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[2024-11-29 15:21:07] - a: I believe very little of what people are fearing will actually happen. MSNBC hosts were fretting about being jailed and/or executed (Maddow especially). The View hosts were claiming interracial couples were going to be separated. There's just too much wild shit people are fearing that simply isn't going to happen. - mig
[2024-11-29 14:49:11] - paul: "an attendee yelled that Harris 'worked on the corner,' trump laughed and said, 'This place is amazing.' 'Just remember,' he added, 'it’s other people saying it. It’s not me.'" ~a
[2024-11-29 14:48:52] - paul: "does "grabbing them by the pussy" count as sexist or just gross?" i asked you first. does "grabbing them by the pussy" count as sexist? or how about calling pelosi a bitch? (in november . . . 2024) his campaign constantly called harris names: "her pimp handlers will destroy our country". what would sexism actually look like . . . if not this? ~a
[2024-11-29 14:43:03] - paul: "didn't seem to abuse his executive power any more than any other recent president" ignoring the impoundment control act of 1974 is about as abusive as you can get: what could possibly be more abusive than that? if you honestly believe he did not abuse his executive power, can you think of an example of what ignoring executive power would look like? ~a
[2024-11-29 14:34:42] - paul: "Trump has more dictatorial tendencies than I am comfortable with" yeah it's more than having complete control with him though, it's about jailing and/or physically assaulting his detractors. paul, do you seriously believe he'd be a benevolent dictator??? if not, then i think "dictatorial" is not the word you are looking for. it's a word. but it's not the most descriptive word. ~a
[2024-11-28 04:30:56] - a: Sexist? Does "grabbing them by the pussy" count as sexist or just gross? -Paul
[2024-11-28 04:29:56] - a: Racist? This is going to sound like I'm trolling but I honestly don't see much more racism from him than I do from lots of Democrats ("If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black"). -Paul
[2024-11-28 04:27:42] - a: At the same time, though, we saw what happened during his first administration and he honestly didn't seem to abuse his executive power any more than any other recent president. -Paul
[2024-11-28 04:26:55] - a: I'm not sure I really grok the nuance of fascism vs socialism / nazi-ism / etc, but I will say that I believe Trump has more dictatorial tendencies than I am comfortable with. -Paul
[2024-11-27 19:42:54] - paul: back to your original point "i hope democrats react" see this reddit thread. in the somewhat-liberal-reddit, i see mostly people trying to grapple with the facts: that the democrats did awful this last election. some (randoms) are getting it: a new message is needed / a new platform is needed / a new candidate is needed. ~a
[2024-11-27 18:33:30] - not a change of topic exactly, but just different perspective: cpi measured in rubles the past four years has been somewhere between 9% and 15% per year (so, many, many standard deviations from the mean). not terribly unexpected considering the circumstances, and there are probably worse numbers (bolívar and whatnot), but an interesting perspective. ~a
[2024-11-27 12:06:23] - "are cyclists better people than drivers? a recent study published in the Journal for Environmental Psychology found that people who navigated cities by cycle were more interested in the common good than drivers. 'duh,' you’re probably saying to yourself." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494423001731 ~a
[2024-11-27 12:04:43] - paul: do you think Trump is fascism-adjacent or an autocrat? do you think Trump is racist? do you think Trump is sexist? ~a
[2024-11-26 16:21:50] - I think the results of the election were definitive enough that it stretches credulity to keep saying that Trump is a fascist / racist /sexist monster and anybody who votes for him is deplorable. Democracy kind of spoke and I hope Democrats react. -Paul
[2024-11-26 16:20:40] - a: And they also ran a pretty unpopular candidate and didn't get completely blown out. So that's the optimistic way of looking at things. At the same time, I do hope that Democrats don't just think it was all bad luck and had nothing to do with them. -Paul
[2024-11-26 16:18:17] - a: Maybe taking a different approach: I think you can make a strong argument that inflation (and the situation with Ukraine and the middle east) was largely outside of the Democrats' control and they got unlucky with the timing. -Paul
[2024-11-26 13:47:17] - Like if you're going to go that far to alienate people it's not shocking they shift rightward or just stay home. - mig
[2024-11-26 13:43:01] - There's also a scorched earth approach taken by some democrats in policy debates that I probably drives people away. Express any concern about the damage blm riots do and you support white supremacy. Express any concern about biological males playing in women's sports and you're a transphobe. Express any concern about immigrants who commit crimes being released over and over again by local law enforcement and you're a xenophobe. - mig
[2024-11-25 18:55:57] - paul: the standard deviation of inflation is 1.2%. 1.4% is within 1.2 standard deviations of the mean. (Before you ask I agree that voters won't know the standard deviation of inflation, but I would expect bogle to know the standard deviation of inflation). ~a
[2024-11-25 15:20:24] - a: And yeah, the average might only be 1.4 percentage points per year higher, but like the whole lesson with Vanguard is that even small percentage points add up over time. -Paul
[2024-11-25 15:18:02] - a: https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/11/20/how-inflation-impacted-2024-election/ Another. -Paul
[2024-11-25 15:17:29] - a: "we don't know." I think we do? I've shown you polls before which showed that inflation / the economy was consistently one of the top two issues for voters. Lots of analysis is based around it too: https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/2024-election-and-the-economy-survey/?tpt=b -Paul
[2024-11-24 18:49:07] - paul: i've been to the crystal city location. i've been by the columbia pike location too. both super walkable. and low homicide rates, i love it. those parts of columbia pike are really getting better every year. i biked past that area in the mid 90s too, and it is total night and day. ~a
[2024-11-24 18:28:33] - paul: "i'm not sure how to square 'i don't agree the past four years have had bad inflation' with 'i agree 2021 and 2022 were standouts in the past 20 years'". easily? 2021 and 2022 had pretty high inflation relative to the past 20 years, but the average inflation the past four years was not abnormal. ~a
[2024-11-24 18:25:32] - paul: "Voters clearly thought inflation was bad whether you think it was or not, right?" we don't know. ~a
[2024-11-24 18:24:44] - paul: yes. also, 3.5% per year on average. ~a
[2024-11-24 18:23:22] - a: I'm not sure how to square "i don't agree the past four years have had bad inflation" with "i agree 2021 and 2022 were standouts in the past 20 years". Ultimately, I'm not sure it matters? Voters clearly thought inflation was bad whether you think it was or not, right? -Paul
[2024-11-24 18:22:13] - a: Because if that's the case, then one thing we need to consider is that looking at individual years isn't as telling as looking at the cumulative impact. Compound interest works its magic here as well. -Paul
[2024-11-24 18:21:14] - a: 4.9% per year on average? -Paul
[2024-11-24 18:20:34] - a: Two of our salons are in Arlington.
