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George_E_Hale

insufferable blowhard

2 followers   follows 11 users  
joined 2022 September 04 19:24:43 UTC

The things you lean on / are things that don't last

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George_E_Hale


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
insufferable blowhard

				
				
				

				

					2 followers  

					follows 11 users  

					joined 2022 September 04 19:24:43 UTC
				


				
					

					
The things you lean on / are things that don't last



				

				

				

				

				

					

					

					
					
					

					
User ID: 107


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
							
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 31, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Social science research done well is not going to reach the levels of hard science, of course, but it is certainly not worthless if done well. There are various strategies to establish validity, reliability, etc. in quantitative measures, and credibility, transferability, etc in qualitative research. The problem is ideological capture, wrongthink, and institutional guardrailing. As well as a general lack of rigor, even when the methods to maintain such rigor and force accountability exist.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There is a searchable archive of material though it may not have what you want.


edit fixed link


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I had a teacher named Mr. Wolf, in elementary school. Or, rather, the school had him; he never taught me. He looked like Gabe Kaplan in Welcome Back, Kotter except fucking mean. Mustachioed. Maybe just strict. Vulpine. I remember him slinging a kid around by the kid's shirt collar out in front of the school and asking (rhetorically I assume) DO YOU WANNA GET HURT?!


The pathetic no from the boy (remember this was elementary school!) to this day strikes a chord of pity in my heart, or wherever. I'm a bit sappy though.


I also had a teacher named Mr. Cummings who ended up marrying the (female) math teacher whose first name was Gay. He has passed away, alas, so I feel slightly boorish joking about his name, though I guess it's her married name that wins the prize.


The most plain name was Miss Smith, who was also (you knew this was coming) the most beautiful teacher I've ever had. Heavy-lidded and long-eyelashed Miss Smith, she of the quiet voice, lithe figure, and long dark hair. I remember she taught sitting down often. English, the smart-kid-class I got moved into halfway through the year. Was it Mrs. Smith? Ms.? I feel it was Miss. I remember she seemed to keep to herself, though I have a clear memory of seeing one of the PE coaches talking to her, some fit doofus with thighs like wrought iron. I wonder what happened to her.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Ha! That explains my colleagues bringing their dirty clothes up to me.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
But a myth is different from a lie, or a vacuum. You wouldn't, presumably, argue that nothing at all happened yesterday. My point is that it may not be particularly helpful (or, indeed, possible) to wave away anything not immediately historically verifiable (by whatever means would be satisfying, and I use this term 'historically verifiable' to substitute for your word true. Not that I have an issue with the word true but because its meaning is fluid unless we mean factual and not subject to interpretation. In other words fact vs narrative--and nor am I saying narrative is a dirty word ). Nor is it constructive to dismiss myth as irrelevant (or outright harmful) to the living of life.


I sympathize with your general point regarding the bona fides of a lot of what many of us were taught as facts in school.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Spicy is apt. I would view this as a reddit-tier view aligned with the Tear-it-all-Down, Black-is-White teenegae angsty ethos of many users there.


Keller got into and graduated Radcliffe. There is good evidence that Sullivan misrepresented certain aspects of Keller's achievements at different junctures, but to dismiss them both as fabulists is, at least based on what the historical record suggests, unwarranted.


Edit: I am not saying your take is reddit tier as I took your post as a hypothetical answer.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
A fraud within a fraud. I assumed @zoink was aware of this but his query still holds with Abagnale as an exemplar.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Longer for some than others.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Out of curiosity, what about the post you're responding to has prompted your response here? Do you doubt its veracity? Or is it that this is new information to you and you feel it has been previously hidden from you, and thus a narrative of some sort has been thrust upon you regarding something about Till's history without your having the facts?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I can recall making a comment about a megapint of wine over DM with a friend back in the US. I had watched a few bestof clips of the Depp/Heard trial and found that segment funny (Depp is asked about alcohol and is questioned something like "You poured yourself a megapint of wine?" Depp actually seems amused at the term and just asks back: "Megapint?" It's really the kind of interaction made for the internet age. For a while you could find online for sale the Mason jars fixed to winestem glasses of the type seen in the Heard-secretly-filmed videos. They were of course sold as "Megapints." )


My friend had no idea what I was talking about.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 21, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well I did not move to Japan for the women, but I may be an outlier. I would concede that there is probably a big-boob fetish among many Japanese dudes.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 21, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Most guys want tits and ass, big as can be




This may be true of guys, especially young guys, in 2026, but never was for me. I really never have liked what dudes used to call "thick"/thicc. But then I've seen girls in the blossom of youth (the wonder years between say 17 and 25) who would have been called voluptuous, then slowly morph as the years pass into (there's no other word here) fat women.


Thin ftw. Just a preference.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Link


Maybe. As I understand it he was a College Research Associate with Emmanuel. Stilk he was technically not employed by them, but employed by Cambridge as a university researcher. So while Emmanuel canned his affiliation they didn't have authority to fire him from his Cambridge position.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Fixed I think. Thanks.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Cambridge didn't fire him. Emmanuel College released him from whatever he had going on there but his Cambridge tenure played out until its 2025 natural end.


