And she ran
She ran so far away
She just ran
she ran all night and day
she couldn't get away

I don't disagree with you there, but fail to see how that would excuse leaving Trump in office....abandoning all hope and learning Mandarin. Biden is far from perfect, and old enough that who his VP is matters, but compared to Trump it's night and day.

Yes, we are likely headed into depression. One team has a chance of shortening it, one will certainly make it worse.
Yes, the pandemic is still in phase 1 of many, but one team sees a problem to tackle, another just sees an optics issue to deflect from.
Yes, there's a huge cultural divide, one team seeks to minimize it, the other exploit it.

I have zero hope Biden will solve our n national problems, nor any doubt Trump would exacerbate every one until there's no nation left. Trump might be a symptom,but so is suffocation. Sometimes you must deal with the symptom first to have a chance at fixing the cause.

Trump is no longer the candidate of change, he's the establishment. They won't vote for him to fix their lives after he ruined them, imo.

I agree, we are headed in the direction of dissolution.

The civil war was plenty bloody, but we have avoided responsibility for most of our sins, agreed.

Yes, 90% reduction if we acted 2weeks sooner is criminally negligent imo. We really dropped the baby on this one....bigly. It's going to get worse.

"This business will get out of control, it will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."
https://youtu.be/kvNAid29vv8

Voting for this poll ended in a tie between Night and Day.

@smr
Well, there was a fight over the definition of butter too, but not what you described.

I think the biggest difference is the possibility that the public could confuse one product for another.

The public uses nut milk as a substitute for animal milk, you put it on cereal, in shakes, dunk cookies in it, etc. It's a white liquid that differs in taste, but is made to be close to animal milk.

The fight over "butter" as a definition happened between butter and margerine. The butter people, at one point even lobbied for a law making it so magerine could not be sold in the color yellow. It makes sense to some degree. They are similar products. They are used in almost identical application.

It's probably the case that nothing like that happened with peanut butter because it's not close enough to regular butter to be confused as churned milk fat.

One could argue that people may put peanut butter on toast with jelly with their breakfast, possibly; but they'd know what product they are using. No one would try to put a dollop of apple or peanut butter in a pan to fry up some eggs. They are night and day different products and it's not as though one would be confused about what you were getting into with the purchase of apple butter instead of butter.

Whereas milk vs almond milk seem similar enough, and butter and margerine are similar enough and both used the same; the FDA then decided that a distinction should be made.

Maybe in the 1960s it was just pot, but now we have a full range of effects and potencies selectively bred to make the differences between strains like night and day.

Why does it matter if he's specifically doing it to bait them? It doesn't change what they should know and how they should behave, there is a clear example with the sergeant, it's night and day.

It's a good impersonation, but when the real Neil comes in holy crap it's night and day. Raises the hairs on the back of my neck and he still sounds great 30 years later.

As a kid I got bullied, but it sounds like this kid has it worse. One thing that really struck me the first time I saw an "it gets better" PSA was that those kinds of spots can apply to bullied kids in addition to LGBT kids. Glad to see something like the evolution of that.

To me, it seems like we've got something institutionally wrong with schools that allows bullying to be as prevalent as it is. I say that because in my experience and that of most other people I know that were bullied, things are at their worst from roughly middle school to early-mid high school (say, 12 to 17 years old). Usually the senior year is noticeably better than those before it, and then the experience at college is like the difference between night and day. Obviously increasing maturity levels are responsible for some of that, but not all.

To me, administrators and teachers need to take this a lot more seriously. Good for this kid for getting in the school board's face and making them feel uncomfortable, because the status quo clearly doesn't make things any better.

Oh, and a hearty /second to Yogi's comment about the title.

Interesting, but like rychan some elements didn't really click for me personally.

I never felt pressure to "be a man". I felt pressure to be a conformist. To NOT be academically engaged (ie. don't be a nerd). Some pressure to be into sports (particularly football), which is as close as I think I ever felt to "masculine" type pressure.

I ended up hating the bullies. A lot of them were jocks, so I decided I hated sports. Eventually I pretty much hated people, in general. I The difference between HS and college was like night and day (it gets better, kids), but it still took me a couple years to lower some of my defensive walls.

The bit about feeling pressure to hide anger didn't ring true for me at all. Some of the few times I felt like I was getting some respect happened when bullies pushed me or my friends far enough for me to snap. Didn't happen often, but in the two "fights" I got into in High School I was rewarded with months of calm / being left alone after them (being left alone / ignored doesn't sound great, but it was about as comfortable as I ever could get in High School).