It's interesting, because dense and walkable is not typically the Great Clips target location but it seems to work in Arlington. -Paul[2024-11-24 18:20:23] - paul: inflation the past four years has been 4.9% ((315.454/260.249)**(1/4)). the historical average for inflation 1947 to 2024 (bureau of labor statistics data goes back to 1947) is 3.5%. ~a
[2024-11-24 16:05:08] - also I think I love bloomburg news now? ~a
[2024-11-24 16:00:42] - you had me at dense, walkable ~a
[2024-11-22 22:06:24] - Daniel: I think DEI is the thought process that is used to justify anti-merit actions, but I more meant stuff like getting rid of gifted and talented programs and affirmative action programs run amok. -Paul
[2024-11-22 22:04:00] - Daniel: Or vilifying and demonizing the most wealthy and productive members of society. That latter part is part of what I mean by the anti-merit position. -Paul
[2024-11-22 22:02:19] - Daniel: I don't have much of a desire to defend Republican economic concepts, but exactly what good economic concepts to Democrats have? It seems to boil down to spending crap-tons of money on projects that will never get done (EV charging networks and rural high speed internet)... -Paul
[2024-11-21 17:48:42] - paul: i agree 2021 and 2022 were standouts in the past 20 years. i agree voters don't remember the 80s. i don't agree the past four years have had bad inflation. ~a
[2024-11-21 14:37:14] - "inflation are linked to units of volume or weight of products". ~a
[2024-11-21 14:35:01] - mig: yes. ~a
[2024-11-21 13:51:42] - paul: I'm curious though does any of these metrics take shrinkflation into account? - mig
[2024-11-21 00:25:08] - just another point on Ds actively pushing people away. Musk was an Andrew Yang booster and Rogan was a Bernie Sanders guy. At the end of the day voters are under no obligation to vote your way and trying to demand they do so as some sort of moral imperative just isn’t a winning strategy. - mig
[2024-11-20 19:44:27] - So I think the "what do D's offer?" is offset to me by my opinion that R's are actively and willfully harmful to the gov and the country in terms of healthcare, climate, taxes, economic inequality, working conditions, women's rights, worker's rights, international agreements, gerrymandering (both do but R's more extreme). -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:36:51] - I think I would agree that I want D's to offer more but I think the way we get that is voting all the R's out so that D's can split into Blue Dog vs Progressive and try to move that way. When the country switches between D's and R's nothing can really get done and I think we end up boned to some degree. -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:35:49] - I think R's have consistently moved towards being a party that is anti expertise and education and that is incredibly exmplified by Trump and several of his cabinet picks. -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:33:39] - "anti-merit" - I'm not sure what this means. Is the idea here that DEI is inherently anti-merit? Can both not exist? -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:32:57] - If the R's wanted a better gov instead of no gov I would be much more amenable to them. I also think R's plan for energy / climate change is very head in the sand. I'm not sure the D's are amazing but I think they are looking the right way at least. -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:32:26] - I think for me R's economic concepts seem bunk and haven't changed since Bush Sr to anything other cut taxes! I personally like taxes and the things they pay for. I wish everyone that could afford could pay more taxes so that we as a country could have nice things. To that end I wish our gov was more efficient and better run. I do not wish for it to be shut down and dismantled. -Daniel
[2024-11-20 19:27:18] - I think I agree a primary would have been better if Biden decided not to run. I'm not sure a June / July condensed primary would really work so I'm not sure what option there really is other than Harris at that point. -Daniel
[2024-11-20 15:03:34] - a: I'm pretty sure I made this point when it happened. It was such a huge mistake and I hated it because it seemed like it made it all the more likely Trump was going to win. -Paul
[2024-11-20 15:02:45] - a: I mostly agree about it being unfair to blame Democrats over the two major conflicts but.... voters are irrational! Democrats could've seen the approval levels for the Biden admin and seen they were horrible. Why would you pick the disliked VP from an administration with high disapproval!? -Paul
[2024-11-20 14:58:47] - a: Many voters don't remember the 1970s. And it doesn't really matter that inflation returned to relative normal levels in 2023 and 2024. Those elevated prices stick around and that's how many voters think of inflation. -Paul
[2024-11-20 14:58:06] - a: https://www.macrotrends.net/2497/historical-inflation-rate-by-year We've had this discussion about inflation before so I don't know what else there is to say other than we disagree. I mean, look at this chart for the past 20 or 30 years. 2020 and 2021 are notable outliers. -Paul
[2024-11-20 14:08:45] - And in the aftermath I see Joe Scarbourough talk about how Hispanic men are racist (FUCK YOU), and Al Sharpton scold black men for being sexist like Obama did a month ago, and well it looks like they haven't learned a fucking thing. - mig
[2024-11-20 14:06:45] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSw04BwQy4M I think we also can't overlook how the democratic party pretty much writes off certain segments of the population (and in hindsight, it was pretty much to their detriment). I may not be a gettable vote for the party at this point, but there's probably lots of people like me that don't just feel the party doens't appeal to be, but that the party goes out of their way to alienate them. - mig
[2024-11-20 04:53:54] - paul: "the past four years have had bad inflation" is this true? i feel like this is not true. "the outbreak of two major conflicts" definitely not fair to blame any americans for this, as far as i can tell. "short-circuited any kind of primary" i 100% agree on this one. that was a huge mistake. especially with hindsight. ~a
