ToaKraka
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User ID: 108
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
5hr ago
I feel obligated to post a link to the mildly entertaining story Two Gay Furries Kissing in the Backrooms (behind a login wall; here are the first 30 chapters/⁓70,000 words in HTML and PDF), in which two men (an autistic computer programmer and an outgoing NEET living on life-insurance proceeds) (1) are teleported into the backrooms and transformed into anthro/furry characters (a tall fox and a short cat, respectively), (2) meet each other, and (3) fall in love while exploring. Despite the suggestive title, romance does not start until chapter 28 (the end of part 1), and sex does not occur until chapter 54 (part 2 chapter 26, the end of part 2; the characters magically do not need to eat or drink, so no special preparation is necessary). According to the author:
This is a plot-first, long-form, slow-burn romance/slice-of-life story. It's "plot with some porn eventually", so to speak.
But "plot" is a bit of a stretch. IMO, it's the kind of cute-but-utterly-pointless fluff that I used to seek out 15 years ago under the "NaruHina" label on fanfiction.net.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
8hr ago
Mildly entertaining exercise: Rendition of a random UN Security Council resolution into HTML, with dozens of bullet points added in order to improve intelligibility
Interesting Gallup article on "span of control" (the number of subordinates per manager)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is roughly one manager for every 11.5 employees. Gallup data show a similar pattern: The average number of people reporting to managers has increased from 10.9 in 2024 to 12.1 in 2025. This is a nearly-50-% increase in team size [from 8.2] since Gallup first measured in 2013.
At the same time, the median team size has held steady at about five to six employees per manager or leader. In other words, a minority of very large teams is pulling the average up, while most managers still lead relatively small teams. Gallup data show that 37 % of managers or leaders oversee fewer than five people, while roughly two-thirds (66 %) manage fewer than 10. About one in five managers (22 %) has 10 to 24 direct reports, and only 13 % oversee 25 or more employees.
Team size is only as effective as the engagement behind it. Highly engaged teams of 12 or more workers who are supported by effective management—double the current median of six workers per team—can thrive, while poorly managed teams struggle even when small.
There is no information on the number of managers per subordinate.
There has recently been some discussion of partition actions: a property is owned in common by several people, but one of the owners wants to sell his share. One of this website's illustrious lawyer denizens has mentioned how he (1) hates division of property between heirs because it results in huge complications over time, and therefore (2) prefers primogeniture. Do you have any opinions or experiences on this topic?
In the 1970s, my grandfather in the US Virgin Islands (a wretched hive of scum, villainy, and hurricanes) died young. After a probate process that for some reason took eight years (I am in possession of the "final adjudication and decree of distribution" but none of the other court documents, so I don't know the details), his house was split between his heirs—1/3 to his wife (my grandmother), and 1/9 to each of his six children (two by a previous wife and four (including my mother) by my grandmother). As the decades rolled by, all of these seven heirs ceased living in the property. Ironically, at present the property's only inhabitant is a non-heir—the son of my grandmother by a previous husband. He is a layabout and has allowed the property (assessed at market value of 95 k$; Zillow does not produce Zestimates in this backwater) to fall into disrepair.
I am hoping that, after my grandmother dies, I will be able to convince my mother to start a partition action in order to convert her share of this albatross into cash. The USVI has enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act, so if my mother were to start a partition action her siblings (including the half-brother, since he would have finally become a part-owner) would have a chance to buy her out before any forced sale of the entire property. But she expects that they would be either uninterested in, or incapable of, buying her out. Also, there is a possible complication: My grandfather's two children by his first wife (already adult and moved out when he died) allegedly gave their shares to my grandmother (out of charity—my grandfather had no life insurance, so his death threw my grandmother into poverty), but if this property transfer occurred it apparently was never officially recorded. I look forward to the hullabaloo.
Mildly amusing spat between Greece and Turkey:
Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits (1936-07-20)
Desiring to regulate transit and navigation in the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus comprised under the general term "Straits" in such manner as to safeguard, within the framework of Turkish security and of the security, in the Black Sea, of the riparian States, the principle enshrined in Article 23 of the Treaty of Peace signed at Lausanne on the 24th July, 1923;…
Mr. Yıldız (Türkiye): Today’s topic is of high priority for Türkiye, being positioned in a region that is essential to global trade and energy routes. Türkiye, as a maritime country, places utmost importance on maritime security, freedom of navigation, open sea lines of communication and the rule of law at sea. Preserving freedom of navigation and ensuring the peaceful use of seas and oceans remain primary objectives of Türkiye.
