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Texas is freedom land

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joined 2022 September 05 17:27:40 UTC 

				
User ID: 647


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
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Texas is freedom land

				
				
				

				

					9 followers  

					follows 3 users  

					joined 2022 September 05 17:27:40 UTC
				


				
					

					
No bio...

				

				

				

				

				

					

					

					
					
					

					
User ID: 647


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The Book of Jhereg, Steven Brust. A mob boss/troubleshooter/assassin working in a fantasy city. He solves problems with a combination of sword, sorcery, witchcraft, and powerful friends.


It’s kind of like mid-series Dresden Files, except set in Morrowind. Magic is common but not egalitarian. There are all these guilds and institutions with their own histories. Everyone, including the protagonist, is super racist.


Great fun. I suspect it’s had a lot of unspoken influence on rogue archetypes in fantasy.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I used to work with some guys who did a related project ~20 years ago. I think you’re slightly underestimating the difficulty of reliable, real time image processing, but more importantly, I think you’re seriously underestimating the culture around automated weapons. Even in peak COIN years, there was an obsessive focus on “human in the loop”. You could only point, not shoot. Couple that with the regulatory and reliability hurdles, and your project bogs down pretty easily.


Those qualms probably go away in an Ukraine situation, sure. Until a Western nation starts planning for that, you might have a hard time with funding.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Truly, the greatest threat to western civilization is Yuri's Revenge.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I guess you’d have to send your agent to find the most controversial bits for you.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Fuck Microsoft and their business model.


I work in closed networks separated from the broader Internet. The version of Windows we chose still tries to shove telemetry and AI bullshit down our throats. If you try to open a pdf, it’ll launch Edge, bitch about how that’s not your default browser, go through two separate dialogues to warn that you’re “starting without your data,” and grudgingly open the document. All while frantically phoning home and shitting out bland, corporate Memphis error pages. Every “app” has a useless Copilot button. God knows what happens if you try to use it.


I can’t tell if our IT guys just didn’t bother to disable this crap or if Microsoft doesn’t allow it even through group policy. It’s inconvenient and aesthetically offensive. Fucky-wucky indeed.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Aaaaaand Scott just posted about it.


I would like to register my sense of unease at “sending my copy of Claude to Moltbook.”


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It’s not a question of defamation. We are aware of SS’s opinions. It’s more about arguing to understand vs. arguing to win. Mocking a position as predictable tends towards the latter.


See the other responses to Sloot for how fast that goes off the rails.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Maybe one data point shouldn’t really change your willingness to believe Internet strangers?


Sure, this guy probably isn’t astroturfed. That doesn’t mean he’s honest or correct. Social media would have picked him up either way.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Is gold behaving more reasonably? Been looking at some rings and I’m wondering if this is the worst possible time.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The U.S. military had (has??) great taste in coats.


Shout out to the Navy peacoats from the Korean War.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Come on, it should at least be one of the Reagan westerns.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My fiancee would say her liter canteen. She gets great mileage out of it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Sloot, sarcasm is unbecoming.


@Quantumfreakonomics, that's not an excuse to start sneering...or to drag in other users.


@RococoBasilica, same goes for you, in turn.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I would take that bet if I could find any way to formalize it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Immigrants Georg is an outlier who should not be counted.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Those import taxes were more like a combination of tariff policy and bailouts, propping up British tea and coffee growers using the American colonies. They were part of a broader pattern of extractive rule. Whether or not it was a good deal, British policy had a way of trampling the colonial ego.


I’m curious about those 1-2% numbers. Are they something like percent of household income? I think the impact was concentrated on shipping interests, which played a much larger part in the pre-industrial economy.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Do a partial exit strategy where you sell off any gains?


I’m saying this as someone who lacks such a hoard. I imagine I’d feel different in your position.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
5% isn’t little. It’s 10x the prison population. It’s an entire state’s worth of taxpayers. Yeah, the IRS would lose its shit.


But that’s kind of beside the point. I really do believe there would be fewer and smaller protests if this wasn’t treated as a referendum on Donald Trump. People turn out to signal their tribal loyalty in a way they don’t do for abstract, bureaucratic causes. Every incident gets him a nice headline for his base and half a dozen headlines claiming he’s a fascist. That’s good for his personal brand, but it does nothing for effective governance.