[2024-11-20 04:43:11] - Who then couldn't really articulate any mistakes that were made or how she would do anything different. Is it any secret why there wasn't any enthusiasm for voting for her? -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:42:14] - So not only did Democrats try to hide Biden's condition, they then short-circuited any kind of primary (during an election where they claimed Democracy was on the ballot) and hand-selected the disliked Vice President of a disliked administration. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:40:16] - Whether it's fair to blame the Democrats or not, the past four years have had bad inflation, the outbreak of two major conflicts, massive concerns over illegal immigration, and a debacle of a withdrawal from Afghanistan. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:38:21] - And to get a little more specific (and to reference what you all have been discussing), the past 4 years in particular have involved a tremendous amount of gas-lighting over Biden's mental condition and seeming denial over how rough the Biden years have been. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:35:48] - For the past decade or so, the defining positions of the left (to me) seem to be: DEI, cancel culture, defund the police, censorship, anti-merit. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:32:36] - And both seem like not only completely awful ideas, but also ones that I thought most economists agreed were pretty awful ideas. And Democrats are no longer the party of free speech or anti-interventionism. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:31:10] - Because as much as I didn't want Trump to get re-elected, I didn't see much from Kamala and the Democrats that would make me prefer them. About the only policies I heard Kamala articulate were price controls and a wealth tax... -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:29:14] - And from my perspective, I'm hoping instead of despairing and wondering how half the country is racist/sexist/garbage/deplorable/etc, Democrats instead take a look in the mirror and wonder if maybe they aren't offering an appealing alternative. -Paul
[2024-11-20 04:28:03] - Sorry I haven't been around for a bit. As a non-Trump voter, I don't at all want to advocate for his appeal, but for many voters there's two sides of the coin, right? In other words, what were Democrats offering? -Paul
[2024-11-11 21:11:44] - last few months is kind of cherry picking, isn’t it. This is a referendum of the last 4 years not the last few months. - mig
[2024-11-09 04:35:20] - mig: not exactly "there is no border crisis", but how about "over the last few months, unauthorized border crossing at the u.s.-mexico border are at or near the lowest level in the last few years" ~a
[2024-11-08 21:18:47] - mig: i usually applaud people for changing their position on something when new data comes in. sticking to your guns when new data comes in is usually how small problems become big problems. ~a
[2024-11-08 13:15:31] - Similarly with immigration. We went from "There is no border crisis" to "We'll deal with the border crisis." in the span of a year. mig
[2024-11-08 13:14:18] - I also don't know if voters have long memories but I have to imagine the probably won't go with the party that's been telling them until they started campaigning that there concerns aren't real. The Biden admin started with "inflation's not real" to "inflation is going to be 'transitionary'" to, "Ok, we'll deal with inflation for real." - mig
[2024-11-07 16:43:16] - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/nyregion/peanut-the-squirrel-euthanized-trump.html or maybe it was pnut the squirrel. - mig
[2024-11-07 16:29:17] - and again both camapigns were on the “economy bad” train. - mig
[2024-11-07 13:40:02] - a: I'm saying the #s don't really matter. How people are/were personally doing matters more. - mig
[2024-11-07 01:50:04] - mig: "well the overall #s are good!" nobody is saying the overall numbers are good. but anybody that's saying the numbers were better under trump aren't looking at any numbers i can find. ~a
[2024-11-06 23:35:45] - Both campaigns were hammering inflation and economic well being as issues, I have to imagine there's more to it than just feels and perception. - mig
[2024-11-06 23:35:15] - a: I mean, it's hard to gauge because covid kind of mucks up, but I'm wondering how well people in like Salem, or Scranton, or some other rural areas that broke harder for Trump are doing. The appearance is that they aren't and probably won't get much solace from "well the overall #s are good!" - mig
[2024-11-06 21:17:15] - mig: was trump's economy good? i feel like according to objective measures like real gdp growth and wei (weekly economic index) the economy is much better now than it was four years ago. inflation is included in those numbers. ~a
[2024-11-06 19:19:31] - I can just see the thought pattern of 2020: I’ve had a enough of Trump to 2024: This economy sucks for me, I’m sick of Trump but at least his economy was good. - mig
[2024-11-06 19:18:05] - https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/2024-election-trump-harris#cm34infxz003b3b6o1p3rmprw this is a tiny anecdote but it stuck out to me. I think we’re simply at a point where Trumps antics are just taken out of the equation. - mig
[2024-11-06 19:10:35] - mig: Do they think they will get better because of electing Trump? Thats what I don't get. What they think he is going to do that impacts them in a positive way. -Daniel
[2024-11-06 18:50:41] - mig: "are you better off now than you were four years ago" not everybody was answering that question. many people were asking themselves "will we be better off four years from now?" and i think a fair number of people thought an african-american and asian-american and female-american president would be bad for them. ~a
[2024-11-06 18:21:55] - daniel: I’ll disagree in that I think the pocketbook stuff might have been a primary factor. If you ask the electorate “are you better off now than you were four years ago”. I suspect the answer for most is no. - mig
[2024-11-06 17:18:30] - i agree 2024 is more disheartening than 2016: last time we could argue it was all talk, but this time we knew better, and we reconfirmed our decision: what's more the rhetoric is more extreme this time. (i didnt come up with this analogy) this is our brexit. ~a
[2024-11-06 16:34:14] - Its so much more disheartening than 2016. Like I'm grappling with legit worry about what this says about our country. Fuck me if this is actually what a majority of people want. -Daniel
[2024-11-06 16:33:25] - mig: Cruz winning doesn't shock me, the margins do a bit. I mean the whole thing does a bit. Like I have no concept on what the R party is offering people to expand the party to this degree. People / media talk about 'pocketbook' voters but I'm not sure what policies R's are offereing to address that that people are buying into. -Daniel
[2024-11-06 13:17:02] - daniel: out of curiosity, did you feel like Cruz was in any particular danger this year? Hindsight is 20/20, but the spending democrats made to try and flip Texas looks batshit insane now. - mig
[2024-11-06 12:57:30] - I did think this would be close to 2016 than 2020, but this is pretty shocking. - mig
[2024-11-06 12:13:26] - don’t blame me, i voted for oliver. - mig
[2024-11-06 08:22:46] - (haven't been on in awhile but stopped by just to say) Fuck. -Daniel
[2024-11-01 00:27:20] - paul: that's the huge problem with your analogy. both sides are not the same. coming out for lgbt oppression (pro republican) will lose you advertisers: coming out for lgbt rights (pro democrat) will not lose you advertisers. ~a
[2024-10-31 18:18:52] - a: "this is exactly what makes musk a terrible ceo" Okay, but what if it was a scenario where it was a political position you supported? Like Sundar Pichai comes out in support of trans rights and loses advertisers because of it. Does that make him a bad CEO? -Paul
[2024-10-30 16:56:41] - mig: unless you want to count random people outside of the party on twitter. ~a