Türkiye actively participates in joint operations against maritime piracy, armed robbery and terrorism. We see regional cooperation as complementary to multilateral efforts. Türkiye is uniquely positioned at the crossroads of the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean—a region that is essential to global trade and energy routes.
The Turkish Straits connect continents and carry a significant portion of global maritime traffic. Türkiye takes every step in ensuring the safe and secure passage of vessels through these waterways. The regime of passage through the Turkish Straits is regulated by the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, which has established a political and military balance in the Black Sea between littoral and non-littoral countries since 1936. Türkiye will continue to implement the Convention strictly, transparently and impartially, which has been the case for the past 90 years. We continuously invest in advanced traffic monitoring systems, search and rescue capabilities and maritime surveillance to ensure maritime safety and protect all ships and seafarers.
Türkiye believes that ensuring freedom of navigation and maritime security is an international effort requiring constant collaboration among States. However, the current state of conflict in our region and the complexities regarding the Strait of Hormuz have reminded the whole world of the critical importance of freedom of navigation. Türkiye has been making intensive efforts to reach and maintain a ceasefire and to achieve de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy. The joint initiatives launched by Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia played a significant role in paving the way for the success of negotiations. Unfortunately, the situation had severe repercussions, including naval safety and maritime security, mostly linked to the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.…
The President: The representative of Greece has asked for the floor to make a further statement.
Mr. Stamatekos (Greece): Greece would like to make the following point regarding the statement made earlier by the representative of Türkiye. The Montreux Convention of 1936 is the only international legal document regulating navigation through the Straits of Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus and guaranteeing the freedom of navigation through them. Thus, respect for the terminology of the Montreux Convention is aimed at preserving and confirming this freedom enshrined therein. The use of the term “Turkish Straits” is not consistent with the Montreux Convention of 1936 regarding the regime of the Straits. The terminology, in accordance with the Montreux Convention, is the Straits, and namely, Straits of Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus.
First, Türkiye considers the objection raised by Greece to be unfortunate, as it diverted attention from substantive issues under discussion and appeared to aim at serving domestic considerations rather than contributing to the objectives of the meeting.
Second, Türkiye firmly and totally rejects Greece’s unfounded assertions. Attempts to politicize a widely used geographical term do not contribute to constructive dialogue, regional stability or the proper understanding of the 1936 Montreux Convention regime. The term Turkish Straits is a well-established geographical expression referring collectively to İstanbul Strait and Çanakkale Strait, all of which are situated within and under the sovereignty of the Republic of Türkiye. The use of the term has historical, political and legal justification, including respect for long-standing and current general practice, as well as due regard to Türkiye’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction. The term Turkish Straits is descriptive, geographically accurate and fully compatible with the continued application of the Montreux Convention.
Established international practice and principles concerning the standardization of geographical names affirm the precedence of official national forms. Accordingly, where a geographical feature lies entirely within the sovereignty of a State, the official name designated by the competent national authority may naturally be used in official statements. In this regard, the term Turkish Straits has also been conventionally and consistently used in numerous international documents, including resolutions and documents of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Third, Greece’s assertion that the use of this term is inconsistent with the 1936 Montreux Convention and the legal regime therein has no basis in the letter and spirit or purpose of the Convention. The Convention establishes the legal regime governing passage through the İstanbul Strait, the Marmara Sea and the Çanakkale Strait. Beyond this purpose, however, the Convention does not aim to standardize geographical names.
The use of the term Turkish Straits is neither relevant nor a challenge to the legal regime established by the Convention. On the contrary, Türkiye has consistently upheld the Convention and will continue to implement it meticulously and impartially, as has been the case for the past 90 years.
Against this background, Greece’s attempt to enforce a terminology other than “Turkish Straits” poses a challenge to Türkiye’s competence to name a place under its sovereignty, which can only be reasoned with historical aspirations. Yet these attempts would change neither the legal nor the political status of the Turkish Straits.
Türkiye will continue to use the term Turkish Straits in accordance with its sovereignty and jurisdiction and expects all Member States, including Greece, to respect this established and legitimate usage.
