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tchrist
tchrist
12:03 AM
Scanner just said it has begun to sleet in Estes.
 
Robusto
Robusto
In other news, the CDC has apparently stopped publishing daily coronavirus totals. I wonder who caused that.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Probably not the FEC chair.
OFFS Colorado hit 1882 today and today is Saturday where there's less reporting in done.
Wisconsin is back down to "only" 4000, but they have very low reporting on weekends.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist I read that. It doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Robusto All those complete sentences uttered by a Trump are very much in the Uncanny Valley for me.
 
Robusto
Robusto
I can't wait till I don't have to hear any Trump say anything.
 
tchrist
tchrist
12:15 AM
I wonder how long that will be.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
They say voter turn-out will be high.
That is good for Biden, isn't it?
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist I'm hoping months, not years.
@Cerberus We hope so.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Right.
 
tchrist
tchrist
> But none of that is necessary because examples of Donald’s disordered, impulsive, self-defeating and destructive behavior, which are unlikely to present themselves in a clinical setting, have been extensively recorded.
I have a feeling she just deliberately ticked off four different specific diagnostic criteria found in the DSM.
I wonder what "disordered" clocks in as.
Obviously it presents in mania or schizophrenia.
But it's a fat book. No idea.
Various psychoses.
 
Robusto
Robusto
Anthony Scaramucci said on Real Time with Bill Maher last night that Trump is a coward who will go away.
 
tchrist
tchrist
12:25 AM
Interesting.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
 
tchrist
tchrist
The latter not the former.
Obviously he's a coward; no profiles in courage from him.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
"Leaning" means an advantage of 5–10 percentage points.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Doesn't even fire people to their face.
@Cerberus Where's that from?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
FT.
 
tchrist
tchrist
12:27 AM
> Thought disorder is a disorganized way of thinking that leads to abnormal ways of expressing language when speaking and writing. It’s one of the primary symptoms of schizophrenia, but it may be present in other mental disorders such as mania and depression.

Thought disorder is one of the most difficult mental disorders to diagnose and treat, as many people exhibit symptoms of thought disorder occasionally. Some people may demonstrate thought disorder only when they’re tired.

There are more than 20 subtypes of thought disorder.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
ig.ft.com/us-election-2020 (based on Real Clear, see Methodology)
 
Robusto
Robusto
God, I want this to be over.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Looks like folks in Nederland are tweeting about Estes Park now....
> KIPPENVEL! Op de scanner juichen brandweermannen. Het is begonnen met sneeuwen en ijzelen boven hevigste deel van #EastTroublesomeFire. Dit gaat enorm helpen.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Gosh, they still speak Dutch there?
My congratulations.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I don't think so. That's the joke. But obviously some people do so.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
12:35 AM
Snow and sleet are good.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Rather.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Are you sure you know which Nederland those people are in?
 
tchrist
tchrist
heh
They have to be close to the park.
"Dutchman in America. Loves sports, roadtrips, rollercoasters, and particularly quirky facts. "
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Do the inhabitants of Nederland still call themselves Dutchmen?
And have you noticed any difference in smoke yet?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus Nightfall came and went. I can't tell anymore.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
12:40 AM
You don't smell?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus I just showered.
Let me poke my nose out the door.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yay.
How was the smell indoors, preprecipitationally?
 
tchrist
tchrist
It smells pregnant of winter, but still a bit smoky.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Better than a few hours ago?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus No. But everybody calls the town Ned. If you hear the full name spoken, you know it's not a local.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
12:44 AM
Funny.
If we have to abbreviate it for some reason, it's NL.
 
tchrist
tchrist
> Initially, they named the town Dayton. Then, they changed it to Browns Crossing. The third name change was “Middle Boulder” because it has a creek at the center of the town. However, the most significant shift in town’s name happened when it was sold to the Mining Company Nederland from the Netherlands.