[2024-10-30 16:56:16] - mig: "based on their rhetoric" ok, i guess we'll have to agree to disagree? i think the democrats do a bunch of dumb stuff, but suggesting that all men are toxic is not something i've seen from them. ~a
[2024-10-30 14:24:37] - a: he does not, but i'm not sure why that matters. Obviously no one literally says these things, but it almost certainly is the attitude of the party at large based on their rhetoric. - mig
[2024-10-30 14:16:14] - mig: obama merely said "you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that". and i feel that. obama is onto something there. and it's not even close to what v jones said. ~a
[2024-10-30 14:13:55] - and i don't mean literally. he never once said that all men are toxic, or that all men are evil, or that all men should go to hell, or similar. ~a
[2024-10-30 14:05:58] - mig: do you at least agree obama never once said "all men are toxic"? ~a
[2024-10-30 13:35:02] - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/30/politics/biden-garbage-gaffe-analysis/index.html there's a theory running around that biden is pretty mad about essentially being forced out of the presidency and that he's trying to sink Harris's campaign. Senile old man still seems like the more probably case, but man the timing on this makes me wonder. - mig
[2024-10-30 13:15:07] - and yeah van jones isn't some rando conservative whiner. he's pretty in tune to the democratic party vibes. - mig
[2024-10-30 13:11:02] - “Part of it makes me think — and I'm speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.” - mig
[2024-10-30 13:09:50] - i mean we had both obamas pretty much make the case that it's either "vote for kamala or you are sexist". - mig
[2024-10-30 01:22:09] - paul: "Are we sure user count has dropped?" yes we are. monthly active users are down. telegram has more users than twitter?! "is it worth considering that there has been a coordinated effort to try to starve Twitter / X of advertiser revenue because of Musk's political leanings?" this is exactly what makes musk a terrible ceo. one reason. ~a
[2024-10-30 01:15:39] - paul: "it seems pretty obvious that large swaths of the Democratic party has bought into the DEI / woke progressive mindset, no?" ok, i agree with that. and love it. but that's not what miguel said. ~a
[2024-10-29 23:48:02] - a: But on the advertiser side.... is it worth considering that there has been a coordinated effort to try to starve Twitter / X of advertiser revenue because of Musk's political leanings? -Paul
[2024-10-29 23:47:10] - a: Are there any trustworthy measurements of users? Are we sure user count has dropped? Musk has claimed traffic has reached all-time highs but I assume you don't trust his numbers. -Paul
[2024-10-29 23:45:29] - a: And it seems pretty obvious that large swaths of the Democratic party has bought into the DEI / woke progressive mindset, no? If I recall, Van Jones is a liberal commentator so it's not an outside observation. -Paul
[2024-10-29 23:42:33] - a: Sure, but it doesn't have to be a single high up person who explicitly says all of those things, right? Bernie and Warren are always railing against billionaires and I'm pretty sure one of them is on record saying billionaires shouldn't exist. -Paul
[2024-10-29 13:29:02] - mig: is it? it reads as a textbook strawman. who is he referring to? who in the democratic party is saying all white people are racist? AND that all men are toxic? AND that all billionaires are evil? no way did one person high up in the national democratic party say all three of those things. ~a
[2024-10-29 13:25:52] - paul: "Why do you think the value has dropped?" well i gave some reasons that can affect user-count. but, yeah, we both mentioned a loss of users. i'm sure the loss of advertisers didn't help either. "estimates of private valuations is tricky" yes i agree with this. they were valuating their own shares (and a third party is required for this) but it's all just picking a number. -80% is only one company's guess. ~a
[2024-10-29 13:18:30] - https://x.com/therabbithole84/status/1850235544124756292 this probably sums up everything wrong with the modern democratic party. - mig
[2024-10-28 22:44:10] - a: Why do you think the value has dropped? Loss of users? Advertisers? Something else? -Paul
[2024-10-28 22:37:03] - a: Re: Twitter / X. I was thinking about the supposed drop in value (I'm willing to take your word for it, but I also realize that comparing the buy-out value of a public company versus estimates of private valuations is tricky)... -Paul
[2024-10-25 17:05:33] - a: Bezos is another incredible entrepreneur, but not a fan of cheating on his wife. Plenty of politicians are good matches for me politically but will cozy up with Trump or hike the Appalachian trail or something similar. -Paul
[2024-10-25 17:04:31] - a: I like a lot of Joss Whedon content, but he's apparently a bit of an ass. I respect Musk in a lot of ways in terms of entrepreneurship but can fully admit he likes to confidently wade into areas he's no expert in (and is often wrong about, IMO). -Paul
[2024-10-25 17:03:05] - a: "most s&p 500 CEOs are one part asshole and one part crazy person" I've been thinking something similar to this recently. Lots of people who I respect in some way (but don't know personally) have some aspect which is pretty unseemly. -Paul
[2024-10-25 01:02:22] - paul: i mean, easily. most s&p 500 CEOs are one part asshole and one part crazy person. i said he was smarter than trump, another billionaire, is that not enough? ~a
[2024-10-24 23:11:25] - a: Again, I get that you disagree with his politics and think he's wrong on a bunch of things and he over-promises a ton and so on. But can't it both be true that he's wrong on a bunch of stuff but also incredibly smart? And maybe even has been a significant net positive for American innovation? -Paul
[2024-10-24 23:10:15] - a: I guess I find it hard to square that he's intimately involved with these companies but somehow isn't smart? Is it luck that when he took control of Tesla it ended up going up in value something like 100 times? And it was luck that SpaceX has been trailblazing advances in space travel? -Paul
[2024-10-24 13:42:31] - mig: the icing on the cake is musk wrote me a check for $2168.00 for shares that are now worth ~$400. ~a
[2024-10-24 13:36:56] - mig: one other objective measure. so yeah, -80% is definitively "was ruined", not "being ruined". ~a
[2024-10-23 17:28:50] - mig: well, i have my personal opinions on that (i don't like that musk tweets get into my feed even after i tried to remove them multiple times, he seems to be taking a very biased view on what constitutes free speech, foreign agents have started to control the conversations, his personally retweeting of literal fascists is a problem, imo). but, if instead you look at the monthly active users there was a sharp dropoff in 2023 and 2024. ~a
[2024-10-23 16:11:53] - a: how is twitter being ruined, because i frankly don’t see it. - mig
[2024-10-23 13:44:36] - paul: "I find it hard not to consider them some of the most impactful companies of the past 20 years or so" sure! of the top 40 most "impactful" american companies in the past 20 years. sure, both of them. maybe paypal would be in the top 100. otoh, he's trying his hardest to ruin tesla and he's trying his hardest to ruin twitter. smart or not, he's constantly lying about fucking everything. he like a salesman on cocaine. ~a
