beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

A lot of states already do it. I think all we need to do is get the POTUS to publicly shame any remaining holdouts. It's not that expensive, so it wouldn't likely present a hardship for states to implement, so a little push in the right direction may be enough.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

So is tracking their agents and their marks. It's a double whammy.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Eh, disapproving conspiracy theories is also fun since you never know what you're going to be up against next. They're surprisingly complex and a great exercise for finding logical flaws in an argument.

If it stresses you out, ignore flat Earthers. I did the opposite and got a flat Earth poster to troll my coworkers, but that may not be appropriate where you work.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I've been sick the last couple days, perhaps with Covid19, and my new baby girl has a doctor's appointment this week, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I really enjoy being at home with my kids though.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I imagine it's less about the athletes than the spectators. Or at least I hope so, since the Olympics is best watched in groups.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I think people have overcomplicated meditation. At it's most basic, it's about clearing your mind and practicing keeping it clear over some interval. There are a lot of ways to do that, and lots of accessories, but they mostly have the same goal.

I really liked the way one Zen Buddhist put it: just sit. Don't think about something else, don't focus on passing thoughts, and don't push away passing thoughts, but you may observe them. The point of having a focal point (breath, a fixed point in front of you, an unfixed point) is mostly to give you something that's not distracting to focus on when you get distracted by a passing thought. That same master gave very specific guidelines on posture and whatnot, but at the same time he said to not worry about doing things wrong, they're just there to help you stay comfortable during a meditation session.

If you really want to give it a try, find a comfy position (not laying down, you might fall asleep), focus on something (feeling of your breath, an uninteresting point in front of you, etc), and try to avoid focusing on anything else, returning to the point you picked when you inevitably fail. It's surprisingly difficult, and you immediately get goals (sit for X minutes without distractions). If you like, pick up a book (I liked Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind), or better yet, go to a class, but that's really not necessary to just get started.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Funny, that's exactly why I don't play Hearthstone. I'm getting tired if games based more on owning top tier cards and following deck lists than actual strategy.

I'm sad that Android: Netrunner (also by Garfield) has been discontinued, since I'd really like something like that with a nice digital client since it's fairly easy to get a complete collection.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

IDK, Magic Arena is quite popular, and I know a lot of people who got into it somewhat recently, so it's still a good game. Mana screw/flood is annoying, but it infrequent enough that it's not super frustrating.

I quit because I just don't have the time to keep up with the pace of expansions, and if you don't have top tier cards, you'll probably lose. I like the gameplay, but not the collection aspect, especially since the trading aspect is dead online.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I'm with you. I don't think "saving lives" is a good enough reason to give up our freedoms (barring an apocalyptic event or something).

That being said, there's a lot we can do without infringing on freedoms too much. I think South Korea has a good model for handling disease spread, and The Netherlands has a good model for encouraging cycling and protecting cyclists from cars, both of which lead to lower vehicular deaths. Both countries were able to improve things without significantly disrupting society.

Yeah, maybe tens of thousands of people will die a few years before they would normally die without drastic measures, but the cost to save those lives doesn't seem to be worth it.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

If sites don't track me, I disable my ad blocker. YouTube does, so it stays on the block list. I watch YouTube without being logged in, but I'd be willing to pay if they can prove they don't track me.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Exactly. We should be encouraging responsible outdoor activities. If you can maintain a safe distance from others, making sure to account for wind, your added risk of going outside is pretty low and you get a ton of mental and physical health benefits.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

You can do it in phases, preemptively. If your area isn't overrun with the virus right now and isn't close to one that is (e.g. my area, with four hospitals and ~2 total confirmed cases), ask for volunteers to be infected, preferring those with a high likelihood of transmission (e.g. health care workers, bus drivers, grocery store clerks, etc) to less risky individuals (e.g. people who can work from home or have relatively solidary jobs, like sanitation workers).

It only really works if you act decisively and can infect enough of the population before the virus really gets started in your area. I would sign up for that, provided I didn't just father a child, if only to get it over with.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Honestly, I think the worst part is feeling like you can't go outside.

I voluntarily go days (sometimes more than a week) without leaving the house because I honestly like being at home (books, video games, wife and kids, etc). I don't feel like U need as much social stimulation as others.

My wife is pretty much the same way, but she gets really down when she cannot leave the house (e.g. when she has a newborn and I'm at work). Just having the ability to leave, even if she doesn't take advantage of it, is enough for her.

I wonder whether being at home for days on end is the problem, or just the feeling that you can't or shouldn't leave the house? If it's the latter, we could probably recommend safe activities instead of focusing on banning/discouraging unsafe ones.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I really don't understand this whole perspective. Europeans seem to come from a perspective of government protecting and providing for its people, which can be seen at least partially by people putting up with royal families throughout Europe. The US comes from the perspective that government can be a huge force for evil, so we should limit its ability to violate our rights. Other cultures come from different perspectives.

I live in the US largely because I was born here and partly because I don't like the perspective in Europe or E. Asia. I guess I feel the same way about Europe as Europe feels about the US, though if I were in control, I'd probably make some changes that Europeans would agree with (open borders, for one).

Instead of bickering about who is backwards, how about we just work together on things of mutual interest, like increasing free trade and freedom of movement? Name-calling isn't doing anyone any favors. Ideally, you should be able to live where you feel the most comfortable, and you should never be stuck because your government made poor choices.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

That's kind of a long trip for a meal.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

What do you mean "Japanese obsession with rice"? That's literally what sushi is (rice with vinegar and sugar). Sushi doesn't have to have fish on it to be sushi, it can have vegetables or fruit or whatever else you want. If your sushi place doesn't make good rice, it's literally a bad sushi place (though it could be a good sashimi place if it has good fish).

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

I'm pretty sure "sushi grade" fish is fish that has been frozen properly, and restaurants have to follow FDA guidelines on raw foods like this. It's not just a good idea, it's the law (in the US).

Honestly, my wife and I often forego the freeze step when we make sushi at home. Yes, it's an increased risk, but it's a risk we both accept, and since we typically buy fillets, it's quite possible that it has already been frozen properly but the store isn't comfortable making guarantees.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Well yeah, sushi is the rice itself, while sashimi is the raw fish itself. If you have a mixture of both, it's still called it sushi. You can also have sushi with vegetables or fruits and no fish or meat. Your sushi can come with or without seaweed.

Korea has a similar dish called kimbap, which literally translates to "seaweed rice", so having something other than a roll wouldn't be kimbap anymore. Also, Korean kimbap uses a different recipe for the rice (usually sesame oil and salt), so it can't even be considered a special case of sushi (rice with vinegar and sugar).

I feel far too many people don't understand what sushi is, even if the consider it one of their favorite foods.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

It's pretty easy to set up navigation without voice control. Basically just pull over for a second, enter your destination, start navigation, then get back on the road. It probably takes the same amount of time as voice commands, but it's not nearly as distracting.

beatgammit

6 jaar geledendiscuss

Yeah, and running something like LibraryThing would be quite inexpensive. It doesn't need a lot of updates, there would be minimal problems if a data leak happened (it's fairly open anyway AFAIK), and book cataloging is very light on resources. You could probably get away with a single developer dedicating a handful of hours in a given week, probably less, and hosting would be in the noise as well.

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