Topics

1

/dev/random / Is SNL getting worse?

« on: October 22, 2018, 07:40:55 AM »

The Chris Farley and Adam Sandler era was silly and hilarious. I recall the skits showing George W and Gore debate, and Biden and Palin. I remember those being funny as heck. The bill Clinton impersonations were funny. But their Trump skits just suck. Is it just me? I actually laugh at him all the time. How and the hell is it funnier to watch HIM than a comedic skit of him!? 

Maybe it is just me. I just feel that if the script was a tad more clever and funny they could roast Trump big time. Instead it's like they're trying to goad him into tweeting something stupid. Maybe it's because alec Baldwin sucks too.

2

Politics / Kavanaugh

« on: September 28, 2018, 07:22:42 PM »

 I am so sick of this being in our news headlines. Damn it.

The right portrays him as a saint that has done no wrong ever, and the left portrays him as a no good rapist.

Since you think this guy is such a scum bag do you feel all of his decisions as an appeals court judge should be revoked? If he's not fit to be on the supreme court he's not fit for the appeals court.. Right?

3

/dev/random / Hurricane Florence

« on: September 10, 2018, 06:42:19 PM »

Doesn't look good. Eye is still set to go over my house at cat 4. Literally dead center on the track. 

4

Outdoor Activities / Fire ants

« on: May 11, 2018, 08:25:26 PM »

I don't even know where to begin.... They suck. I've had some bad luck with them recently. I got eaten alive in Florida. Two months ago and I still have purple scars. I took a leak on their mound and they took it the wrong way. All over my feet and ankles. For those of you unfamiliar with fire ants there's different kinds but a common theme is dark red inflammation and a puss filled white head. With lots of initial pain then itching afterward.

Then I come home to southern NC(I grew up on an island where we DONT HAVE FUCKING FIRE ANTS) and I see these fucking mounds around these oak logs I cut up a few months ago. I see ants but think nothing of it. Ants are all little pricks, but only fire ants are massive cunts. I had only experienced fire ants in Florida and Georgia. Georgia they're HUGE, but these are the worst I've seen. I'm taking a chain saw to 2-3 ft diameter logs then I suddenly realize that this shit is so ant infested that the chain rewinding is literally flinging ants at me. I look down and I'm covered. Apparently fire ants don't like getting chainsawed, I got bit 50 times or so. The dozen bites on my ankle made it swell up so much it looked like I broke it. And speaking of broke, I can broke my toe the other day. Can't get a fucking break with my feet.

I'm really mad at this point. I set large portions of my yard on fire with gasoline. After saturating areas with gas, I walked around with a blow torch in one hand and a beer in the other delivering justice on these bastards.

5

/dev/random / Fast food

« on: May 07, 2018, 07:09:50 PM »

I don't like fast food in general. But, what is your favorite? For me its Publix subs, jersey mikes, chick fil A, and cookout.

6

/dev/random / Mind bending test

« on: April 07, 2018, 07:38:03 PM »

I see these so much and somehow everyone seems to get them wrong. What's your answer?

7

/dev/random / NCAA March Madness Basketball Thread 2018

« on: March 09, 2018, 04:19:32 PM »

Yeah, I've been making these threads for awhile. And yeah, I know I'm way more into it than y'all. I watch football more than anything, but growing up in NC you are either Carolina or Duke so I watch college basketball too. Tonight at 9pm EST North Carolina plays Duke in the semi-finals of the ACC championship. They are 1-1 in the regular season both teams winning at home. I'd tune in if I were you. You might see blood, ejections, etc. It's always a close game. During Roy Williams' time at UNC and K at Duke the total point margin is in favor of duke by 20some points. It means that Duke on average outscores Carolina by a fraction of a point. These schools 8 miles apart collectively have a more successful resume than any other conference. This is why us North Carolinians watch this shit. The Ohio state Michigan rivalry can kiss my ass. Frazier VS Ali and Arnold Palmer v Jack Nicklaus were something special decades ago, but those rivalries were 1 on 1. UNC vs Duke takes the cake folks. ESPN @ 9pm.

The SEC has always been about kentucky in basketball but they've had an off year. Then you'd mention Florida. Tennessee USED to be known for basketball but has been off the radar for over a decade now. And most recently Arkansas and South Carolina have been pretty good. But, this season Auburn is the top team in the SEC And to top it all off they just lost to low-seeded Alabama by over 20 in the SEC tournament.