I "won" both fights, and in both instances had to be dragged away from the bully who had started it by a teacher after causing some moderate damage (bruises up to bloody nose). No punishment for me from the administration in either case because I had zero record of causing trouble vs. the boys I had fought with being in trouble damn near constantly. I suppose that if I had lost / gotten my ass kicked it might have been different, but the (dangerous) lesson I learned was to show anger with a little earlier threshold than I normally would have done. Certainly not that I had to hide my anger. I would argue that feeling encouraged to display or even exaggerate your anger in that way is probably a more common masculine pressure than hiding it.

I definitely agree with rychan that bullying seems like a much larger issue to me, and that it doesn't seem very closely linked to masculine gender role pressure. Still, this is interesting.

I've owned a Dyson vac and I can confirm it didn't hold a candle to 'old reliable' my 20 year old Kirby Diamond Classic my mom gave me when I got my first apartment. It may be fancy looking, but the difference in performance is night and day. Yes I may have to buy bags once in a while, or replace a busted belt, but that old Kirby cleans like nobodies business.

I've found Dyson products in general are shit. I received one of their 'fans' as a gift. It worked decently enough but was loud as hell when turned up and didn't spread air around the room that well, all for $350 for a 12" fan. I later bought a regular fan that had different settings, could turn to blow air around the room, etc, and did a 'much' better job cycling and cooling the room for $50.

Dyson is like Bose. Fantastic marketing but the actual product is over-priced and under-performing.

You make some interesting points probie! Half-life is my top game of all time too and I'm a bigtime Valve fanboy of course.

I basically agree with everything you said, the games have become more broad, L4D2 and Portal 2, while both excellent, were a little underwhelming... but I guess comparing them to the greatest game of all time is bound to lead to disappointment too...

For the most part though, I think that Valve's overall approach; releasing software for free, bridging the gap between developers and gamers with Steam, and their system of game development in general, is a great approach and it's one that's given me a lot of joy and fulfilment as a consumer.

I'm using their Source Filmmaker software right now to create a short film and all along the way Valve employee's been answering questions on forums, blogging about their favorite videos so far, releasing new content every week etc...

Sure they're just a company and ultimately they want our money but when I look at Valve compared to most other developers/publishers, it's like night and day. Valve releases DLC all the time, for free. Every time I play TF2 (which is now free too) there's always new maps and new weapons. L4D1 and 2 both got new campaigns, in fact another one JUST came out for L4D2, for free! Compare that with almost every other game company and they're charging you for DLC before the game is even out. Or they split their game into 3 separate games! *cough* Blizzard *cough*

I just think there's something they 'get' about where gaming and software is going in general and I for one hope they continue on this ride!

Yes I know I'm a huge fanboy...

>> ^probie:

Still my #1 game of all time. I've always been a fan of the Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, etc., so the idea of an every man unleashing who-knows-what-upon-the-world was really appealing. Not to mention the variety of guns, the variety and originality of the monsters, the way each section felt like a real place. [spoiler]You race to the surface dependent on being rescued only to be driven back down underground, realizing as you wander through areas of the facility that no one normally goes that you're now entirely self-reliant. Top that off with other little psychological tricks they used: passage of time (when you first run into the military it's sunny, the next time you hit the surface it's night time), mortality (getting caught and thrown to your doom in the trash compactor, knowing you're about to become a footnote, only to escape again). I still get tingles when I remember dropping down off the roof into that pit of water, hoisting myself up into the pipe and starting to scurry down it when, at the other end, I see a soldier pop open the door and throw in a satchel charge. (Read: OH SHIT!!! backpedal backpedal ) Hell, I'm pretty sure I even held my breath in real life when I dropped back into the water; that's how engrossing the experience was. [/spoiler]

Unfortunately, I think Valve took the idea of spit and polish to absurd levels in every game they've made since, with it culminating in Portal 2. I'm not talking about the story; that was great. I'm talking about the "Here, let us spoon feed you each level by pointing out that this is the only wall that you can put a portal on, oh good, you did it, see? Aren't you having fun?"-type gameplay. The only way they could have been more direct is by putting a giant, flashing sign that says "DO THIS NEXT". [spoiler]To be fair, I felt a small tinge of it again in Half-Life 2, when you reach the bridge and have to make your way across the under-belly of it. I think this was do to the fact that there was nothing there (ie. a convenient arrow sign) to indicate that's what you needed to do. I remember looking around, seeing the path leading down behind the house, following it with my eye to the bridge and thinking "Are you serious??" Sure enough, 2 minutes later I'm grasping on the rusted metal and cursing under my breath at the developers. [/spoiler]
Regardless, something has gotten lost in the translation since Half-Life. Gone is the wonder and sense of freedom I felt; now I feel that I'm only playing the game the way they require me to, and not on my own. They may have been directing me where to go in Half-Life, but they did it with such slyness that it never felt forced, or blatant.
Sadly, I think their cabal process has become a double-edged sword, allowing them to create some of the most memorable video games, but tailoring it to the lowest common denominator. (A great read if you have a minute or two.)
And on that note, I'm off to hunt down some really, really good weed that will make me forget about everything I liked about Half-Life 1. Just so I can replay it again.

