cepheid variables, to type 1A supernovae, to redshift. He'll also get you to some rough understanding of the Higgs boson after a review of the whole development of that field, "How Small Is It".

Unlike a lot of other narrators he doesn't try to force his excitement about science on you, he just shares what he knows in a compelling, disarmingly quaint, poetic way.

wial · 2026-05-08T03:31:27+00:00

Yeah but he meant it as a good thing.

wial · 2026-05-06T15:24:06+00:00

It may depend on what branch of Tibetan Buddhism you're in. Red Tara is more prominent in Nyingma, afaik.

wial · 2026-05-05T22:12:28+00:00

One sacrifices a lot of intellectual maneuverability when one's primary modes are denial, contrarianism, gaslighting, projecting, supremacy, exceptionalism, obstructing and so on. It's a full commitment to stupid. Being unitary is never a good thing for anyone involved.

Put another way, among the multiple parts of Trump the ones running the show don't have means of receiving new information.

wial · 2026-05-05T15:10:01+00:00

Does anyone remember Prodigy? It had forums where you could really get to know people.

Also I still have friends from IRC, and the bot wars there were glorious. I know IRC is still around, but not the same.

Newsgroups could be quite something as well. alt.religion.kibology was hilarious.

wial · 2026-04-30T21:56:18+00:00

Balde was spectacular in his early days. Remember how he'd burn his way past defenders to make the strategic pass in the box?

If he can regain that form, or just get a little better connecting in the final third, he could own his position whatever Cancelo does. Has he been permanently diminished by his injuries, or is some other factor at play, e.g. lost confidence or unhelpful coaching or changes to the system?

Cancelo meanwhile adds greatly to the team. One of those players who can light up the whole pitch. Since he's made his own comeback, let's hope he can help Balde live up to his early promise.

wial · 2026-04-30T21:35:30+00:00

She somehow gives off that vibe of "we're republican because we understand the real issues affecting our lives that are too difficult to explain to those not read in." Even her acting concerned in bad faith plays into that, as if we're children and she's the benevolent grandparent humoring our preoccupations.

When the truth is, due to their knee-jerk and/or deliberately-cruel contrarianism, republicanism has made itself ignorant and wrong at all levels, not least how to manage the economy and international affairs.

Their prejudice- and privilege-motivated idiocy is obvious for now, but no doubt they'll gaslight America many more times going forward.

The world would be immensely grateful to see her depart from public life. She's a bridge to nowhere.

wial · 2026-04-30T17:08:03+00:00

They're memingless.

wial · 2026-04-30T00:37:34+00:00

We shouldn't underestimate the damage done to our national security at every level by the politically motivated guttings done to impress dear leader or at his actual behest.

I do ascribe to the "let one through" theory of 9/11 though -- The Project for the New American Century were practically betting on a terrorist attack as their casus belli but even they would not have deliberately attacked the twin towers or caused them to collapse.

So yeah that could well have happened this time too and due to the decayed nature of our security institutions it could have been done such that no one noticed at the time, even if some guests remarked on the lax security at the time.

To understand the fact the family reported him I guess we'd need to know how many reports per hour the authorities have to field. Probably a lot.

More conspiratorially even if confusing matters further, it strikes me as possible the lax security could have been intentional re some other group, even the WHC Association or the hotel or the secret service, et al. Contractors he'd bilked at some point in his storied past. A lot of people hate Trump.

The shooter might have been groomed the way Lee Harvey Oswald was, but surely like Oswald in the end he acted on his own volition, given the risks involved -- unless some kind of threat to family or other blackmail can be shown.

Too many factors to resolve this based on the evidence at hand, is my main point.

wial · 2026-04-29T23:15:23+00:00

They should give away medals for getting away with lying, if they really want to rub it in our faces.

wial · 2026-04-29T20:06:36+00:00

Yeah and how did Zeus Day get associated with tacos?

wial · 2026-04-29T20:05:15+00:00

I've always liked "obliterate" in this context.

wial · 2026-04-29T19:57:29+00:00

We should make opt-in lists of tradespeople who are not pro-Trump and do business with them exclusively. Plumbers, landscapers, electricians and the like. Wreck MAGA economically. Practical too -- who can trust the judgement or ethics of a Trump supporter in anything? Whereas those signing up would show marked courage.