“Nederland” meant low land, so it’s a little ironic to call the area by this name since it’s one of the areas in Colorado with a higher elevation. Nonetheless, the name stuck, and it became the official name in the incorporation documents.
@Cerberus How do you pronounce that?
Neil?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
En El.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Ug. That's just wrong.
You need one sylb.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
It's an abbreviation.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Hence Ned.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
12:45 AM
We can't have just one.
The abbreviation is rarely used, and always very informally.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Too many syllables for a hypocoronym.
So some folks call them Nedheads.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Do their heads looks particularly odd?
 
tchrist
tchrist
> All About Ned
Located just 17 miles west of Boulder at an elevation of over 8,000 feet, Ned (as the locals affectionately call Nederland) was established in 1874. Roughly 1,500 “Ned Heads” live here, but it’s pretty densely populated, as the entire town encompasses less than two miles. Since 2001, Ned has been known mostly as the home of Frozen Dead Guy Days (FDGD), an annual festival held in March to commemorate, well, a local frozen dead guy. While FDGD is fun, a visit during the other 362 days of the year will yield a more authentic Ned experience.
For so small a town it has an incredible number of varied restaurants and kitsch shops. You have to pass through it going various places, including Rocky Mountain National Park if you take the scenic high route.
There's a ski area just above it in Eldora.
Also several possible ways into the Indian Peaks National Wilderness from there.
It of course used to be a mining town. These all were.
> In the 1960s, the town’s community experienced a shift. People from all over Colorado started coming in. “Hippies” were traveling with their vibrant music and casual lifestyle. Most of the traveling folks settled in the town.

Now, the town has become a solidified hub for local produce, entertainment, and leisure. They also host popular annual events like the NedFest and the Frozen Dead Guy Festival, previously featured in the New York Times.
It's pretty cazh.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Nice.
 
tchrist
tchrist
It feels much more authentic than Estes Park.
It's also less than a quarter the size.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
1:02 AM
Replacing the asphalt would be a nice next step.
 
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist I always race through EP to get to RMNP.
 
tchrist
tchrist
1:23 AM
@Robusto Yeah, I take the shortcut/bypass to avoid the center of town. but of course you can always go the other way, up through Ned and across.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
1:58 AM
I got a flu vaccine shot yesterday and boy is it itchy
MAKE IT STAHHHP
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Vaccine, thou shalt stop itching el Mar immediately.
On pain of frown.
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
2:19 AM
I'm too lazy to go and get a flu shot. One should go to the outpatient clinic, first to the general practitioner's office, then to the vaccination room.
I'm glad I overcame my laziness and got the full course of three tick-borne encephalitis shots back in 2013-2016 though.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If you are at risk, it would seem prudent to conquer your laziness.
2
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
I've jogged 1800 km this year, I must be in good form. In good shape. Shipshape.
 
 
1 hour later…
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
3:46 AM
Current weather
 
 
2 hours later…
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
5:36 AM
Word of the day: bottomry - recruiting into British Navy based on proper bottom shape
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
6:18 AM
@Robusto Amen to that.
 
 
2 hours later…
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
8:18 AM
 
 
1 hour later…
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
9:41 AM
I itched through the night and feel like a zombie now
Point taken: Next time you get a flu shot, make sure to get a frigging hydrocortisone ointment to go with it
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
10:03 AM
It's odd. I don't remember any itching after tick-borne encephalitis shots. Maybe different shots have differing side effects.
I remember only feeling sleepy the whole day after the first shot.
The whole next day, I mean.
Cummingtonite
Cummingtonite ( KUM-ing-tə-nyte) is a metamorphic amphibole with the chemical composition (Mg,Fe2+)2(Mg,Fe2+)5Si8O22(OH)2, magnesium iron silicate hydroxide. Monoclinic cummingtonite is compositionally similar and polymorphic with orthorhombic anthophyllite, which is a much more common form of magnesium-rich amphibole, the latter being metastable. Cummingtonite shares few compositional similarities with alkali amphiboles such as arfvedsonite, glaucophane-riebeckite. There is little solubility between these minerals due to different crystal habit and inability of substitution between alkali elements...
 
