helmut_hofmeister
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User ID: 846
helmut_hofmeister
6mo ago
Having met Bill Clinton in a random and non-political situation, I can say that this is spot on. Guy was on the way to Chelsea’s bday party or something and I remain convinced that he would have preferred to stand there chatting with me instead.
helmut_hofmeister
1yr ago
Salting too early also causes moisture to seep to the surface which prevents browning. Same thing to roast a chicken. Salt goes on right before heat or days before heat like a dry brine. Anywhere in between is wrong.
helmut_hofmeister
1yr ago
Bullying hasn’t gone away either. We may also be seeing a trade off between physical bullying and cyber bullying.
Something about the immediate and stark reality of an unsupervised playground seems to me to be painful but brutally honest in a way that is a microcosm of actual life in future meatspace.
(For reference I was in HS and university in the 90s. I’m not a gamer, I like 70’s 2-channel audio, and i don’t have twitter, so for me “online” is work, bills, and escapism. I don’t “live” here the way I think many younger people do)
I can’t imagine how terrible cyber bullying must be by comparison to what we had to endure in the 90’s for people who are invested in virtual life. Online the social signals are so complicated and the separation or anonymity imposed by screens brings out the worst in people. If this is a microcosm of the developing future societal order - social credit and AI - I feel somewhat sorry for those who don’t know what life was like before all that.
Also - the 80s were an awesome time to be a little kid.
helmut_hofmeister
1yr ago
I also am intrigued by the notion of heterodox beliefs being a kind of peacock’s tail. I’ve thought a lot about how to maintain my integrity in an environment that is hostile to my worldview. I have a lifelong compulsion to point out the gray areas to black/white thinkers and it’s both helped and hindered me at times in my life.
Anecdote, but I live in a very prog area, I’m educated, and a bit older than my wife, who is an MD. Her circle (and thus my own) leans heavily conventional liberal to progressive.
How to be true to yourself and also be well liked? I think this applies to dating, but also just social interactions in general.
The trick is to not take the bait when one of your wife’s generically progressive friends spouts off some throwaway comment about the patriarchy (just an example). Because Dog is right - YOU may be interested in debating the point, but she’s probably not. It signals that you don’t know when to pick your battles or something.
For me, I’ve had to bite my tongue more than I’d prefer, but I’ve also showed my power level (am I using that term correctly?) on enough occasions that after a few years of familiarity, I can now roll my eyes at some of the more egregious comments that I hear and get away with it. I get to play the role of that republican guy from parks and rec (but I hope with a bit more elegance).
Of course it does not hurt that I’m not a socially awkward person. I’m confident in my beliefs and experiences, interesting, kind, reasonably attractive, successful, funny, and socially graceful in an aristocratic way. I also show up and do real-life nice things for people. So I can get away with the occasional Churchill quote and it somehow works for me.
Or put another way, in the dating scene ( which thank god I’m out of) it helps to be hot or at least socially adept.
helmut_hofmeister
1yr ago
In practice, yes indeed. Add to that list: Cis? Oppressor? Privileged? Stale pale and male?
Antony Beevor’s book on the Spanish Civil War is excellent and comes from a relatively neutral perspective
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