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MiddleAgedMan

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.

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joined 2022 September 05 14:45:27 UTC 

				
User ID: 600


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
MiddleAgedMan


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 05 14:45:27 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 600


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of December 4, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yes this seems correct. There is no upside and considerable downside risk in answering in any other way. Similarly one should not talk to police beyond the absolute minimum legally required.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 13, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
TI-99/4A, using the TV as a monitor and a tape cassette to save data. I did occasionally have access to some sort of terminal at computer summer camp which was largely spent playing Moon Lander. But there were many, many hours spent typing in BASIC programs.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 1, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Since you are already cultivating the group I would just kick him. If he is going to ruin it anyway then kicking him early has no downsides, since you will either have no group (if people are upset) or a much better group in the future.


I suppose you could give him one more chance or speak to him privately about his behavior if you are feeling charitable. But it is usually better to cut your losses early.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for September 13, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I got 19, 62, 0, 67, 33 respectively. The 0 in agreeableness is highly unlikely to be correct, but I may be misinterpreting what it purports to represent. I do tend to disagree with a lot of people, but I am certainly polite and hate confrontation.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 27, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Are women doing it for instagram and to compete against other women?




This is the biggest reason. Also it is emulation of popular (among women!) stars like the Kardashians etc. There is a pretty big disconnect between the female celebrities that women like and those that men like (or lust after). I think that the subconscious thought process is a) these women are awesome/hot/popular, b) if I look like them I will have higher status among women, c) (distant 3rd) since they are hot/popular men will obviously find me hotter.


Speaking personally I vastly prefer the natural look (or "minimal makeup") and find the Botox (also tattoos and piercings) off-putting. But I am a middle-aged man...


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 21, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The core issue is that students are no longer allowed to fail, or even to feel badly about themselves. When half or more of the population did not complete high school, and vanishingly few graduated from college, those degrees were an actual signifier of merit. Now that they are essentially birthday gifts, withholding them seems unfair. I wish that was fixable but I cannot see the path.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 21, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Per multiple flyers from my elementary and middle school kids' schools, it is "educational equity". The bullet points are retaking tests, essentially no late penalties, etc., etc. I will see if I can find one of the ones I threw out last week for the exact verbiage. But this has been going on at least since Covid, if not explicitly denoted as such.


Fortunately my kids think it's ridiculous and will continue to follow the actual deadlines for the sake of their own innate sense of fairness. It has been interesting to see their relatively unfiltered takes on these issues.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 29, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Muslim is not a race.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 26, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
After many years of donating to a worldwide charity (Mercy Corps), a few years back I redirected that money to local causes. I split equally between the local food bank and a private school for homeless children (California so this is a large population). However I am considering switching it all to the food bank as I am more confident that money is being used wisely.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for February 24, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
When you have kids of an age to be embarrassed by their parents, it's quite good fun to intentionally misuse (or even properly use) slang.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 20, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That is the first time in at least a decade someone has called me optimistic. Perhaps there is hope left!


Sure, they'll try to hold it together with string and bubblegum. I just think that "tax the fat cats" (of whom there will be ever fewer) is historically the option most often chosen.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 20, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I would bet heavily on means testing as the primary solution.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for February 15, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I apparently have moderate sleep apnea.  I received a CPAP machine but it was utterly unworkable, in that a) I could not sleep on my side and b) the sensation of being smothered completely precluded any possibility of sleeping.  After several nights of unsuccessful attempts, I returned it and have continued on with my usual snoring and daytime naps.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of December 19, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Precisely - and the problem is that normally teen slang is limited to that demographic, and in fact actively discouraged from being used by adults.  Neopronouns however are required to be used by all on pain of social ostracism.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 21, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It's a poker metaphor.  Basically it means when confronted by a momentous decision with high personal stakes, it is sometimes better to eschew a profitable but high-variance situation in order to wait for an even better situation.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 20, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I've been buying 4-week T-bills for a few months and rolling them over.  Nothing at all looks remotely attractive so safety is king.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				In dating, do you ever follow up after not hearing back (i.e. ghosted)?
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It depends on your goals.  If you're just looking for a short-term thing, then by all means reach out again - once.  But if you're looking for a long-term or permanent relationship, that's a pretty big red flag to me.  If someone is the type of person who will blow you off, it augurs poorly for any possible future together.  For one, she clearly doesn't like you enough to respond.  Also, the lack of common courtesy is not something I'd want in a potential mate.


As it says on the tin, I'm older and quite likely out of touch.  For reference I met my wife on Match decades ago when writing skill was actually useful.  Thank heavens for that!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Don't even go there: NIH blocks access to genetics database
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have helped prep data for NHLBI.  Basically it is just taking existing study data then standardizing and anonymizing it for inclusion into NHLBI.  The idea is to retain the data that's already been gathered for future use.


I'm very much opposed to the restrictions FWIW.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 31, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That could still be consistent - if the "true" percentage with no preference was 1-2%, then there could have still be a thumb on the scale which was not pressed quite as firmly in 1998.