[2024-10-23 11:55:27] - a: Like, I kind of hate Apple products for a number of reasons, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate Steve Jobs was a pretty smart visionary. -Paul
[2024-10-23 11:54:55] - a: And I can't imagine NOT considering Tesla or SpaceX successes, even if you don't personally like what they do. In fact, I find it hard not to consider them some of the most impactful companies of the past 20 years or so. -Paul
[2024-10-23 11:53:37] - a: Most of those aren't really related to if he's smart or not? I'll grant he sometimes has some odd opinions outside of his areas of expertise (like COVID and politics)... but it seems difficult to chalk up the success of PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, Neuralink, etc to others when they all have the same guy involved in all of them (often as CEO or founder). -Paul
[2024-10-21 20:20:00] - lots of the charging stations are powered entirely by solar. i hope those catch on. ~a
[2024-10-21 20:18:07] - the weather in our area has been fucking crazy-good the past few months. i was hanging out around alexandria+arlington really late last night (9pm) and i saw about a billion gray ebikes. usually that late at night in late october i'll be the only one out there. and the numbers are in. fuck. yeah. ~a
[2024-10-21 17:21:39] - people complain about twitter/x being the worstest ever but i’m not sure my experience has changed aside from more community notes (which i consider a positive). - mig
[2024-10-21 14:28:11] - paul: in 2020, he said that we were going to have "close to zero" new covid cases by the end of april. he seems pretty racist and he seems pretty sexist in almost all of the official stuff that he publishes regularly. is he smart? no, i think he's kinda an asshole, that makes very good decisions SOMETIMES. he is much smarter than trump. and it isn't even close. i do like starlink: that couldn't have been easy to make from nothing. ~a
[2024-10-21 14:28:06] - paul: heavy, whatnot, bad for the environment, when it comes to the cybertruck, where do i even begin? he tried to ruin multiple public transit solutions in california. the cyber loop in vegas, jfc. calling the diving instructor a "pedo guy". lying about roof tile solar panels. the automous driving was a lie, neuralink was a lie, there is no new tesla roadster, everything about twitter was a shitshow and now somehow fascism is back? ~a
[2024-10-21 02:34:46] - a: I'm still blown away that you don't think Elon Musk is smart. I get not agreeing with his politics and maybe having some issues with Teslas being heavy or whatnot, but it seems pretty undeniable that he's pretty smart. -Paul
[2024-10-21 02:33:37] - a: I hesitate to make any clear judgement on Harris since I don't know her that well, but if she is particularly smart or well versed on the issues.... it seems like she hides it well. -Paul
[2024-10-21 02:31:52] - a: Nah, not implying Trump is way smarter than Harris. Just... wondering what others think. Sometimes it seems like people think Trump is simultaneously an idiot AND a mastermind and I don't know how to square that. -Paul
[2024-10-18 20:31:41] - over the past month the betting markets have been tipping towards trump ~a
[2024-10-18 15:52:48] - have we discussed the fake panel of electors here? from 2020? do you guys have an opinion on that? (i did look through the search box, and paul and i did discuss it briefly, and pierce and i did discuss it briefly, but the conversations were framed very differently). ~a
[2024-10-18 02:04:24] - ... but it has put her in a bad spot in attempting to gauge her intelligence and general savvy, because she's kind of all over the place and inconsistent. And not because she's dumb, but she's been convinced (is convinced?) that she needs to be everything to everyone. -- Xpovos
[2024-10-18 02:03:40] - Trump has, or probably more accurately had, a weird intuitive sense of something in the zeitgeist. I don't think he's smart, but I think he has a talent for reading something that most of us miss. I think Harris is probably reasonably intelligent, but not a genius. She's unwilling to show it much because that backfires. And she's not the best public speaker. She's also completely willing to forgo convictions for power, which is politics
[2024-10-18 01:08:06] - https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/10/17/harris-campaign-strategy-men-00184062 i thought this was an interesting read - mig
[2024-10-17 05:30:57] - paul: i'm pretty ambivalent towards harris. if your implication is that trump is way smarter than harris . . . well, i'll just assume i'm not following your point. ~a
[2024-10-17 05:26:57] - paul: trump is not smart nor clever, no. he's tapped into something, obviously. but . . . he tapped into something due to some combination of being in the right place at the right time, and having the necessary resources to capitalize on it. i've always felt similarly to elon musk, so i guess it shouldn't surprise me that they've become fast friends. ~a
[2024-10-16 20:44:25] - paul: Trump - probably just lucky? - mig
[2024-10-15 22:39:15] - Question for the field: Is Donald Trump smart / clever? Or an idiot? Second question: Is Kamala Harris intelligent / informed or way out of her league? -Paul
[2024-10-15 00:52:35] - a: if those remarks weren’t paired with complaints about “the brothers” being reluctant to vote for Harris because they might be sexist, it might have sounded fine. But these remarks as a whole give me the ugly vibes when Biden alleged “you ain’t black” to any black people who didn’t vote for him. - mig
[2024-10-14 22:23:14] - a: But I cannot for the life of me figure out why Republican primary voters went with a known mega-repellent candidate over somebody at least a bit more palatable like DeSantis. -Paul
[2024-10-14 22:22:24] - a: You'll get no argument from me there. If I squinted hard enough, I could kind of see the appeal of Trump's outsider status in 2016. He was the incumbent in 2020 so not much to do there.... -Paul
[2024-10-12 16:26:49] - "what is the most important policy issue none of your competitors are talking about?" "ending qualified immunity, civil asset forfeiture, ending the death penalty..." 🥰 ~a
[2024-10-12 16:20:37] - the fun part is that both of you are barking up the wrong tree. "what is the first action you would take as president of the united states?" "pardoning Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Ross Ulbrect, and Leonard Peltier." I hate his stance on many issues but, fuck me. ~a
[2024-10-12 15:50:30] - mig: "on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences, and on the other side, you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person". amen. ~a
[2024-10-12 15:47:19] - mig: shaming? ~a
[2024-10-12 13:50:34] - paul: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/ same website. why can't they pick a moderate governor from a less radical state that has broad appeal? or at least has less-broad dis-appeal? ~a