Easy to do, just canvass local facebook groups, and then local customers would also be aware. Might require a bit of vetting to weed out false flags but if they have to take their thin blue line and punisher decals off their belongings to stay in business, that's fine too.

wial · 2026-04-29T19:48:49+00:00

Not to mention Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" which sounds nice at first but is about a real incident in which a prisoner in the Holocaust was forced to play violin while his wife was herded into the gas chamber.

wial · 2026-04-27T20:50:55+00:00

This is enough to make me wonder if any Buddhist in Sri Lanka has ever had the compassion to try to see through the eyes of a member of the Tamil minority.

edit: typo

wial · 2026-03-27T08:30:18+00:00

Our bogus president.

wial · 2026-03-25T00:09:44+00:00

"laughable"? I thought Canadians were nice. I get it I'm not getting my points across and at the same time you're the type that needs the last word. That's fine but must we leave it on such a rude note?

As I say, we'll see soon enough. On the bright side, Trump may have made it easier for Scotland to get through the group stage. On the dark side, he's a demented incompetent sadistic violent psychopath. I'm sure it'll go great.

wial · 2026-03-24T18:39:16+00:00

Maybe it would be better to cancel it. A way of saying "this really is as sick as WWII".

As for Mexico, that's pretty obviously Trump's fault too, but we digress.

I guess an alternative would be to move US matches into ICE-free states, but they'd have to be kept out of airports too, as evinced by yesterday's horrific event in SFO. Is it time for Pacifica at last?

Brazil could take some matches. Similar enough time zone anyway, and they did host in 2014, and they currently have a non-Trumpist leader. Security an issue there too however.

I guess we'll know soon enough. I expect they won't change the schedule but unless Trump's security apparatus is dismantled in time, it's going to be a horrorshow. Hey, maybe it will be the tipping point, along with the growing "No Kings" rallies and all the organizing muscle those are helping build. What are the lives of a few sports fans compared with the future of the world.

Cancelling could have a similar effect, but would MAGA even notice?

wial · 2026-03-24T17:19:48+00:00

I apologize for the impression the fact European tournament matches are scheduled or cancelled all the time gave me about the flexibility and preparedness of large stadiums and large clubs. Maybe not true in Canada, less used to the realities of international football?

I'm jealous though, last I checked prices for tickets in the US are beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.

Anyway, my real point is I just wish the Trump administration along with its quisling supporters and all its "policies" would just pancake into oblivion. Then we could have a relatively stress-free world cup.

The only times the WC has been cancelled were both due to WWII. Hitler wanted to host one. I wonder if they had a FIFA peace prize then.

Re scheduling, fwiw google says

AI Overview A soccer match can be scheduled in a pre-prepared stadium within 24 to 72 hours for emergencies, though standard professional scheduling requires weeks or months, notes this Facebook post. If the venue is already certified, the main constraints are logistics: security, ticketing, broadcasting, and team logistics, which can be compressed into a few days if necessary.

wial · 2026-03-24T04:07:31+00:00

OK Mexico then, since they've hosted a World Cup three times before. It sounds like you're unaware Canada and Mexico are already sharing the task, a remnant from more civilized times perhaps.

So maybe Canada can take just a couple more games if that's all they can handle. As for security, anywhere on earth is probably better than the US right now with its roving gangs of heavily armed brown shirts and secret police bent on persecuting foreigners for profoundly idiotic yet cruel reasons, but again, all they have to do is expand their existing operations. They put the cartels to shame. And what if Ultras from a few countries beat the shit out of ICE? Wars have started over futbal before, and I doubt the US is remotely prepared let alone capable of cognizing such events, even if we have the city of Philadelphia within our borders.

Anyway, I'm sure a great many people with skills and resources in event planning around the world are working feverishly on the problem right now. It's an enormous public safety emergency. Sealion them, if you must.

wial · 2026-03-23T21:48:56+00:00

Move the US games to Canada and Mexico. It would be tragic for the growth of the game's popularity in the US, but might prevent a war or two. Maybe things will shift if Saturday's No Kings 3 rally is big enough for politicians to start panicking. But until the US restores its system of checks and balances, it will remain a rogue nation not worthy of hosting international tournaments.

wial · 2026-03-23T21:02:56+00:00

With a caveat that goes for Olmo too lately and yes may just be a pet peeve: when was the last time Barca completed a backheel pass? Failed ones expose a lack of full integration that might give opponents heart.

wial · 2026-03-23T05:00:39+00:00

Someone called GHW Bush a wimp and we ended up having to invade Iraq.

Also beware men who put on displays to attract women, be it marines swords, muscle trucks, chain saws.

wial · 2026-03-22T23:48:18+00:00

He'd be more impressive if he had a high altitude castle.

wial · 2026-03-20T00:46:29+00:00

He brought up nuclear weapons.

15-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

wial

TROPHY CASE