Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[juansolo]

Ah good old terraced housing. Massively compromised. You get thin walls between you and your neighbours, that's fun, especially if they're randy/shouty/have kids/etc. Nowhere to park your car that doesn't risk your mirrors being taken off by passing cars. Also don't hope to have multiple or large cars.

They were originally council or working class housing here. For people without cars or when it came to the working class, it was from a time where they were within walking distance of the mine or wherever it was that you worked. Inner city terraces are a different thing. Again they're from a time when cars weren't as common so it's less of an issue. But they can be quite sizable/expensive affairs.

The thing is, that in modern Britain, no one works where they live anymore because the housing price boom made moving house when you changed job impossible. So everyone has at least one car. Especially if you're out of a city, they're mandatory as public transport outside cities in the UK is horrible/non-existant. So you need cars, plural, depending on how many people live there or where they work.

[alanp]

Been doing a little bit of reading (disclaimer: I am not a shrink) since seeing the Epic Rap Battles of History episode with Sigmund Freud versus Mother Teresa. The line that stuck in my head was, "I helped people live! You watched people die!"

Some write-ups describe him as vastly over-rated, and that his theories are debunked these days. Some write-ups delineate him as the turning point where doctors in the mind changed from insane asylum wardens, to psychologists and psychiatrists and that, even though the details of his theories were wrong, he was right in that a lot of what drives the mind is subconscious, and that talking about things to people helps. The author of the DSM apparently described Freud as vastly over-rated in his day, but vastly under-rated today.

In some ways, it kinda reminds me a bit of Nietzsche. He's known these days as the philosophical father of the Third Reich, in some places... when he is quoted as saying, "The literary obscenity of leading the Jews to slaughter as scapegoats of every conceivable public and internal misfortune is spreading." (For reference, while Nietzsche was not an anti-Semite and actually respected them a fair bit... his sister and brother-in-law were, and, when Nietzsche suffered from insanity later in life due to neuro-syphilis, went through all his works and edited them to what they felt was right and proper.)

Ain't nothing ever as simple as it seems.

[Aentons]

Been doing a little bit of reading (disclaimer: I am not a shrink) since seeing the Epic Rap Battles of History episode with Sigmund Freud versus Mother Teresa. The line that stuck in my head was, "I helped people live! You watched people die!"

Some write-ups describe him as vastly over-rated, and that his theories are debunked these days. Some write-ups delineate him as the turning point where doctors in the mind changed from insane asylum wardens, to psychologists and psychiatrists and that, even though the details of his theories were wrong, he was right in that a lot of what drives the mind is subconscious, and that talking about things to people helps. The author of the DSM apparently described Freud as vastly over-rated in his day, but vastly under-rated today.

In some ways, it kinda reminds me a bit of Nietzsche. He's known these days as the philosophical father of the Third Reich, in some places... when he is quoted as saying, "The literary obscenity of leading the Jews to slaughter as scapegoats of every conceivable public and internal misfortune is spreading." (For reference, while Nietzsche was not an anti-Semite and actually respected them a fair bit... his sister and brother-in-law were, and, when Nietzsche suffered from insanity later in life due to neuro-syphilis, went through all his works and edited them to what they felt was right and proper.)

Ain't nothing ever as simple as it seems.

Freud broke ground, but a lot of what makes him great is that he led to Jung (I'm a fan... also not a shrink)

[EBK]

Ain't nothing ever as simple as it seems.

Except cigars, sometimes. 

[alanp]

After watching far too many BosnianBill and LockPickingLawyer videos, I picked up a set of progressive training locks and lockpicks from Sparrows.

The part that gave me the shits was finding out that the lock I'd used for my bicycle all through intermediate and highschool was about as hard as the three pin training lock with no security pins.

[davent]

After watching far too many BosnianBill and LockPickingLawyer videos, I picked up a set of progressive training locks and lockpicks from Sparrows.

The part that gave me the shits was finding out that the lock I'd used for my bicycle all through intermediate and highschool was about as hard as the three pin training lock with no security pins.

It fulfilled it's mission unscathed?

I had a bike stolen from in front of the library while in university and during a bus strike. Cable locked to a post, cable cutters and gone.

Police got it back a couple days later. A few years after that used it to tour Europe for months (in the 80's), still have it.
dave

[thesmokingman]

if you like those guys check out deviantollam as well, a ton of practical physical security penetration testing information awaits

[Muadzin]

This is probably a really stupid question, but the band named 'Live'... (always wondered about that... "I'm seeing the band Live tonight!" "Which band?" "Live!" "Well, of course it's live, what band is it?")

Is it pronounced live as in "Performing live tonight!", or as in "Live long and prosper" ?

That's just weird. Try searching for a band you saw during a gig and thought was cool which was called 'The Music'. Have fun googling that.

There's been several English dubs of those -- Asterix in Britain was my favourite.