In reply to this comment by dannym3141:
That blurry guy is a complete cunt. Don't care what religion you are, you discuss things with an open mind and try to see the other's point of view rather than seeing them as an opponent. I'd be said if you stopped providing your input. Ignoring him is a solution - a LOT of people do.


Thanks for your response I'll think on it.

The other thing that usually drives me insane is that he'll ask questions about something I've JUST answered! BUT, his literal lack of knowledge (in this case general relativity and special relativity) is making him spout buffoon and sadly very uninformed statements or opinions, often aimed at me and my previous post (well-informed and standard--backed up with testing and experimentation); which as I said is hilarious as I already answered it in that post "right above" and he can't read between the lines to see that the answer is sitting the for all to see, he just doesn't understand the answer, nor do I think he ever will see it very soon to be VERY fair and blunt. His main issue is with telling himself the truth in the first place and he can't yet do that with simple children's stories--not to be a snob or complete snide remark, but it is merely a fact that he will not accept the truth--faith and platitudes are far more important to him in his life right now than are being able to build:

An arena that can fit 100,000 people at night and day with the top open and closed; elevators, cashiers, electricity, Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, heating, sound, seating, walk-paths and stairs, vendors--food and accessories, security, camera & video, HDTV and a HD-JUMBOTRON, housing for teams and workers/staff, office space, etc, etc, etc... Places that are amazing to behold in their construction and if you're part of the management of the construction at any level or you have to be THE manager that keeps the building going once it's done you will find out very soon that a lot of what he says is utter rubbish; especially if you are the engineer that designed this Behemoth with every life in mind so that they would NOT be die to some kind of mental lapse; this is a job (like no other really) that has a HUGE amount of pressure on it and ALL THAT you have to rely on is: Physics (and that little brain of yours + a good calculator and drafting tools ). Does he have even any idea of how incredibly smart these people are, then he comes in and mocks Einstein like he's just this buffoon that of course NEVER thought of the COMPLETELY OBVIOUS stuff. He would NEVER do that; Einstein made people that build the greatest structures on Earth look like idiot children! I'm guessing that was skipped in seminary!? That little thing he thinks is so utterly useless to talk about in the grand scheme of things is so vitally important to everything he does EVERY day (and I really wonder if he knows HOW MUCH we depend on Science and it's discoveries--I mean your whole house would basically disappear without the inventions, it's a complete joke and I really do think he takes it for granted.

It's hard to EVER have a conversation with someone that loves their God SO MUCH they have their OWN God complex! I refuse to talk to a brick wall I'm not a damn mad man!

Anyway, thanks again.

BLAARGH!!! It just gets frustrating, especially when they don't seem to be trolls--so ignore it is.

As an introvert also, one way that I've tried to explain it to some of my friends and acquaintances who are extroverts is to say that I'd draw a distinction between anti-social and asocial. Certainly some introverts can be anti-social -- they generally dislike social situations, usually because they feel uncomfortable in them.

In contrast, I'd say that my definition of asocial is someone who is essentially neutral on social situations; they feel no compulsion to go seek out social interaction, but they aren't necessarily opposed to it when it does happen.

I have been asocial as long as I can remember. I was always perfectly happy doing my own thing by myself when I was a kid. Only child, living in the country, no neighbors in walking distance. In grade school, I had lots of friends and was fairly "popular", but I didn't feel any specific need to hang out with other kids all the time; I'd still run off and do my own thing. Around grade 7-8, I was still the same me, but I started to notice that the things I was and had been interested in weren't popular or acceptable anymore.

That didn't initially bother me, until the cliques and pressure cooker that is High School kicked in. The standard High School struggles pushed me way further into the realms of being anti-social. I basically decided that 95% of people were scum, and that figuring out who the 5% of people who weren't scum wasn't worth the effort.

