Lately, I go on a 30-minute “Not Interested” spree on the recommendations feed when I need to weed things out. I burn everything that I know I’m never going to watch. I have 500+ subscriptions and the ratio of those with new content to trash the algorithm hands me is too damn low. So I have to set it straight some times. After this correcting action, things are noticeably better for about a month.

Another move is to right-click and open unfamiliar stuff in an incognito/privacy window. This helps keep similar material out of your feed.

“Clock App” = TikTok.

Took me a minute, not gonna lie.

Why not both? It’s easier to force your way under and into that tent/coalition with an organized front to do the talking. A political party that has well defined goals and objectives, while speaking for a big group, is bound to be better at working within a broader coalition than what we have now.

I have been sexually harassed as a man in public transportation too and while i recognize it’s not as bad for me as it is for women, because it only happened a few times, it always happened by forcing me to be smushed against a ton of people.

Let me just say: I am sorry you went through that. This is awful and indeed unacceptable. Thank you for pointing out that assault is not an entirely gendered issue, and that segregation sends everyone down a slippery slope where we fail to stop it in the first place.

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this too. Just yesterday, I was thinking “what would Mr. Rogers say/think at a time like this?”

Then it dawned on me that maybe the worst parts of society had a radically different upbringing and media exposure than myself. ¹ The so-called “violent” cartoons (many of which were just toy commercials) I get and recall people keeping that stuff from their kids. But to think of banning something like (1980’s) PBS in your home, of all things. Now I understand why that messaging existed in the first place - we might be worse off right now without it.

1. Insert “we-are-not-the-same-gen-x.jpg” meme here.

I agree, and can sympathize: I lack the education to see around all those corners. That said, I think that’s all plausible were it to happen.

Pretty unlikely, right?

Very. The last time, warfare was far less asymmetric than it is now. Millions of people would need to be well past the point of “dying for their values and ideals” before that would get traction politically.

What’s the process like?

There literally isn’t one, or at least, not an official one; we’re not the EU. One spot on a map says “no” and the bigger spot on the map around it says “LOL… oh wait you’re serious?” Then they fight.

Also, the optics are very different for a state like California or any other economic powerhouse in the union. These places make up a huge chunk of the country’s GDP, so losing them would cost a massive chunk of the tax base. Plus, that would reduce the overall coastline of the remainder. Combined these outcomes are strategically “very bad”, further motivating the use of force to counter it.

I mean, if that ultimately gets me a girlfriend, I’ll give it a shot. Seems like a lot of extra steps though.

Easily the best one. But does that mean:

a. Self-actualization and understanding one’s self is difficult for men due to toxic masculinity and social norms.

b. Into guys but with dubious grammar skills.

c. … both?

Yes. Lead.

https://www.nrdc.org/resources/lead-pipes-are-widespread-and-used-every-state

The thing to keep in mind about idiocy is that idiots make mistakes, a lot. At the same time, those mistakes are usually small-stakes affairs (it’s hard to make big mistakes with no money and/or resources) and are usually recoverable. The idea that their mistake could affect so many others simply does not happen, because that’s not how things typically work.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the RNC was more “with the times” than the DNC on how to campaign in the current media-circus climate. That’s right, they were more progressive when it came to using information technology. This observation burns like the heat of a thousand suns and I hate it, but there it is.

Granted, thanks to the likes of FoxNews and bloviating try-hards on radio and podcasts, they had the inside track here. Still, a billion USD should have leveled the playing field for a short campaign like Harris’.

One way or another: he’s full of it.

I think it’s HGH gut. Man’s rich as hell, so of course he’s going to pay for all the health and life-extending stuff he can get his hands on. Human growth hormone can combat aging, but it’s not perfect.

HGH is known to be an effective generator of muscle mass, which is why it is so often a favorite for bodybuilders. However, there is a large concentration of growth hormone receptors in the large intestine, which can contribute to the intestine’s undesired growth. Specifically, this tends to occur when an individual uses illegal HGH without doctor supervision.

Ah, so that’s the key. I’m not eager to try this, but I’ll absolutely keep it in mind should I need it. Thank you.

I’m mostly onboard here, but there’s some nuance to consider.

Wipe all expression from your face, and stare at them. […] Bystanders will literally stop what they’re doing and watch.

Fact. Monkey see, monkey do. If you physically pass as someone older and wiser, this works even better.

Their brains will scream “I’m about to be excluded from the group”, and they’ll start babbling. They’ll confess their sins and be harsher on themselves than anything you could say

Plausible, but I think this outcome is one of many possible. Pressing on an individual’s psychological weak-spots can trigger a fight/flight/freeze/fawn reflex; your anecdotes are centered on the “fawn” response. I would caution the reader that, unless you know that person well, you really can’t predict which of the four you will get in this situation. If doing this you MUST be prepared for that fight reflex to kick in; they may get mouthy and/or physical. Social justice is important, but do take your opponent’s height, weight, build, and if they are armed into account, before proceeding.

Portions in North America are HUGE.

The restaraunt portion thing is… a big problem. Here’s what I think is going on.

I’m pretty sure that it has more to do with profitability than customer demand, although it’s gone on for long enough perhaps it’s both by now. The key here is that food sales have pretty thin margins (except for soft drinks which are outrageously marked-up everywhere). If a restaurant chain suddenly downsized their portion sizes, people would realize very quickly that the price hasn’t scaled down to the same extent, as the current portion sizes are inflated to mask how much food service really costs. There’s a price floor to remain profitable and I think it’s a lot higher than people realize.

To be completely fair, they’ve also been told their party is 100% on board with “state’s rights” the entire time. It’s dissonant as ever, but I can easily see people getting very confused by all this.

Now I’m wondering if steamrolling over republican governors is a part of the plan?

This is actually a part of the calculus that goes into figuring out “where the hell are all the interplanetary civilizations at?”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

One of the terms is literally “L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space”. Which is to say that no alien civilization is expected to last forever and maybe not even for that long (barring any mitigating factors of course).

Silicon valley: Here is a device that makes it possible to exchange information to everyone, everywhere, immediately.

GOP: Oh, you mean I can disseminate anything I want? How about lies? That’d be neat.

Silicon valley: No, not like that.

One thing that I observed is that the right wing had/has the more progressive campaign, from a technology and media use standpoint. The DNC, on the other hand, was still more or less using the same moves they had back in the 1990’s, relying on extinct concepts like the fairness doctrine, debate performance, and journalistic integrity of news outlets (fact-checks anyone?).

It’s not just the Overton Window that has moved: our information diet has completely changed too. To win at politics today, the entire landscape has shifted to propaganda, bombast, showmanship, clickbait, and leading the 24/7 news cycle by the nose. You must be louder and more interesting than the other guy. I think it’s possible to play that game ethically though, without disinformation, but what’s clear is that billionaire-owned media isn’t going to do it for you anymore.