The minutes for resumption 1 (2026-04-27) and resumption 2 also contain a much less amusing back-and-forth between Japan and China regarding the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
Note: Video recordings of Security Council meetings are available for viewing (resumption 1, resumption 2). When an illustrious diplomatic figure embarrasses himself by speaking multiple paragraphs of barely-intelligible English in front of the highest deliberative body in the world, should we laugh or should we cry? I cannot say.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
1d ago
I consider both of these to be prime examples of how the multiple reporting chains of public accounting firms really messes everything up. Firstly, you report to so many people that when one person doesn’t get tied into what you’re doing due to some breakdown in internal communication it ends up causing issues.
I have lined up for the Friday Fun Thread an article on how many subordinates each manager should have. But it is silent on the topic of how many managers each subordinate should have.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
1d ago
a partition action where he might not even be the high bidder
I was assuming that such a partition would work like the procedure laid out in the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act, in which the judge orders an appraisal and the majority owner can buy out the objector at that price without any bidding. But obviously I am misunderstanding how partitions work.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
1d ago
the law provides that a single parcel of land is only entitled to a single vote
It does not.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
1d ago
That isn't how tenancy in common works. You own a 1/10,000 share of the entire 10,000-ft2 property, not a single 1-ft2 piece of that property.
ToaKraka
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1d ago
I'm imagining a situation where one person owns an outright majority of the property and each of the other 9999 owns only a minuscule proportion, so that the majority owner has more than enough wealth on his own to conduct maintenance unilaterally and to thwart a partition action by buying out the objector.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
2d ago
Nothing obvious. But what would stop a natural person from splitting a property between 10,000 natural people in the same manner?
Bloomberg link to opinion
Non-Bloomberg, official link (though it's still one of those infuriating "secured" PDFs that forbid copying text out of them)
The Elections Clause of the Delaware Constitution states, in its entirety: "All elections shall be free and equal." The clause is eloquent in its simplicity but lacks specific direction in application.
Under Delaware's Home Rule statute for municipalities, the State of Delaware defines "qualified voters" to mean "those persons who, under the terms of a municipal charter, shall be authorized to vote in elections within that municipal corporation".
Laws enacted by the Delaware General Assembly, such as Fenwick's Charter, are presumed to be constitutional. To overcome this presumption of constitutionality, Plaintiff must provide "clear and convincing evidence" that there is no set of circumstances under which the contested status could be constitutional. Plaintiff argues that I should subject Fenwick's Charter to "strict scrutiny" review. However, Plaintiff framed its Complaint not as an equal protection or due process claim, but rather as a declaratory judgment action. Under Delaware law, courts apply a "sliding scale" in voting rights cases. Where the state's alleged burden on voting is not severe, the state's intervention need only have served a legitimate interest. Indeed, Delaware courts have found a rational basis for expanding the voting franchise.36
36See Dupont v. Mills; see also Del. Op. Atty. Gen. 09-IB05 (finding the precedent of cases applying rational basis test to nonresident vote dilution cases to be "overwhelming").
The Delaware General Assembly has expressly authorized, by way of charter, voting on behalf of entity property owners in several jurisdictions other than Fenwick.37 [Ditto for special elections of annexation in Wilmington.] While this is not dispositive of this case, it does show that the General Assembly's treatment of Fenwick is not unique, different, or unusual.
37See, e. g., Town of Henlopen Acres, City of Rehoboth Beach, Town of Dewey Beach.
Plaintiff's ultimate argument appears to be that voters who are human beings are being deprived of their rights, or at least having the impact of those voting rights diluted, by the votes of artificial entities—or, put more bluntly, such artificial entities should not be entitled to vote. In its Answering Brief, Plaintiff devotes a significant amount of its argument to emphasizing the words person, people, humans, citizens, popular, and the like. In my view, even if those words as used in statutes and cases are acknowledged to be people-centric or person-centric, that does not support a legal argument that the Elections Clause of the Delaware Constitution supports Plaintiff's expansion of traditional vote dilution law to encompass what it calls the "debasement" of "the right of human voters" through "artificial entity voting".
Trusts, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations are expressly recognized as "persons" in the Delaware Code.…
I need not rule in this case as to whether entity property owners are constitutionally required to have their votes count or constitutionally precluded from doing so. Rather, I need only rule whether Plaintiff has met its burden of providing clear and convincing evidence that there is no set of circumstances under which Fenwick's Charter, as adopted and amended by the Delaware General Assembly, could be constitutional. It has not.