[2024-10-11 20:46:32] - https://www.npr.org/2024/10/10/g-s1-27633/barack-obama-kamala-harris-black-men-pennsylvania if Obama is very publicly shaming black men for not being enthusiastic for Harris, I find that hard to reconcile with Harris having broad appeal. - mig
[2024-10-11 20:43:30] - https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/approval/kamala-harris/ Evidence of below. -Paul
[2024-10-11 20:43:25] - a: "kamala harris has broad appeal" I'm not sure what evidence you have of that, even with the qualifiers. She performed horribly in the primary last go around and has generally had disapproval ratings higher than approval of late. -Paul
[2024-10-11 20:42:00] - a: "broad appeal doesn't get out your base? fundraising would be non existent for a candidate with broad appeal?" Fair points, but I feel like this election it's Trump on the other side who is getting out the base and raising funds. -Paul
[2024-10-11 15:09:56] - kamala harris has broad appeal. for a nonwhite lady, trying to run for president, at least. ~a
[2024-10-11 13:07:19] - broad appeal doesn't get out your base? fundraising would be non existent for a candidate with broad appeal? ~a
[2024-10-03 17:04:07] - mig: I feel like Newsome would've been almost as bad. A far left governor who almost got recalled in liberal California and whose state is seeing a mass exodus. Why can't they pick a moderate governor from a less radical state that has broad appeal? -Paul
[2024-10-02 12:36:20] - Newsome would have been a sexy pick. - mig
[2024-10-01 21:59:18] - a: Oh, and I forgot another thing: Kamala was one of the biggest pushers of the: "Biden isn't slowing down, if anything, he's sharper than ever!" narrative which looks pretty bad now. Another controversy that could've been avoided. -Paul
[2024-10-01 21:19:45] - "I don't know if there is any specific rate which is anti-free-market" 10000%/day interest rate will be pro free market pretty quickly because the people will quickly create their own currencies. ~a
[2024-10-01 21:11:28] - a: "0% interest rate is very anti-free-market i think, right?" I don't know if there is any specific rate which is anti-free-market. think a government controlled organization which controls interest rates are anti-free-market. End the Fed! -Paul
[2024-10-01 21:07:02] - a: Re: January 6th. Sure. Trump has a lot of negatives too that will drive away a ton of voters. No argument from me there. I just feel like Democrats could've had an easier time by putting up the most vanilla (not necessarily in skin color) moderate they could find. -Paul
[2024-10-01 21:05:07] - a: I don't know if they could've picked a worse candidate, in my eyes. About the only thing she has going for her is she is young (in contrast to Trump and Biden). -Paul
[2024-10-01 21:04:37] - a: I mean, Harris not only had horrible favorability ratings, but was also connected to an unpopular presidential administration AND was four years removed from staking out super left policies all over the place that she now has to walk back. -Paul
[2024-10-01 21:03:19] - a: "who, who other than harris, had a larger chance of winning against trump?" I don't know why they wouldn't go with a moderate Democrat with no ties to the current administration. Jared Polis? -Paul
[2024-09-30 20:25:36] - houston is spending 11b on an extra lane. each lane in this area usually sees less than 25,000 vehicles per day, so that's roughly $500,000 per vehicle using an extra lane: 11.2e9/25000. i'm not sure an extra lane can pay for itself, especially after you account for the new demand! ~a
[2024-09-30 15:21:18] - and as sad as it might be to say - 1/6 and trump’s court cases are probably not going to be a factor in November. - mig
[2024-09-30 15:20:03] - a: stats or not inflation is a big deal for lots of people anecdotally. It’s why even democrat candidates are addressing it in their ads. - mig
[2024-09-29 21:35:46] - paul: he also reminded me that recent interest rates are artificially low. they were low for years because of the (kinda, batshit, crazy) actions of the fed. having a 0% interest rate for decades at a time, on money, is dangerous, imo. 0% interest rate is very anti-free-market i think, right? ~a
[2024-09-29 21:32:27] - paul: harris might not have the best record for some independents. i hear you there. i'm not a hard-line democrat, i think you know that: i've voted third party dozens of times. but, harris didn't take part in january 6th. she doesn't have dozens and dozens of felony convictions. the one independent i've been talking to recently seems more concerned with the disqualifying event that happened on january 6th. he is no real president. ~a
[2024-09-29 21:26:49] - paul: "Combine that with some serious inflation and concerns over the border and there's not a lot for independents to feel good about with Biden's presidency" i 100% agree with you on this. the inflation isn't terrible, but it isn't great, and the border situation isn't great either. but i spent the weekend with an independent, and he couldn't stop talking about how january 6th (etc) is disqualifying. ~a
[2024-09-29 21:23:13] - paul: "I was a bit shocked and dismayed that they decided to coalesce around Harris". who, who other than harris, had a larger chance of winning against trump? ~a
[2024-09-29 02:53:25] - a: Which is why I was a bit shocked and dismayed that they decided to coalesce around Harris, who is the candidate with the strongest connection to the administration as possible (besides Biden himself). -paul
[2024-09-29 02:52:29] - a: And it doesn't help that the Ukraine invasion and October 7th also happened under his watch. Combine that with some serious inflation and concerns over the border and there's not a lot for independents to feel good about with Biden's presidency. -Paul
[2024-09-29 02:50:10] - a: I kind of feel like Democrats might be a bit in denial over the popularity of the Biden presidency. His approval ratings were consistently pretty poor. The Afghanistan withdrawal was a significant black-eye... -Paul
[2024-09-29 02:48:39] - a: I'm just saying that given it's consistently listed as a top concern, and a significant percentage of voters are seeing the highest inflation of their lifetimes.... I think that likely doesn't help Harris. -Paul
[2024-09-29 02:47:58] - a: And sure, there are older voters who remember inflation which is higher. I'm not arguing that all voters today are experiencing the highest inflation of their lives. -Paul
[2024-09-29 02:47:11] - a: Yeah. Obviously there is no right or wrong answer, but I don't really see FDR, LBJ, and Nixon as relevant comparisons here given that we're talking about voters who are like 70+ years old who could've possibly voted for them? -Paul
[2024-09-28 14:45:12] - paul: "There are people voting for the first time now who were in diapers in the 2000s" an increasing number, for sure, every election, but voters older than us will far outnumber voters younger than us in 2024 (based on the 2020 numbers). people older than us remember high inflation, high interest, and high unemployment. ~a
[2024-09-28 14:28:02] - paul: "What constitutes a modern president to you?" seems like there's a lot of disagreement here. I see FDR, LBJ, and Nixon as first modern presidents argued by historians. i don't really care which one, but, yeah, probably one of those three. ~a
