ToaKraka
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User ID: 108
Associated Press:
Alberta separatist group says it has enough signatures to trigger referendum on leaving Canada
Alberta separatists said Monday they have formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures to try to trigger a referendum on the province leaving Canada.
The group needed 178,000 signatures to force the province to consider such a vote.
The question of separation could go on a provincewide ballot as early as October, as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she would move forward if enough names are gathered and verified. Smith has said she personally does not support the oil-rich province leaving Canada.
A “yes” vote would not trigger independence automatically. Negotiations with the federal government would have to take place and Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said some Indigenous groups who are already using the courts to prevent an independence referendum would use venues including the courts to stop independence from happening.
Mitch Sylvestre, the head of Stay Free Alberta, arrived at the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton on Monday leading a convoy of seven trucks to deliver the names.
Béland said a referendum is likely to lose.
“Right now, support for independence in Alberta is rather low. Less than 30% and much lower if we only focus on hard core supporters. And the odds of a victory of the pro-independence camp appear to be low at this stage,” he said.
Don't forget the two New J*rseyans who can't get guns because they saw psychiatrists one or two decades ago and don't have the records.
ToaKraka
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14hr ago
Better quote:
The session of the Tzik which discussed the abolition of marriage as an institution last autumn took place in the famous throneroom of the Tsars…
The bill was introduced by the Commissar for Justice, Mr. Kursky, a large man with tremendous blonde moustaches. He pointed out that whereas, according to the old law, the wife had no rights in the case of an unregistered marriage, the proposed law would give her the rights of a legal wife in holding property and other matters. Another new point was that wife and husband would have an equal right to claim support from the other, if unemployed or incapacitated for work. The woman would have the right to demand support for her child even if she lived with several men during the period of conception; but, in contrast to previous practice, she or the court would choose one man who would be held responsible for the support. Commissar Kursky seemed especially proud of this point because it differed so much from the "bourgeois customs" of Europe and America. In those countries, he said, the husband can bring a friend who declares that he also lived with the woman, and the latter is then left defenseless. In the villages, where sons continue to live with their parents long after they are married, the whole family is held responsible if a woman claims alimony, according to the original draft of the proposed law.
The opposition to the proposed law seemed to center around four points: (1) that it would abolish marriage; (2) that it would destroy the family; (3) that it would legalize polygamy and polyandry; (4) that it would ruin the peasants.
Leon Trotski also pronounced himself in favor of the proposed new law at a conference of medical workers engaged in medical maternity work. Trotski stressed the point that such a law, by giving more protection to women, would make for the benefit of the country's children.
Although discussion is still going on all over Russia, there seems to be little doubt that the bill, with certain modifications, will be passed at the next session of the Tzik, which will be held in the summer. The more important changes to the draft law, to which the Commissariat for Justice has agreed in deference to the widespread popular protests and opposition, are as follows:
Unregistered marriage will entail legal rights only in cases where the parties concerned mutually acknowledge each other as husband and wife, where it is established before a court that they lived together and had joint property, either by the testimony of a third party or by the evidence of their personal correspondence or other documents, where there was mutual material support or joint bringing up of children.
ToaKraka
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18hr ago
This is incorrect.
I assume that you're referring only to "US federal states". Among "Western European countries", France is fairly infamous for having banned informational paternity tests, and it appears that Germany also has banned them. Wikipedia page
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
19hr ago
I can't recall actually seeing any women with painted nails recently, but I definitely wouldn't call painted nails "gross and icky". I would impose a much milder version of such condemnation on dyed hair, though.
Perhaps this website's recent discussion of plastic surgery is relevant here.
I feel it is a matter of pride. People are supposed to be proud of how they look. Even if they acknowledge that they don't look the best, they should still feel some attachment to their face.
Going through a plastic surgery is "humiliating", it shows an willingness to sacrifice parts of yourself for validation from others.
The same argument applies to hair color (and to skin color, in a hypothetical scenario where somebody decides to dye his entire finger). But nobody cares about fingernail color (it's the same for everybody), so that is an acceptable target of modification.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
an obscure meme
At this point, I feel doubtful that 4chan's /v/ board counts as obscure. It's my understanding that the meme also is fairly popular on Twitter.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
Here's the full quote of his opinion.
By the way, someone posted this [image of Sarah Miller from The Last of Us] at me on Xitter and I think they thought it was an epic slam dunk.