I appreciate that Plaintiff may disagree with Delaware's policy of authorizing certain municipalities to allow voting on behalf of entity property owners. Visions of faceless large corporations, or even HAL, controlling a small town are frightening and the stuff of science fiction. However, plaintiff has not demonstrated that this policy violates the principle of one person/entity, one vote. Plaintiff points to no other persuasive independent authority than the Elections Clause of the Delaware Constitution itself. And matters of policy are appropriately left to legislative bodies, not the courts.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
2d ago
I'm just not sure how far the word "consent" should be stretched.
(1) When I grant my consent to sex, I mean that I understand that this woman wants me to repeatedly insert my penis into her vagina until I achieve orgasm.
(2) …and subject me to a small but nonzero risk of disease, fatherhood, and child-support payments (as outlined by this stack of legal rulings).
(3) …and subject me to a small but nonzero risk of lasting psychological harm (as outlined by this stack of scientific studies).
(4) …and subject me to a small but nonzero risk of stigma as a statutory-rape victim.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
2d ago
How did you manage to conclude that I didn't know what intercourse was?
You said:
In the moment, I didn't really know how to interpret anything and wasn't sure.
I wasn't fully sure about what was happening.
I was, mentally and spiritually, very much still a child who didn't exactly understand what was going on.
(posted before edit adding three additional sentences, but probably still partially a valid response)
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
2d ago
Climate map of Washington State
There's a large amount of "cold semi-arid" in the vicinity of the Kennewick and Moses Lake urban areas, with a negligible patch of "cold desert" near the latter. However, satellite photographs indicate quite a lot of agriculture in that same area, so "cold semi-arid" possibly should not be considered to count as "desert".
It's hidden/removed. (IIRC, the moderators have said that all standalone posts are removed by default until approved.)
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
3d ago
To clarify, my mother used to make these boring-lump-of-dough dumplings, and she is from the hot Caribbean, where the houses need no central heating at all. So your theory does not explain the facts.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
3d ago
My Chinese coworker laughed at me when I told him about those.
But maybe if you have not started constructing your home yet you can widen the entire house just for the laundry door.
(1) Construction already is underway.
(2) The house already takes up the entire buildable width of the lot (34′2″ vs. 35′).
If you and your roommate live in the unit together, eventually someone will be exiting the laundry room at the same time someone is entering the home. Or someone will forget something in the house and step in quickly to retrieve it (keys, wallet, credit card, etc.) and not communicate the entry as normal to the other person, knocking him senseless in a rush.
I do not assign much probability to this hypothetical event. If you disagree, you can join the betting pool with @orthoxerox. (Come on! Are you people in the habit of opening opaque doors with all your strength? I certainly am not. People can be standing behind doors unbeknownst to you even if those doors don't swing into other doors.)
ToaKraka
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4d ago
"this spelling is wrong" (no, it's because I'm not American)
You can go into Word's spell-check settings and change it from American English to BritishNon-American English.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
4d ago
In this design, it is not intended that a bathroom will ever have both doors unlocked at the same time. Rather:
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99 percent of the time, each bathroom will be in "private mode", with the door to the living/dining room locked from the bathroom side.
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On the rare occasion that a guest is present, at least one bathroom will be in "guest mode", with the door to the bedroom locked from both sides.
Also, it's my understanding that sliding doors are very bad at blocking sounds and odors, so using them on bathrooms is ill-advised.
Regarding the laundry/utility-room door, I could have used a sliding door there, but I saw no reason to. IMO, having eight swinging doors is simpler than having seven swinging doors and one sliding door.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
4d ago
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
4d ago
Q: We have the court file showing that your ill-fated high-school crush was on a girl, not on a boy.
A: If you have my court file, then you should know that that old crush was Indian as well, just like my husband.
A paper that I gave to an unrelated acquaintance (in which I fantasized about kidnapping the crush, trapping her in a cage of sonic stun guns, and making her play Scrabble with me) somehow fell into the hands of the school administration, was misinterpreted as a "terroristic threat" against the crush ("zero tolerance" for """guns""" even if they're nonlethal), and was reported to the police.
ToaKraka
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5d ago
I'm of the opinion that the current LLM hype is starting to hit the second knee of the S-curve, both financially and technically.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
5d ago
My mother claims that I received a (now-technically-outdated) diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome at age 16 (as part of my defense against a frivolous criminal investigation). However, she doesn't actually have the records to back that claim up, and I personally do not recall being informed of any diagnosis at the time.
The joke is that, on a sphere, running away in a "straight line" will always eventually take you back to your starting position.
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