8

/dev/random / Last meal

« on: November 09, 2017, 05:20:47 PM »

If I was on death row and had a last meal request it'd go something like this.

Fried oysters
Fried monkfish chunks
Fresh yellowfin tuna raw or barely seared
Fresh seafood in general
Leg of lamb cooked over a rotisserie
Skirt steak flash seared medium rare

I'd be happy with even 2 of those.

9

/dev/random / To golgo

« on: June 06, 2017, 07:59:16 PM »

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&oe=utf-8&safe=images&client=ms-android-att-us&q=gortons+fisherman+onion&source=browser-type&qsubts=1496824998739
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&oe=utf-8&safe=images&client=ms-android-att-us&q=gortons+fisherman+onion&source=browser-type&qsubts=1496824998739

10

/dev/random / NCAA Basketball March Madness Thread

« on: March 12, 2017, 07:58:42 AM »

Yes, it's that time of the year. You know, the time of the year I make a thread about this even though I'm the only one that gives a damn about college basketball. UNC is obviously in and projected as one of the four #1 seeds for the tournament. At worst they will be the highest 2 seed. For the two other college sports followers(although mainly football): Florida will be a 4 seed. Georgia is on the bubble to be invited. More than likely they will and snag a 13 seed.

In my opinion these are the best teams in the country: Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky, and Villanova. Gonzaga, Arizona, Oregon and others are overrated. Look for a LOT of upsets this year.

11

/dev/random / The Official 2016-2017 Football Thread

« on: June 25, 2016, 12:24:49 PM »

A little early but it's almost that time. I'm excited as a unc fan and just in general. There's some really good match ups for week 1.

Wisconsin v LSU @ lambeau field
UNC v Georgia @ Georgia dome
USC v Alabama @ AT&T Stadium
Clemson @ Auburn
Oklahoma @ Houston
Ole Miss @ Florida State

All are an interesting contrast in match ups , home/away, and "neutral" sites .

12

/dev/random / NCAA Basketball tournament

« on: March 16, 2016, 11:25:33 PM »

March Madness is upon us again. In case you're knew to it, they call it march madness for a reason: college basketball is already more unpredictable than college football or other sports, but during the NCAA tournament it's ridiculously unpredictable. There's just as many massive upsets than not. It's both unappealing, appealing, and entertaining, hence the madness.

You can make 10 free brackets per person on ESPN.com with their bracket challenge. You have a chance of winning millions or other sub category prizes(50k, 100k, etc).

It's like 10 free power ball tickets, have unc, Kansas, Virginia, mich state going far and pick your upsets. Kentucky, duke, seton hall, Cincinnati, Syracuse, and Iona are all seeded 4 or less. All of them are good picks to do well. Oregon is the weakest top seed.

The school I went to hasn't been to the big tournament since my freshman year 11 years ago until now. It's the first game of the day. UNCW v. Duke at 12:15pm ET. Obviously duke is a good basketball school so it's a chance to make history.

13

/dev/random / sexism with hurricanes

« on: June 03, 2014, 07:55:18 AM »

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/06/02/female-named-hurricanes-kill-more-than-male-because-people-dont-respect-them-study-finds/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

 

14

Quake / tourney ruleset, map striking

« on: May 30, 2014, 10:26:02 AM »

To start, USA duel is dead. This is just a theoretical discussion.

What if the map pool was subdivided into "neutrals" and "counterpicks", the first map played comes from the neutral category(normal map striking to determine it) then on your counter you get to choose from the "counterpick" category(and the neutrals, for that matter).

Map striking is meant to be strategic in a fps. Map knowledge is super varied among players, players have their strong/bad maps, etc. Would the idea above be more balanced?

15

Politics / Polarization

« on: June 17, 2013, 05:32:35 PM »

I whipped out this mini-paper on polarization in american politics in about an hour, just sharing. Didn't proofread or whatever, drank a few beers before writing... discuss, comment, read, etc... vast majority is opinion.

Polarization, Public Opinion, and Politics

Polarization is American politics is an ever-changing, self-sufficient, cyclical process and entity—respectively meaning it’s always evolving, polarization in itself is dependent upon it’s aspect of two-party competition, and ultimately this intertwinement has developed into a cycle with many relevant factors and reasons. First and foremost, in my own experience polarization is a guise to add control to the situation; the situation being American society or even more specifically the American electorate. This obviously means that I do not place the fault of a polarized electorate on the actual electorate itself. Politicians, the media, and special-interest groups are who I blame. These three categories are essentially the same political machine; all working for mutual benefit so they can figuratively meet behind the curtains and split what’s inside the briefcase afterwards. Polarization works to all of their benefit, so they attempt to polarize the country and successfully do so being that our nation is the most polar it has been since the Civil War.