But, uh, it kind of immediately proves me point. It's an even better point of reference than Ellie [also from The Last of Us]. If you compare that girl to Diana it is even more starkly obvious than Ellie why Diana is so fucking creepy.
Sarah Miller:
Flat, short hair (juvenile haircut).
Knobbly nose.
Close together facial features (neotenic feature)
Far-apart eyes.
Natural complex and lips.
Thin, fuzzy eyebrows.
This looks like a real child.
Diana:
Waist-length hair that is featured like a pageant girl.
Extreme blush.
Lipgloss.
Plucked eyebrows.
Dark, painted eyelashes despite being blonde.
Facial features are further apart like an adult woman's.
Facial features are both hyper-realistic and also completely blown out like she has foundation on.
Facial features are completely symmetrical like a Sims character.
Like come the fuck on JUST LOOK AT HOW SHE IS MADE UP.
How can you sit there and lie to my face? How can you say that these are the same designs that serve the same innocent purpose?
If you think this is the same thing you have autism. You should not have paternal instincts activated because you have autism and your paternal instincts are broken.
The website's users seem to be more or less evenly split on whether they agree with him.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
Capcom did authorize the sale of a statue of her bending over with a short dress and a coquettish wink.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
IIRC, the Death Stranding baby has its gender unspecified for most of the game
ToaKraka
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1d ago
I sincerely doubt that Capcom would intentionally design her to attract pedophiles
It has been suggested that Capcom has done this before, with the Mega Man character Roll.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
The admin of Kiwi Farms claims that she looks too good, with lip gloss, makeup, and a ridiculously fancy hair style, which implies intentional sexualization.
But if I have the luxury of choice? Then California, baby. Or Texas.
Obligatory link to comparison of state freedom levels
| State | Economic freedom (σ) | Personal freedom (σ) |
|---|---|---|
| California | −0.71 (48th) | +0.12 (11th) |
| Texas | +0.24 (6th) | −0.02 (50th) |
| Pennsylvania | +0.14 (16th) | +0.06 (34th) |
| Indiana | +0.19 (13th) | +0.09 (23rd) |
(Ratings are based on the situation in 2022, but are measured relative to μ and σ for 2000–2022, not just for 2022.)
Or most of the US, really, probably excluding Alaska. Scotland is cold enough for me.
Interactive global map of average daily maximum temperature on a monthly basis
ToaKraka
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2d ago
ToaKraka
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4d ago
Do you actually get any feedback, or do you have to do all 3000 and pray?
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If you put a book in a correct position on the correct shelf, it briefly glows yellow.
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If you put a book on the correct shelf but in an incorrect position on that shelf (e. g., volume 3 in position 7 of a 10-volume row, volume 3 of a 10-volume set in a 3-volume row where the other volumes of the set won't fit, volume 3 of set B in a row where you've already put volume 2 of set A, or volume 3 of a set in one row when you've already put volume 2 of the same set in a different row), it briefly glows red.
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If you put a book on an incorrect shelf, it doesn't glow at all.
ToaKraka
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4d ago
learning game
This game does not use a real-life library classification scheme, so I don't see how it counts as a "learning game".
Is "masochism game" a generally used term?
No, I made it up just now.
Mildly interesting masochism game: Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library
You are the librarian of a magical university. Your goal is to reshelve literally three thousand books that have been thrown onto the floor by a rogue fairy. You must figure out from each book's title on which of the 31 shelves it belongs.
The game is translated from Japanese, so the proper categorizations of some titles are not obvious, and you must figure them out by trial and error. For example:
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The shelf labeled "romance novels" actually is for non-mystery novels in general.
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Puppet Crafting: An Introductory Guide to Automata and Statues belongs on the art shelf rather than on the magical artifacts and enchanting shelf.
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Ultimate Choice: Curry-Flavored Poop or Poop-Flavored Curry? belongs on the psychology shelf.
The game costs only six dollars (and currently is on sale for five dollars).
ToaKraka
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6d ago
Would being able to swim even save a sailor if he were washed overboard in a storm? I feel doubtful.
I want to know what the actual regulations and best practices are so I can go into full-blown dick mode the next time this happens and have some ammunition to back me up.
I was a designer who drew up traffic-control plans, not a construction engineer who oversaw the actual implementation of those plans, but I'll do my best.