 
2 hours later…
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
12:09 PM
 
JTP - Apologise to Monica
JTP - Apologise to Monica
@M.A.R. - Itched? Sorry to hear that. We got our shots. Wife and daughter's arms were sore. Nurse practitioner told me to rest arm in lap and not tense up. I didn't even feel the shot...... On reflection - YOU MIGHT HAVE A LATEX ALLERGY. They put a band-aide on you, right. It wasn't the shot, it was the latex. Bummer.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@CowperKettle It's apparently more common with flu shots. It didn't get itchy after last year's shot for me
@JTP-ApologisetoMonica Oh I injected myself
No latex. But a whole lot of alcohol swabs
 
JTP - Apologise to Monica
JTP - Apologise to Monica
12:24 PM
hmmm. ok. I thought I was on to something.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Subcatenous shots are pretty easy. I used to inject a lot of Eprex
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
12:37 PM
Easy-peasy, plunger-squeasy
@M.A.R. In Russia we are told never to inject vaccines to ourselves, for fear of anaphylactic reactions
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@CowperKettle sure that's a valid fear, but I had already injected it a year earlier
You often don't develop anaphylactic responses to exogenous materials in just a year, I think.
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
1:09 PM
What could possibly go wrong
 
 
2 hours later…
Matt E. Эллен
Matt E. Эллен
2:50 PM
@Robusto I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure it's still used, but maybe not by younger people?
 
skullpatrol
skullpatrol
Is ngram fading out for anyone else too?
 
Matt E. Эллен
Matt E. Эллен
@skullpatrol the "British English (2019)" data is a lot different to the whole English data, for this query
@skullpatrol not for me
 
skullpatrol
skullpatrol
Hmmm
 
Matt E. Эллен
Matt E. Эллен
Netflix launch streaming in UK in 2012, usage of "telly" drops considerably...
UK votes to leave the EU in 2016, usage of telly increases...
I'm just kidding, measurement must have lag on it, so that's just coincidence
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
3:12 PM
Word of the eve: Beecher's Bible
 