I mean like a blockbuster

By French standards those were blockbusters. I reckon it would be hard to make them work like that as the action would be cartoony and the humor very European. Lots of European leaders, artists and prominents from the 60's and 70's had cameos in Asterix. Hollywood would just f*** it up. Like they always do. And throw in some gender and race swaps to boot.

people in the US don't know the character at all. I'm only familiar with him from seeing a few (emphasis on few, they were very uncommon) comics at comic book stores years ago.

I was always intrigued but never had the money to buy them.

I grew up on this stuff. All this American superhero stuff was as alien to me as Asterix is to you. I knew it existed but I never saw it at the time.

After watching far too many BosnianBill and LockPickingLawyer videos, I picked up a set of progressive training locks and lockpicks from Sparrows.

The part that gave me the shits was finding out that the lock I'd used for my bicycle all through intermediate and highschool was about as hard as the three pin training lock with no security pins.

When I went to university we had the introduction beforehand, where senior students would help you to show you around the place. The group went out for a night on the town, the senior student locked his bike to mine with a big chain, and when we came back our bikes were still there, only the chain had been stolen.

[alanp]

My local library had every Tintin and Asterix book imaginable, so I was very familiar with the characters. Even if you bought them from the shop, they were usually a pretty good deal, being an entire book.

American comic books, on the other hand, were a special order from out of town, and cost ten bucks each (when, to a kid, this was a LOT OF MONEY.) They never got a lot of traction here.

[alanp]

Came across Nightwish's cover of "High Hopes" by Pink Floyd. I don't like it.

The Floyd's studio version of High Hopes always had that English quality of understated wistfulness to me. It's about reminiscing of things long gone, dreams you once had but never fulfilled in the day to day grind of getting by and looking after your family and friends, and looking forwards and realising that now, the chances of you fulfilling those dreams are even less than they were when you were eighteen, knew everything, and completely believed you could conquer the world. Part of this was conveyed was through Gilmour's understated singing -- a lot of the verses, he doesn't stray far from the original key, and in the chorus, even though he lets his voice soar a bit more, it's still not very far from what you could imagine a workmate in his fifties venting about at the pub.

Nightwish's live version I  saw was overblown emo in tone, to me. The singing was too polished, and the whole production was 'everything louder than everything else', which doesn't really fit the song.

[Muadzin]

Came across Nightwish's cover of "High Hopes" by Pink Floyd. I don't like it.

The Floyd's studio version of High Hopes always had that English quality of understated wistfulness to me. It's about reminiscing of things long gone, dreams you once had but never fulfilled in the day to day grind of getting by and looking after your family and friends, and looking forwards and realising that now, the chances of you fulfilling those dreams are even less than they were when you were eighteen, knew everything, and completely believed you could conquer the world. Part of this was conveyed was through Gilmour's understated singing -- a lot of the verses, he doesn't stray far from the original key, and in the chorus, even though he lets his voice soar a bit more, it's still not very far from what you could imagine a workmate in his fifties venting about at the pub.

Nightwish's live version I  saw was overblown emo in tone, to me. The singing was too polished, and the whole production was 'everything louder than everything else', which doesn't really fit the song.

Yeah, well, Pink Floyd always was a restrained (as in not balls to the walls rocking it out) rockband. Lots of subtlety in their music. Metal is just not known for its subtlety and restraint. It's either ALL ANGRY ALL THE TIME or symphonic note overload. That's why we love metal in the first place, we're not subtle people. 

[alanp]

Yeah, but it's the different shades and dynamics that give impact. It's like when you see a little old granny in a nice floral dress and white apron, scowling, and suddenly coming out with 'dammit', after years of clean language, or seeing Tom Araya in a crisp, clean, three piece suit.

[CodeMonk]

My favourite sauces:
...

Spicy Ketchup - Aldi.  Was a "Special Buy" so it hasn't been in stock for a while.  ....

I love mixing ketchup with one (sometimes both) of these, plus a small pinch of cumin:

Ketchup with Paprika is "The bomb".

[Muadzin]

Yeah, but it's the different shades and dynamics that give impact. It's like when you see a little old granny in a nice floral dress and white apron, scowling, and suddenly coming out with 'dammit', after years of clean language, or seeing Tom Araya in a crisp, clean, three piece suit.

Seeing Tom Araya rock out Angel of Death in a clean three piece suit would be a refreshing and even more kick ass statement then in the usual metal uniform of jeans and a black t-shirt with bandlogo. It's for that reason that in my last band I ditched the jeans and band logo t-shirt in favor of a three piece suit.

[somnif]

Judges.... so many judges....

So yeah, got my ballot in the mail today, and just spent the last ~4 hours reading through case outcomes trying to decide who to retain. Really wish they made this stuff easier, like, a nice summary somewhere rather than having to DL pdf's of case outcomes one by one and reading through legalese. (Seriously I had 50 judges to vote on, my hand is cramped from filling in bubbles and my eyes are glazed from trying to decipher this damned legal language).

Worst part, I think that judges have only been recalled by ballot like, twice in the last several decades here, so all my research is probably pointless. But damnit, I'm gonna do it!

And hey, recreational use is on the ballot, and polling well ahead, AND includes language that would allow nullification of most pot offenses (I'm in an "any amount is a felony" state), so, that's cool at least.