I think that a chunk of that gets better in the senior year of High School, and then the difference between HS and going to college is night and day. I could have been comfortable returning to socializing right away in college, but I was still pretty shell-shocked. I still had a pretty grim outlook on humanity, which is a shame because I now realize that I should/could have been quicker to adjust my attitude.

By now, I'm still fully asocial in that I feel essentially no need to seek out social interaction, but I do enjoy meeting and getting to know new people and find that there are very few people that I dislike -- almost the exact opposite of my old 95%/5% evaluation. I'll never be the type that wants to go out and hob-nob with friends or random people every day, but I certainly wouldn't describe myself as anti-social anymore.

after watching this, the main thing that strikes my mind is what if buehler had just been some ordinary joe shmoe and not a west pt grad/army vet/stanford mba...

would he be in more serious trouble? would this have still made the news? if so, to the same degree? and what does that say about our media?

he'll have all charges dropped, i'm sure, if the police dashcam doesn't show him intentionally spitting on the officer... but i doubt he'll have any tortious legal claim

aside from all of that... this whole snafu just highlights for me again how aggressive us police officers can be -- i've spent close to two decades as an american living in asia, thirteen of those years in taiwan... the difference between the police at home and those here is night and day...

patrol cars here actually drive around, very slowly, with their police lights lit at all times - this struck me as odd initially, but i came to realize that it acts as a deterrent to lawlessness - there're also no speed traps, and if you're stopped by the police, they're always very courteous... almost apologetic

there are a few downsides to this though... they're slow to respond to calls for help, and practically do backflips in order avoid any sort of paperwork on their part

i often wonder about what the cause of such differences (i.e. aggressiveness / discourtesy) between the two might be -- part of it is certainly the fact that everyday americans have ready access to firearms, whereas the only armed taiwanese are gangsters -- another aspect i suspect is the level of officer empowerment by the local government (e.g. us officers are given an enormous amount of power to be used and/or abused, while taiwanese police for the most part act as society's shepherds in uniform)

how to reconcile these differences, and perhaps reach a happy medium?

The only thing you proved is there are idiots in every crowd.

This is certainly true. I in no way mean to imply that the offenses were representative of "all OWS participants". Obviously not all OWS people are doing these kinds of things. But there is enough of it going on though that it is becoming a serious issue with how the public views OWS as a whole.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204479504576637082965745362.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/angry_manhattan_residents_lambast_RjpTU0jG2z9yrgf5o4bRcO#ixzz1bPHgxmGZ

Manhattan residents are sick of them. The data shows that the OWS is vastly different in ideological and demographic makeup than average voters. This is very different from the Tea Party, which solidly reflects actual American voters...

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Tea-Partiers-Fairly-Mainstream-Demographics.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_cont
ent=morelink&utm_term=Politics

Really - when an 'average person' encounters the OWS movement, it is like walking into the Star Wars Cantina. We hike up an eyebrow and think, "Who the heck are THESE guys?" The average American has a family, a job, and social obligations. He doesn't want to ditch all that to go camp out in a filthy tent-city with a bunch of noisy, disaffected college kids. The average American has a 401K, investments, and other property. They don't want to blow up Wall Street. They just want Wall Street to no longer be the beneficiary of government favoritism - which is a GOVERNMENT problem, not a Wall Street problem. The average person has far more in common with the Tea Party than with OWS.

OWS doesn't want a specific message because that means they'd have to defend a position. When anyone comes at them and tries to have an actual discussion, they dive back into the tall grass of being a 'vague movement' with nothing but vagueries and sloganeering. The average american demands better than that. OWS is never going to be anything but a fringe group unless they can come up with a specific message.

Now, this vid bozo seems quite proud of the fact that they have no real message beyond "we are the 99%" and "we don't like Wall Street!" Well, that's fine. Most Americans are 'mad' at Wall Street if you only keep the topic vague, undefined, and ephemeral. The problem is that OWS is using that vague, ephemeral, nebulous "we're mad at Wall Street" message and saying that it means "most of America" agrees with the OWS movement. That is blatantly false, because while both OWS and 'average americans' can both agree on that generalization, they are as different as night and day when you actually get down to any specifics.

And that really is the problem for OWS. When the rubber meets the road and these yahoos try to actually build a REAL movement (as opposed to just a tent city of malcontents) then the effort falls apart because you can't build a large movement without a specific message. And the INSTANT that any of the OWS movement ever coughs up any specifics on what they want, then they drive away average folks like me like they were plutonium.