Matt E. Эллен
Matt E. Эллен
top ten numbers in the BrE 2019 google ngram corpus: 1:one, 2: two, 3: three, 4: four, 5: five, 6: six, 7: ten, 8: twenty, 9: seven, 10: eight
I could be more rigorous, but I won't
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
3:46 PM
@M.A.R. I think that should be "You don't often..." The order changes the meaning in this case.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha No I did mean it that way
@MattE.Эллен ten twenty seven eight. Sounds like a 70's rock band.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Ok.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha What's up ??.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Generally feeling jaded. Have hardly been out of the house since the end of March. How about you?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
I'm busy learning by heart and every other organ glycolysis
It's darn interesting. I chose pharmacy because of this stuff
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
3:53 PM
@M.A.R. There should be a question mark at the end of that. Thought I'd mention it, since this is ELU, after all.
@M.A.R. "every other organ?"
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
That's supposed to be emphatic, and my humor
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Glycolysis is pharmacy?
@M.A.R. I see. Pardon me.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Biochem. Both medicine and pharmacy students study it
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
Looks like biology to me.
@M.A.R. Ah. You're doing a pharmacy degree?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Pharmacy students to a greater extent
@FaheemMitha Just a 2nd-year undergrad, nothing to boast about
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
3:55 PM
@M.A.R. Still, good for you.
I find biology interesting in theory. Not so much in practice. By which I mean, I don't really know about it, and not motivated to learn more. Then again, I'm quite lazy.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
It promises a pretty stable academic career and financial status
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. I see.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Biology lab is often gross unless it's the biochem techniques; electrophoresis and HPLC and what-not
Not that I've been allowed near an HPLC machine my whole life yet
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. I didn't mean experimental stuff. I just meant that ti would be stuff that is interesting to learn more about. But mostly I don't. I didn't do so even when I was working in a biology research group for some years.
it was a frequent point of contention between me and my employers.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Hmm, yeah, I find that there's really not much incentive to learn more other than a vague personal interest
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
3:59 PM
@M.A.R. High-performance liquid chromatography?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Academia should do better than that
@FaheemMitha Mhm
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
So what do you do with a pharmacy degree? Hopefully something more exciting than being a pharmacist.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha What was? That you didn't choose to learn stuff, or?
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. That I didn't really want to learn biology.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Right now my daydreams consist of enrolling further in Academia and contributing to cutting edge research. And there's always stuff to do for a pharmacist.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:00 PM
Or rather, that I had trouble learning it, and wasn't willing to put in a lot of effort to overcome that. Assuming it was even possible. I don't have a great track record of learning things I don't want to learn.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
A very extensive enterprise, improving and designing drugs
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Sounds good. Cutting edge research, I mean.
@M.A.R. Though it would be better if people would just get off their lazy behinds and exercised more. And/or eat better.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Sure, that too.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
I realise not all diseases can be prevented that way.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
I dunno how much pharmacists contribute to our knowledge of metabolic pathways, but if we do, then my work might even have to do with exercise and diet at some point. Who knows.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:03 PM
The problem with drugs is that much of the time they don't solve anything. Just suppress the disease.
Nice for the pharma company. Not so nice for the patient.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
One source of problems to overcome in this field is the great market for supplements that are supposed to replace people's laziness
It doesn't encourage novel research.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. What kind of supplements?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Well yeah, that's almost the entire field of medicine. Treating symptoms instead of the underlying causes
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Is anyone worried over there about the upcoming US elections?
(Don't mean to change the subject. Just wondering.)
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
If Cowp were here he would have linked to some crazy shit about nanobots kicking cancer cells in the ass, but right now we mostly ICBM the body to get rid of the cancer
@FaheemMitha Just lots of fuss
But most people do realize that either president isn't good for Iran. It's every president's rite of passage to beat Iran's dead horse in the first year in office to prove how they love Israel and America and whatever.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:07 PM
@M.A.R. There's a lot to be said about nanobots to kill cancer. But right now, I think it's just science fiction. My mother died of breast cancer, because I was neglectful. And I had to just sit there and watch her die. None of those drugs did anything. Real stone age stuff.
@M.A.R. Lots of fuss?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Well, pretty sure you know or heard of the kind. Dietary supplements that boost metabolism or block fat absorption from the intestine etc.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Yes, I know how the US works. And something of the history. Though less than you, of course.
@M.A.R. Ugh. Yes. Those things are bad for you.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Just as foreign policy regarding Iran would be a safe topic to find common ground on for two US citizens (Iran being the common enemy) the same is true of most Iranian citizens regardless of their political orientation. The election is a spectacle to watch with 3D glasses and lots of popcorn.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
The way the US works is - they commit some horrible crime, or more often, a series of horrible crimes against some community. Let's say, a country. After a while, that community/country doesn't like them so much. They then transition to - oh that country doesn't like us. They must be evil. Not infrequently followed by - let's attack them. For their own good, of course.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Nah I don't know nothin'. I need to educate myself about this stuff but glycolysis is more important
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:11 PM
@M.A.R. I hope not all Americans. Or even most of them. But mostly they probably don't know what is going on. And assume their leaders are competent/honest. Vain hope.
@M.A.R. And the common ground for most Iranians is?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha I wouldn't hold them on that TBH. They mostly don't have anything to base their opinions on. They've, for the most part, heard only the extreme forms of only one side of the debate.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. There's this thing called the Internet. And there are lots of people who can explain things to them. And they can just look at the history.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Whether what happens inside the US does us any good, which it doesn't.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. I agree. No, it doesn't.
I'm not particularly well informed, but it's usually pretty obvious to me what is going on. US propaganda isn't exactly sophisticated. It's seemingly aimed at 12 year old children. And I'm not 12 years old any more.
It might have worked on me as a child. I don't know.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