Unless you have some dirt I don't.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for August 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
A diary in this regard logging calories is helpful. People tend to be bad at estimating caloric intake. There are several apps that can do this, in particular if you're eating what everyone else is eating (MyFitnessPal actually has barcode scanning for many foods). You may already be doing this.


I did a food log about ten years ago going in the opposite direction (i.e. I was trying to gain.) Set a goal weight, the app tells you based on a few metrics what calories you'll need to get there by however quickly you enter. You also enter exercise. I ended up sending my triglycerides through the roof due to my food choices and metabolism, but I reached my goal. I have made adjustments since.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for August 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What does this mean, specifically? Insulin? It's a peptide. Are there a group of peptides you're thinking of in particular? I'm admittedly out of this loop but I know among a certain number here the use of these drugs is popular.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 16, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Are you familiar with the meat and three? These are restaurants. Diners, if you will. They sometimes have burgers, and the burgers will be typically on a buttered and toasted bun, with a bit of mayonnaise that even a person like myself who for years despised mayonnaise can tolerate, some crispy lettuce, ketchup, maybe a firm tomato slice, a medallion of red onion, and of course a burger patty, but with proper ground meat shaped as a patty. Calorically I'm not sure, probably a lot. In my view these are the best burgers to be had anywhere. But even if the place doesn't have burgers it will have hamburger steaks. These are not the filler and spice heavy Salisbury steaks one not from the south might imagine, but, again, big patties of meat well salted and peppered and cooked to a Maillard reaction and served with probably sauteed onions and a brown gravy beside, again probably, a mound of white rice. This or fried chicken, stewed chicken with dumplings, a tender gravied pork chop the promise of  which once extended my mother's life briefly, or a chicken fried steak with white pepper gravy. These are the meats. Sometimes beef stew or tender pork ribs or maybe meatloaf. The three would be the sides, popularly understood as vegetables but often including something un-vegetable like such as a rich macaroni with cheese, dirty rice or just boiled white rice, a baked potato with butter or sour cream or both, mashed potatoes with gravy, creamed or kernel sweet corn, etc. True vegetables might be green beans cooked with pork fat, collard greens (also cooked with pork or bacon fat), black eyed or field peas, pinto beans, fried okra, sliced tomatoes or sweet Vidalia onions, or just cornbread, either in muffins, slices, or shaped like a stick. You order a meat and three sides. You drink cold iced tea, either sweet or unsweet or half and half. You have a small cage of Tabasco or other hot sauces, ketchup maybe, mustard, etc. I miss these places. They're even better at breakfast but I'm already damn hungry and my train just stopped.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 16, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Very possible. He gave me a big hardcover and knows I don't dig audiobooks.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 16, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I finished Hail Mary Project after having abandoned it some time ago. I still hated the prose but it's out (the movie) on Netflix and my sons and I can probably watch it and I wanted to have read the book. I could barely get through it due to the writing style, which clearly must be entertaining or funny for a lot of people but made me wish I was better at speed reading. The "Oh crud" type exclamations and the general sense of humor of the protagonist (and by implication, author) grated. What's that Stephen King analogy? "Like biting on tinfoil."


From the same friend I am now reading Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's okay so far but in a way that is making me realize the distance in our habits and tastes. He's a big gamer and reader of sci fi. I haven't really played a game since I quit Warcraft a decade or more ago and have only read a dozen or so sci fi books, most of those long ago. Unfortunately the narrative voice so far is somewhat similar to the protagonist in Wier's Weir's book.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"They" are at least arguably not a completely unified discrete group, though I get the spirit of your response. I would suggest humans in general regardless of political stripe are capable of deceit and even fraud, as well as a conviction that their own side is morally superior and thus its rules should be foisted on the perceived opposition.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You can find frauds, hucksters, shills, charlatans, and quack mountebanks in the "ranks" of progressives, to be sure, but let's not pretend they do not exist in likely great numbers among liberals, moderates, conservatives, or the reactionary right as well. The degree to which their quackery is unveiled will vary depending on the news cycle and/or the degree to which their lying is seen as egregious.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Recently watched with my sons. I remember reading somewhere on Reddit probably about the reveal that you mention in the spoiler tags, but really you can still make up your own mind.


In BR, Ridley Scott insists Deckard was a replicant, Ford says he wasn't, Villeneuve (director of 2049) says it's still ambiguous (which it is-- there is evidence both ways.) In the PKD story Deckard's character is definitely not a replicant.


Edit: My point being the director can vague himself into not being definitive.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for August 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I imagine counseling is available gratis as part of your work? Which may be shit tier counseling, it's always a diceroll, but might be worth it. I can't imagine the shit you deal with, almost as bad as cops. Worse, in a way.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think if my benign quokka ass is being blocked that blocking or the desire for blocking will always be with us. That may be me underestimating how annoying I am.