MUTCD chapter 6D (Flagger Control):
The STOP/SLOW paddle should be the primary and preferred hand-signaling device because the STOP/SLOW paddle gives road users more positive guidance than red flags.
Use of flags should be limited to emergency situations.
When flagging in an emergency situation at night in a non-illuminated flagger station, a flagger may use a flashlight with a red glow cone to supplement the STOP/SLOW paddle or flag.
§ 6D.05 ¶ 5 includes detailed instructions on hand movements when using flags rather than a stop/slow paddle.
However, it looks like PennDOT is much less strict than the feds on the usage of flags over stop/slow paddles. See the text that I have italicized below. (This is novel to me. NJDOT Standard Specifications § 159.03.08 item A prescribes the use only of paddles, not of flags—even though NJDOT still calls them "flaggers"!)
PennDOT Publication 408 (Construction Specifications) § 901.3:
According to Publication 212, Publication 213, and the MUTCD.
Install and maintain traffic control devices as indicated on the TCP [traffic-control plan]…
Provide flaggers that successfully completed a flagger-training course within the last 3 years that complies with the Department’s minimum flagger training guidelines described below. Assure that flaggers carry a valid wallet-sized training card containing the name of the flagger, training source, date of successful completion of training, and signature; or provide a roster of trained flaggers to the Representative before the start of flagging operations that contains the names of flaggers, training source, and date of successful completion of training. Minimum flagger training guidelines include the following…
Publication 212 (Official Traffic Control Devices) § 403:
Plans for construction projects must either reference or include a temporary traffic-control (TTC) plan, which must consist of one of the following:
(1) A reference to a specific figure either in the MUTCD or in [Publication 213] that properly depicts actual site conditions.
(2) A copy of a specific figure either in the MUTCD or [in Publication 213] which has been modified to depict actual site conditions and the necessary traffic-control requirements for the specific project.
(3) One or more detailed plan sheets or drawings showing the actual site conditions and the TTC requirements for the specific project.
§ 412:
A red flag shall only be used to control traffic in emergencies when a Stop/Slow Paddle is not available or at intersections where a single flagger is used within an intersection.
Publication 213 (Temporary Traffic Control Guidelines) § B-14:
A red wand (flashlight) may be used to supplement the stop/slow paddle or red flag. The flashlight shall have a red glow cone and emit a steady-burn (non-flashing) light. The red wand shall not be used by itself to control traffic.
Last night I was sitting at a five-leg intersection in the southbound center lane, intending to continue on the same road. There is also a left turning lane for those making one of two left-hand options, as well as a lane for those turning right. The lane I was traveling in, on the far side of the intersection (about 200′ away), was blocked by construction vehicles, a sign saying "Road Work Ahead", and two flaggers, one with a flag and one with those light batons.
A flagger-controlled alternating-traffic setup beginning at a four-leg signalized intersection is covered by Publication 213 figure 110-Q or 110-R. (For a five-leg intersection, the designer or contractor would have to draw up a custom, but largely similar, traffic-control plan.) Both figures put a paddle-wielding flagger at the end of the road narrowing that isn't at the intersection. To cover the other three approaches, figure 110-Q puts one flag-wielding flagger in the middle of the intersection, while figure 110-R uses three paddle-wielding flaggers (one on each corner). You can see how a contractor might prefer to cut his labor costs by using 110-Q over 110-R.
There was no signage indicating that the southbound lane was closed, or any posted detour.
If there were two flaggers, then the setup was supposed to be alternating traffic with no detours (figure 110-Q), not full closure with a "road closed" sign and detours (figure 215).
So, in sum:
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From your description, it sounds like the overall traffic-control setup was standards-compliant as originally designed, but the flaggers were badly trained (one was standing on one side of the intersection, rather than in the middle) and incorrectly equipped (the other was holding only light-up cones, rather than a cone supplementing a flag). You can try complaining to PennDOT that it should follow NJDOT and abandon the use of a flag-wielding flagger standing in the middle of an intersection to control multiple legs of that intersection simultaneously, but you probably won't have much success.
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MUTCD § 6D.05 can be pointed at in order to explain how a flagger is "treating his traffic control device like a toy" and "making waving motions that are vague".
Note:
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It's very possible that PennDOT has guidelines regarding when 110-Q is unsafe (e. g., due to high traffic volume) and 110-R must be used, and I just failed to find those guidelines.