People are, just like the US, heavily polarized here into the two "west-worshipping" and "conservative rightist" camps. This sort of environment doesn't encourage anything but extremism. In online chats, sometimes I've been accused by both sides to be far left/right at the same time. Heh.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:16 PM
@M.A.R. We've got plenty of west-worshipping stuff right here. Unfortunately. I also remember it from when I was growing up.
Things haven't changed that much.
My personal perspective has changed somewhat, for a number of reasons.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha I'm pretty sure it's not for the majority of our youth. In some ways, it's the only direction to head to once you denounce your religious teachings as a child
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
But the world pretty much remains as it was. Except that things are increasingly more desperate.
@M.A.R. The only direction to head to? What direction is that?
Actually, it's possible that Indians aren't quite that enraptured with the West as they used to be, because it's an increasingly internationalized and intertwined world. But I don't really know. I don't get out enough to even have an idea.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Just like the US, there have been unhealthy associations with political alignments: That a stereotypical conservative Iranian would be rural, middle-aged or older, religious (Muslim), pro-Khamenei, anti-science, superstitious, and patriotic. A stereotypical leftist would be pro-science, atheistic, young, anti-regime, fickle with respect to own country etc.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Ok. With you so far.
Not sure why being Muslim means being anti-science, though.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
In such an environment, many things are already assumed about what you're going to say before you even say them. If you're condemning the government, suddenly you're sacrilegious (not that the regime minds that), and if you're preaching Islam, there must be some benefit in it for you (that you're a "Basiji" or whatever)
@FaheemMitha hence the "unhealthiness" of the associations. Polarization begets extremism. People don't expect a religious person NOT to be superstitious or anti-science.
It's of course fueled by US propaganda media (VoA, Radio Farda, whatever), at least when they were subtle. They're not so subtle anymore probably, but I wouldn't know.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:25 PM
@M.A.R. I suppose being religious does imply some aversion to science.
Because the two don't coexist very comfortably.
@M.A.R. Hollywood is, or used to be, the real US propaganda.
I don't know if that it is true so much, these days.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Well it's obviously a spectrum, and to some atheists uttering "Oh my God!" is religious, and for some religious people, a religious joke is sacrilegious
@FaheemMitha They probably pay more attention inward now. Since 2010, a great many people in the countries that are considered US enemies already hate their regime (for valid or invalid reasons) so the well is already poisoned.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Personally, I find the term "atheist" very labelling. And it's kind of a legacy term, anyway.
@M.A.R. Who is they? And what do you mean by "pay more attention inward"?
@M.A.R. I've heard that the US attacking countries with repressive govts effectively supports those govts. I don't know if that is true or not.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Hollywood. It's busy patching up the gaps in the viewpoints of US citizens or preaching one ideology or another. The targets seem to be primarily US citizens now.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
India has mostly been spared that level of attention. So I don't have first hand experience of it. But there was a lot of West-worshipping in my school when I was growing up. Did I mention I hated that school?
@M.A.R. Oh, I see. Hmm.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Hence you get Eastwood's right-wing movies about a murderer in Iraq who enjoyed killing women and children, and the not-so great movies about gay people being gay people and that should somehow be interesting in itself.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:30 PM
@M.A.R. I'm not familiar with any of these.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
American Sniper, I think
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
But much of the "mainstream" US film output is pretty terrible. Much of it glamourizing violence in some form or the other. Often still entertaining, though.
And usually aggressively brainless. Or anti-intellectual, if you prefer.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha well I dunno what that would be. Transformers 5? Haha
It does make me wanna commit a hate crime against the screen
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
Though some of the TV stuff is becoming a little more varied.
@M.A.R. Lots of things. Much of it is procedural type stuff. NCIS, CSI, etc. etc. Cops and Robbers.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Would you consider, say, Breaking Bad to be mindless glorification of violence?
@FaheemMitha Oh those
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:33 PM
Actually, some of the alternative TV stuff isn't so bad. Particularly on paid cable channels. But it's not widely watched for the most part.
@M.A.R. Never watched it. Have you?
Though a TV show about drugs doesn't sound exactly appealing.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Great American heroes being great American heroes. It got boring after a while.
@FaheemMitha I did, it is amazing.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Oh. How so?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha It's not exactly a TV show about drugs. It's about building an empire.
(A mafia empire)
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Is that better?
Actually, one of the curious things about US "entertainment", which doesn't seem to be remarked upon much, or at all, is that there is so much of it.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Well, a very relatable and lovely school chemistry teacher decides to go bad and sell some meth because their family is almost broke and he suddenly has cancer. So if he doesn't go bad it's likely they will go bankrupt and his lung cancer won't get cured.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:36 PM
I don't know of any easy way to do calculations, but surely a substantial portion of their GDP must be going into providing what is basically distraction.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
He goes bad, starts enjoying it, and you get five seasons of true moral conflict about a lovable teacher turning into a horrible monster of a drug kingpin.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Lung cancer mostly isn't curable anyway. As I understand it, you only start having symptoms at stage 4.
At that point, you have maybe a few months to live.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Well, I used a loose definition of the word. Technically, no cancer is cured, just treated.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Ok. Not clear why this would make appealing watching. But don't feel obliged to explain.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
But yes, this point itself is incorporated in the show.
@FaheemMitha Try it, you won't regret it!
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:38 PM
@M.A.R. What point?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
It's truly the greatest TV show there is.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. It's not on either of my current streaming services.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha That he probably wouldn't have much left to live
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
Maybe it's on Netflix. But I'm don't currently have that.
@M.A.R. Ok, I see.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha well, you could try the more unethical methods or you could always keep it in the back of your mind.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:39 PM
@M.A.R. I could subscribe to Netflix. Assuming it's on there.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
I say this without exaggeration, that it's probably the only thing you need to watch. After that, you probably won't need to watch a single other TV show.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
So if I understand correctly, if the US had universal health care, that show would have no reason to exist?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Other than for pure entertainment. Because all that needs to be said is said on BrBa, on TV.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. That sounds like it might be an overstatement. :-)
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha I dunno, a cancer treatment is still a pretty expensive and risky procedure with or without universal health care and good insurance