[2024-09-27 20:43:34] - a: Once you get to people in their 40s, we might remember borrowing costs being lower, but I honestly don't remember mortgage rates being this high. To a big swath of voters, these numbers feel unprecedented. -Paul
[2024-09-27 20:42:29] - a: "90s and 2000s" I am absolutely serious when I say that the 90s and 2000s are (distressingly) a long time ago! There are people voting for the first time now who were in diapers in the 2000s. People in their 30s weren't borrowing money back then. -Paul
[2024-09-27 20:40:10] - a: The previous President where inflation wasn't a big issue? Or the current vice President whose administration has seen the highest inflation in 20+ years? -Paul
[2024-09-27 20:39:29] - a: "harris != biden. and so do the voters." Not sure I agree on either account. Harris was a part of this administration and thus should have to own at least a portion of its record. If voters are upset about inflation, who are they likely to blame more? -Paul
[2024-09-27 20:36:58] - a: "they are old, and wrong numbers" The graph says it's from December 2023, which doesn't seem so misleading old to me, but sure. "it's not above average for the modern presidents" What constitutes a modern president to you? -Paul
[2024-09-27 12:38:21] - paul: for what it's worth, i think the odds are pretty even. maybe 50/50. ~a
[2024-09-27 12:37:45] - paul: "the costs of borrowing" most voters are not concerned with the cost of borrowing. but, the cost of borrowing is also very low, and has also dropped in the past year. (10-year borrowing rates, ^TNX, in the 90s and 2000s were much higher than they are now, and mortgage-rates are on par with the 90s and 2000s). ~a
[2024-09-27 12:21:10] - paul: "Sure, but... so?" it means that the average inflation you linked for biden is strictly wrong. they are old, and wrong numbers. "Are you trying to say inflation hasn't been significantly higher under Biden's administration than the previous few administrations?" you know that's not what i'm saying: i'm saying it's not above average for the modern presidents. you also know that harris != biden. and so do the voters. ~a
[2024-09-26 22:49:37] - a: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1362236/most-important-voter-issues-us/ I mean, just look up what are the primary concerns of voters this election and I'm sure you'll see inflation near the top. -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:48:56] - a: And I think for those people, that is going to cause a significant hesitation or resistance towards voting for Harris. -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:48:22] - a: People under 40 (an important voting block for the Democrats) haven't really seen this level of inflation during their adult lives. They are not accustomed to seeing such sharp increases in the prices of things OR the costs of borrowing. -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:47:39] - a: And yes, I understand if you roll numbers back further you can find instances of higher inflation, but that's beside my point. -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:46:27] - a: I'm not trying to argue it's Biden's fault, but it seems pretty undeniable that inflation was noticeably higher the past four years than it was under Trump, Obama, or GWB. -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:45:45] - a: And I really doubt most people have noticed or care that prices haven't increased much lately. I'm a little surprised you're arguing this. Are you trying to say inflation hasn't been significantly higher under Biden's administration than the previous few administrations? -Paul
[2024-09-26 22:44:42] - a: "You know the inflation has been super low since December" Sure, but... so? There hasn't been deflation. The simple fact is that prices of many things are significantly higher now than they were during Trump's admin. -Paul
[2024-09-26 20:29:18] - paul: "Over the past ~20 years" this is a lie by omission: over the past 20 years, the inflation rate has been unusually low. change 20 years to 40 years, and your whole logic evaporates. ~a
[2024-09-26 12:36:05] - paul: "inflation was chewing through their paycheck" i do, 100% follow this logic. any time you have a raise smaller than inflation, then you actually got a salary decrease. get this dude a raise. ~a
[2024-09-26 12:15:32] - paul: "that's not how inflation works" I'm pretty sure it is how inflation works. "Data is the seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index for all items and is current as of Dec. 2023.". You gotta get some new numbers, man. You know the inflation has been super low since December. 5.0% puts him much closer to Reagan and also puts him barely above the average of 4%. ~a
[2024-09-26 03:29:38] - a: So I guess I disagree with the idea that only biased people are noticing inflation. There were a crap ton of articles about it. Everybody learned what iBonds were. Elizabeth Warren was blaming corporate greed for inflation. -Paul
[2024-09-26 03:28:02] - a: I had another person, unprompted by me, randomly mention to me today that inflation was chewing through their paycheck. Gurkie and I have had probably a dozen conversations over the past year about how expensive certain groceries have gotten. -Paul
[2024-09-26 02:27:53] - a: So a large percentage of the voting population is seeing rates of inflation that are significantly higher than any other period of their life where they have been buying things. -Paul
[2024-09-26 02:26:41] - a: Over the past ~20 years, Biden has seen inflation rates that are at least twice of any rates seen during any other presidential administration, and 3x Trump and 4x Obama (the two administrations immediately preceding his). -Paul
[2024-09-26 02:23:32] - a: https://www.investopedia.com/us-inflation-rate-by-president-8546447 That's not the right way to think of it, though, because that's not how inflation works. It's not a smooth and consistent increase every year. -Paul
[2024-09-25 11:42:47] - unemployment rate is the same story (4% is well below the historical average of 6%). ~a
[2024-09-24 13:21:11] - "groceries are like 30%+ higher in some cases". i feel that, if inflation was 5% per year, there were way more cases where groceries we not 30%+ higher. ~a
[2024-09-24 13:18:17] - your example is crazy: $5 in 2008 (time of the commercial) to $7.08 in 2023 is 2% inflation per year. the inflation during bidens presidency is 5% ((314.121÷262.518)^(1÷(3 + 8÷12))), when the historical average is 4%. nobody taking an unbiased look at inflation is going to be saying inflation is too high. ~a
[2024-09-24 00:19:18] - a: Just like it's an open question on whether or not crime is worse, people seem to THINK it's worse. I don't know what unemployment numbers are but my LinkedIn feed is filled with doomsday stories which make me think unemployment is bad. -Paul
[2024-09-24 00:18:12] - a: And again, this is less about what I think is right and proper and more about what I think the majority is perceiving. I know lots of left-leaning people who are still shocked and annoyed by higher prices. -Paul