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This may have been a local jurisdiction that should be following PennDOT standards but is just too lazy to do so.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
6d ago
“My son,” said the old Gascon gentleman—in that pure Béarn patois of which Henry IV could never rid himself—“this horse was born in the house of your father about thirteen years ago, and has remained in it ever since, which ought to make you love it.”
I don't think people would call this bad English punctuation.
ToaKraka
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6d ago
The joke is comparing the three French quotation styles to the three Japanese writing systems (kanji, katakana, and hiragana).
ToaKraka
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6d ago
“My son,” said the old Gascon gentleman, in that pure Béarn patois of which Henry IV could never rid himself, “this horse was born in the house of your father about thirteen years ago, and has remained in it ever since, which ought to make you love it.”
What does the original French look like?
―Mon fils, avait dit le gentilhomme gascon—dans ce pur patois de Béarn dont Henri IV n'avait jamais pu parvenir à se défaire—, mon fils, ce cheval est né dans la maison de votre père, il y a tantôt treize ans, et y est resté depuis ce temps-là, ce qui doit vous porter à l'aimer
1,2,3
If you glance through some amateur French stories, it's rather hilarious to see different authors use three different quotation styles—the two illustrated above, plus «guillemets». (What is this, Japanese?) In contrast, amateur English is dominated by the USA's “double quotation marks”, and the British ‘single quotation marks’ have fallen by the wayside. (Some amateur authors use single quotation marks to denote internal monologue, or to differentiate scare quotes from dialog. I find both practices quite annoying.)
1Fun fact: The leading dash used in this quotation style officially is supposed to be, not an em dash (Unicode character 2014), but the separate "horizontal bar/quotation dash" character (2015). The two characters look identical in Arial, though.
2It's time for the daily Two Minutes Hate against translators/localizers/paraphrasers who take unjustified liberties with the source material. "Said" rather than "had said"? "Old gentleman" rather than "gentleman"? Commas rather than em dashes? No repetition of "my son"?
3When you need to add attribution or a footnote to an inline quote, it normally goes after the quote. However, treatment of blockquotes is more complicated. (a) Placing the attribution before the blockquote is inconsistent with the treatment of inline quotes; (b) placing the attribution at the end of (inside) the blockquote makes no sense semantically; and (c) placing the attribution after the blockquote creates an ugly short paragraph. Overall, I am inclined to think that option C is the best and option B is the worst.¶4The Pennsylvania Supreme Court uses option C. The US Supreme Court uses a weird variation on option B: placing the attribution at the end of (inside) the blockquote, but putting quotation marks around the actually-quoted material, so that what we've been calling a "blockquote" actually is just indentation with no semantic meaning whatsoever. The New Jersey Supreme Court uses a different weird variation on option B: placing the attribution at the end of (inside) the blockquote, but in its own paragraph and enclosed in square brackets. Obviously, both of these variations are better than the basic version of option B (since they eliminate the semantic issue), but still worse than option C.
4There's another topic: Should footnotes be capable of containing multiple paragraphs? The in-progress CSS standard to which I pointed previously allows both single-paragraph (inline) and multi-paragraph (block) footnotes. But the standard footnote notation puts the footnote pseudo-heading inline as part of the first paragraph, implying that there really should not be more paragraphs past the one in which it is embedded. Compare that to the standard section notation, which puts the heading as its own pseudo-paragraph lording it over all the real paragraphs.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
8d ago
Goddammit, I wanted to talk about cute but intimidatingly competent colleagues complimenting me.
Several of my high-school English teachers complimented how good I was at reading books aloud, and suggested that I could be a radio announcer. Could this be another way to convince the feds that we are soul mates?
According to § 155.03.01 of the Standard Specifications of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, a contractor's field office must have at least one room with 288 ft2 of area. Unfortunately, my design does not fulfill this requirement, as the living/dining room is only 214 ft2 (though you arguably could add the adjoining kitchen to that area). However, the Pennsylvania DOT's requirements (§ 609 table A) are not so picky—they have no minimum room area.
Authors who could be uncharitably described as "churning out slop" for money still exist. This webpage shows that there are 300 writers on Patreon who have at least 300 subscribers, which seems like enough to live on, if just barely. And that doesn't even include the people who write pornography too spicy for Patreon's guidelines.
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