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:41 PM
@M.A.R. Ok, but how would being a drug lord help with that?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Well, everything else . . . I'm slowly watching Death Note right now, and it's a great anime show. But all that's appealing about it revolves around a single moral dilemma (albeit a very interesting one)
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
(Personally, I'm hoping those nanobots get here soon.)
@M.A.R. There's a lot of US TV out there. As I've already remarked, maybe too much.
Did you try "Person of Interest"? Still very violent, and uses the procedural format, but at least some of the time it's actually interesting.
Americans really seem to get off on violence. It's like catnip for them. At least in their entertainment. Perhaps it's a vicarious thing.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha He initially gets into the meth business to earn some for his family and die a sort of a martyr. Then he manages the expenses and the treatment is shown to be effective, giving him a few more years. He decides this is much better than being a moral lovely person and decides to go with it and earn loads of money
But I think I spoiled enough
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. So he finds out that he likes being a drug lord?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Yep, watched a dozen episodes or so. It's from Nolan's brother, and it's enjoyable in its own way
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:45 PM
And that's the same actor as the dad in "Malcolm in the Middle", right?
@M.A.R. It improves as it goes along. The first couple of seasons are gradual buildup.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha But this is the point that you should derive from the show. He starts justifying all that bad things that happen to people around him because of him, and it's frigging beautiful because it's real
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
Actually the later seasons have much less gunplay, and move more towards straight SF>
@M.A.R. Beautiful?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha He absolutely nails it, Bryan Cranston
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Yes, I can imagine him doing a good job. He seems like he might be a good actor.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha More accurately, impactful. Personally, I'm of course not a drug lord, and whatever bad stuff happens to people around me because of my neglect is relatively minor, but after watching it, I catch myself making the same semi-rational justifications for something bad I did.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:48 PM
@M.A.R. Hmm. Interesting. TV-fuelled personal growth. :-)
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
So, in its own way, however it made and makes me think about what I'm doing, it has made me a slightly better person. That's the best you can get from entertainment, no?
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Personally, my considered opinion is that the best kind of TV is the kind of TV you don't watch. Assuming one has a choice, of course.
If you're in prison, you probably don't, for example. If the choice is to stare at the wall of your cell, or watch "Breaking Bad", I guess the latter would look like a pretty good option.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Meh, in controlled chunks, why not. Most people go nuts and binge-watch a show like BrBa in the span of weeks. It took me four months, because I watched one episode per day or two days.
Probably the number of people in this world who are so efficient with their time that spending a few hours every week watching good entertainment would be detrimental can't make it to three digits.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Yes, I tend to binge-watch myself. Then come up for air, feeling slightly disoriented and ashamed of myself. Essentially a drug binge without the drugs. I think TV is basically a form of narcotics, except it doesn't destroy your liver or lungs.
At least, that's how I use it.
@M.A.R. I think you underestimate how much time people spend watching TV. It can also be quite mentally distracting.
It reminds me of the drug Soma, in "Brave New World". Are you familiar with that novel?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Sure, most people do it in excess, just like when they do social media in excess, or crossword puzzles in excess
@FaheemMitha On my list
Definitely will read it after I'm done with these books
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:54 PM
@M.A.R. Humans often do things to excess. It's part of being human.
@M.A.R. So, Soma is a magical drug, with no side-effects, and is really nice to be under.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
It's part of not keeping track of time. But if you are, it wouldn't hurt
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
So when people take it, it's called a "Soma holiday". And they don't want to come back to reality, because Soma is so much nicer.
That's not how actual real drugs work, as far as I know.
@M.A.R. Sure, if there is something forcing you to keep track of time.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Yeah, real drugs often are or imitate certain metabolites that make the body do something. It deviates from the steady state of the body, by definition.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Worth reading if you haven't already. Originally read it as a child. Don't remember when I first read it.
@M.A.R. They have nasty side-effects, don't they?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Clockify. It's a blast.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
4:57 PM
And often are not particularly pleasant to be on.
@M.A.R. Ah. You use that when you watch TV?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha It all depends on what it is they do. Constrict vessels? Emulate more cortisol activity? Induce sedation?
@FaheemMitha No, only when I do useful work
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Sure. I just meant that they do have unpleasant side-effects in general.
And longer term, cause damage to the body.
As far as I understand it, Soma doesn't actually hurt the user, other than psychological dependence. As in, they may keep using it till they die from starvation. And in the book, John's mother does exactly that.
That's a spoiler, though not much of one.
@M.A.R. I see.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha It's a very familiar theme. I've read Fahrenheit 451, and that was similar.
There was also this Adventure Time episode with this exact reference.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Oh, that's a very different book.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
People were in an awesome virtual reality they never wanted to escape
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
5:01 PM
Almost nothing in common, I'd say.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Huh, interesting
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Oh yes, it's a familiar theme.
Bradbury and Huxley were very different people who thought very differently about basically everything.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
I mean these works explore the allure of mindless entertainment
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Fahrenheit 451 explores the allure of mindless entertainment?
But hang on. Are we still talking about drugs?
I'm not sure if Soma puts one in a virtual reality per se. I think it just "drugs" you.
Like a sort of blissful dream, I suppose.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Yeah sure, and it was eerily close to what people like to experience today.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
5:05 PM
@M.A.R. I don't recall that part at all.
I remember all the book burning stuff.
Are you sure you have the right novel?
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Resembling reality shows and some talk shows where people talk but don't speak, fact-paced loud music with no content, extreme, mindless and fact-paced entertainment with no regard to consequences
@FaheemMitha Well sure, and why did they do that? The whole story revolves around it.
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Ok. Well, maybe I'll go and look at it again.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
They burned books because life should be easier because ignorance is bliss
The main protagonist's wife committed suicide because of the shallowness and emptiness of her life
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
@M.A.R. Hmm. Sounds like I've forgotten large chunks of that novel. Shame on me.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Okay, 20 to nine, and I've got stuff to do now. Bis dann
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
5:11 PM
@M.A.R. Ooh, German.
 