I personally feel that both Fiorina’s argument and Wilson’s rebuttal made worthy and valid points. There is indeed an assumption that Americans have become more divided on cultural and social issues; and of course in a literal sense this assumption is correct. I am also sold on the reason Fiorina attributes for this occurrence: “political elites, particularly candidates for office, have become more polarized along party and ideological lines, thus changing the choices available to voters.” This basically means that the aforementioned political elites are in a position to mold our opinions on things, and to their delight social and cultural issues seem to be the easiest way to do so. Wilson additionally points out that it’s not just political elites and candidates, but American politics as a whole that’s causing this polarization. By American politics, he means “congressional elections, media, interest groups, and education”. I whole-heartedly agree with this as well. In particular, interest groups are the determining factor in congressional elections these days, and media is the primary way for the electorate’s opinion to be swayed.(Kernell and Smith)

The first thing that comes to mind concerning Popkin’s argument is this quote from Federalist 62: “if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow.”(Madison).
I can’t help but point out that revered men from two and a half centuries ago saw this coming so Popkin really isn’t telling us anything new here. Legislation was drafted to be a preventative measure to this; briefly put, law that’s incoherent to the electorate is not law. The problem with this law is that the distinctions it suggests are about as known and defined as fair-play is with redrawing voting district lines(the fine-lines and subtleties are abused similarly to gerrymandering). In short, Popkin argues that the information and choices presented to the electorate is either biased or incomplete therefore leading voters to make irrational decisions. Jacobson argues that the elections, and the political machines that surround them, are the producers of polarization in politics. This makes a far better point in my opinion being that it’s the special interest groups only backing Republicans and Democrats that makes political elections a mere two-horse race. It’s in the best interests for these groups and the candidates to intensify this two-party-only competition so it’s equally apparent as to why both would want and encourage the electorate to be more polar. I would go inasmuch to say that this could very well be the primary cause of polarization, although it’s a very difficult call to make.(Kernell and Smith)

Studies show that most voters are moderate or independent, especially eligible voters that do not vote by choice. Historically it takes a highly exceptional president to draw this aforementioned group of people out of hibernation and to the voting booth, and it’s something our country has not seen in quite some time. Studies also show that the people more likely to vote in elections are the ones that feel more passionately about political issues. However, those who belong and/or identify themselves alongside the extremities of the two polarizing ideologies are the vast minority of the electorate. This makes it no surprise that about half of the country typically doesn’t vote, but it’s still counter-intuitive being that half of us still do vote. So the next question is obvious—what are the reasons for the actively voting moderate electorate to be swayed to one ideology or the other? This question is not easy to answer.(Todd)

In order to address the question/issue above, I think it’s relevant to cite this quote in regard to public opinion: “Individual opinions, though rooted in personal values and experiences, are both shaped by and expressed through leaders and institutions.”(King). In my experience it’s disingenuous to the extreme to blame the values and experiences of American society. Of course this is circumstantial and there is some blame on us being that we have developed into a polarized nation that literally chooses the news that they want to hear, but there must be a primary cause for this. I think that this primary cause via the quote above are the leaders and institutions; the ‘shapers’—and that is where the blame should be assigned. However, in order for blame to be assigned people actually have to acknowledge and designate it, and that’s something the electorate as a whole has serious difficulty with. I attribute this difficulty to the shapers as well as some of the scholarly articles that served as the basis for this paper did.

Polarization is a very interesting concept that plays a huge role on our lives as Americans. Although I do place the primary cause on the political machine caused by leaders, money, and special-interest groups, in order to understand the political poles in their entirety I feel it necessary to refer to back to my thesis. “Polarization is American politics is an ever-changing, self-sufficient, cyclical process and entity—respectively meaning it’s always evolving, polarization in itself is dependent upon it’s aspect of two-party competition, and ultimately this intertwinement has developed into a cycle with many relevant factors and reasons”—the electorate may not be the direct or primary cause of polarization, but stating the reason for polarization as us being victimized by the process would be wrong. To me, doing so is the equivalence of submitting oneself to the aforementioned cycle.