[2024-09-24 00:17:26] - a: I'm sure some people, to some degree, are looking at their 401(k) balances and are pleasantly surprised, but I'm sure more people are upset that their $5 footlong is now $7 and groceries are like 30%+ higher in some cases. -Paul
[2024-09-24 00:14:59] - a: Uh... I think it's relevant but is just a small part of a larger picture. Inflation levels are lower now than previously but prices are still, to many people, shockingly higher than they were during Trump's administration. -Paul
[2024-09-23 15:14:54] - I spelled emojis wrong there at least once. Just to increase my odds that I spelled it right once. (Nah, it was a typo). -- Xpovos
[2024-09-23 15:14:21] - a: 5 "El Reistas" emojies and 5 "Skill Issue" emojis. Not exactly a high-brow conversation area. Though the discussion there did devolve into 200+ messages about whether or not gag/parody anime's ruined one's ability to say they liked all anime. So, anything is possible. -- Xpovos
[2024-09-23 13:22:51] - ha. what were the replies? ~a
[2024-09-23 11:52:09] - A random internet quote that I think might amuse here. “> I tried to hit a cyclist and they perfect parried the impact and wrecked my car. Can I sue for damages? The first lawyer I called told me "skill issue lmao" and hung up.” — Xpovos
[2024-09-19 14:21:12] - paul: i know the stock market != the economy, but i noticed the s&p500 and the dow jones industrial average were all at all-time-highs *today* (and nasdaq's all time high was only a few months ago). do you think that's at all relevant to what you mentioned last night about people thinking they're worse off today than they were four years ago? inflation is VERY low. ~a
[2024-09-12 13:05:20] - mig: are you a snowflake? ~a
[2024-09-12 01:57:34] - https://x.com/theonion/status/1833679768929112431 is this supposed to be a reference to the guy who died at the assassination attempt? If so, thats a yikes from me dawg. - mig
[2024-09-11 23:49:38] - did anybody watch the debate? it was very hard to watch, but not even close to as bad as the last one. ~a
[2024-09-05 21:36:41] - But that might be too late to where he could successfully use half the number of units to defeat my numerically superior force. Heck, I shudder at the amount of damage those two adepts did early on. -Paul
[2024-09-05 21:35:47] - a: Yeah, I know this is obviously with the benefit of hindsight, but I don't know if I would bother proxying and instead just go for either some zergling rush or two base roach timing or a four-gate or 4 rax or something. -Paul
[2024-09-05 18:55:53] - It was a fun video and instructive. The less skillful player just couldn't micro enough in multiple areas to the same extent. Harstem just has a much better intuitive understanding of the flow of the battle, and where his attention has to be at each microsecond. Pretty remarkable. -- Xpovos
[2024-09-05 17:40:12] - in fact i think the second game he found the proxy too, but had a harder time punishing the proxy unlike the first game. ~a
[2024-09-05 17:39:00] - paul: well, in the first video, he found the cheese right away. he is constantly scouting in a weird game like this. ~a
[2024-09-05 14:29:48] - Usually I figure the answer is probably yes if some cheese/rush is done to minimize the impact their superior skill would have. -Paul
[2024-09-05 14:28:51] - a: I enjoy Harstem's videos. Hadn't seen this one yet. I often wonder what it would take for me to beat a grandmaster. Could two of us (you, me, Daniel, Mark, Dewey) beat one? Could I do it with a one minute head start? -Paul
[2024-09-04 21:32:58] - 22 minute starcraft video. i'm only 1 minute in and i already love it. ~a
[2024-08-28 15:37:36] - xpovos: on the other hand, london (ontario) 's downtown area is pretty sweet! i'm not sure how their public transportation is, but it might be amazing, i'm not sure. ~a
[2024-08-28 15:33:32] - xpovos: "Why were the scout troop out for a walk, if the area wasn't walkable?" well to answer this i think we need to look at the facts: the 8 year old died on Wonderland Road and Riverside Drive. if you click on streetview, it's . . . i def wouldn't call it walkable: people trying to walk here, to avoid driving on every trip, are harmed by their local zoning boards. ~a
[2024-08-28 02:26:47] - If the argument is that everyone NEEDS to live in a walkable area, then we're going to have problems managing that, and I wouldn't agree with it. My neighborhood is horribly unwalkable. I don't like that, but I like the options that make it walkable even less. Except the option that is untenable for everyone else. So this bad outcome is the ground state. -- Xpovos
[2024-08-28 02:25:08] - Why were the scout troop out for a walk, if the area wasn't walkable? Now, I'll grant that some being able to walk to some things doesn't make a residential area "walkable." Driver in this case clearly "needed" to drive. Ergo, she wasn't in a walkable area. But she's driving. She doesn't have to be precisely nearby. -- Xpovos
[2024-08-28 02:24:09] - a: Ah, I didn't see the line of argument. I thought it was a complaint about her driving in an area where people were walking--which I guess it is, but it's more about people being able to walk where they live because they don't need to drive. Which I see as valid. But I'm going to pull a Paul. Let me get a new line... -- Xpovos
[2024-08-27 17:22:55] - xpovos: like you said, having a maximum five year ban is too short in situations like this. she won't be a better driver in five years and we probably wouldn't even have such a short "maximum" on the driving ban, like this, if instituting a driving-ban wasn't so harmful to someone's daily life. ~a
[2024-08-27 15:05:20] - xpovos: if deaths from driving (and related illnesses) were uncommon, i'd understand inaction. i imagine a world where people don't have a gun held up to their head: you must drive for every trip, even to the corner store. ~a
[2024-08-27 15:05:12] - xpovos: "As long as we have cars, we are going to have pedestrians killed by them" because of that we should stop progress? ~a
[2024-08-27 15:00:43] - xpovos: "the driver was flooring it out of operator error" if the elderly driver wasn't forced to drive by our zoning law decisions, she probably wouldn't have been driving. "any kind of reasonable civil engineering" the kind of civil engineering where people have the option (the option), to not drive, for some trips. ~a
[2024-08-26 18:09:31] - As long as we have cars, we are going to have pedestrians killed by them. — Xpovos
[2024-08-26 18:09:01] - a: I don’t know that zoning makes a difference in this case. It’s possible, of course, but the driver was flooring it out of operator error. I don’t see how the speed limit or any kind of reasonable civil engineering accommodates that. — Xpovos
[2024-08-25 02:58:08] - i agree. the fault is with the law. (and zoning?) ~a
[2024-08-24 14:41:28] - a: Yes. I think the judge was doing the best he could to rule fairly. A total driving ban is probably better. But this is what’s possible. — Xpovos
[2024-08-24 01:42:11] - xpovos: yes, i agree with all of your statements. do you think the five year driving ban is correct? ~a
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