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
@FaheemMitha Nothing like showing off my A1 level German vocab
 
Faheem Mitha
Faheem Mitha
@M.A.R. Exciting. You should learn some German swear words.
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
5:26 PM
A local ambulance driver fell asleep and hit a lamppost. The ambulance system is overloaded, there are pictures of ambulances standing in queues near hospitals. A friend said that her relative has covid symptoms, but the CT scanner is booked until November 7th.
Basically, you have hefty chances of either recuperating or dying way before your turn comes up to get the CT scan.
@M.A.R. Bis bald!
Word of the day: pootle ("they were pootling down a canal in their new boat")
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
5:56 PM
Russian music video from 1993, brings nostalgic memories
The name of the group, Ногу Свело! translates as My leg is cramped!
 
tchrist
tchrist
6:43 PM
@CowperKettle Surely that occurs only after it's been raining cats and dogs. :)
 
tchrist
tchrist
6:55 PM
@Robusto Looks like New Mexico is locked into exponential growth in the daily number of new covid cases, as are Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and many other states. I don't know that anyone has ever managed to break that trend without a full lockdown.
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
@tchrist Because it's only used by Brits?
 
tchrist
tchrist
@CowperKettle It's the old joke about how you can tell it's raining cats and dogs because you just stepped into a poodle.
 
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
Ah!
 
tchrist
tchrist
 
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