The Skeptics Guide to the Universe Forum

Quote from: daniel1948 on November 12, 2022, 07:29:41 PMSteve has what I call the Star Trek mentality: Science and Technology can and will solve all our problems. Occasionally he acknowledges that politicians are wrongheaded. But he doesn't seem to grasp the magnitude of the obstacle to progress presented by politics. And he loves to say "We just need to do X" as if the country were not divided into factions that hate each other with such virulence that death threats are an everyday occurrence. Any measure supported by one side will be opposed by the other just out of pure meanness.

Catching up on old episodes, but yeah, Steve seems downright delusional about climate change mitigation in this episode. Isn't part of being a skeptic being realistic about the political situation as well as the technological one?

The reason why business as usual is better now than before is because it has always been a status quo scenario and as such it was never realistic as technology was always going to progress relative to a near decade ago. Previously business as usual painted an extremely grim picture. Now it just paints a very grim one. It's like moving from Venus to Mars and going "well, I'm no longer being burned alive by the acidic molten lead atmosphere so things are looking up!"

Yeah, the second season was pretty good!

I'm pretty much dead inside when it comes to gore and violence in movies but the red wedding was rough.

One of those songs I tend to sing along with when no one is awake. I really like the instrumentals on that last verse.

Some interesting speculation in this one about the connection between a volcano in Lombok, the ENSO, the little ice age in Europe, an algal bloom in the bay of Bengal, the disintegration of the Mongol empire, and the death of Mongke Khan in Yunan, China (as well as his wine drinking habit while there).

I know there's a writers' strike and all but just watched the latest episode of futurama and... oof.

Talk To Me (2022): Good horror film about a group of idiots who use an embalmed hand to invite spirits to inhabit their bodies because reasons. Good tension building. Pretty creepy. Third act was so/so since I found the main character a bit too gullible. Like, maybe don't immediately believe everything the slimy looking dead woman says, hmkay? 8-/10

I concede your points but will note that that mammoth, while being grilled, is not being eaten.

Quote from: puddingface on September 13, 2023, 06:58:10 AM

Quote from: werecow on September 13, 2023, 06:49:17 AMIn some cases, as seems to be the case with Musk a lot of the time, you don't have much choice other than to either do what the boss says, quit or be fired. In such cases I think it's probably the best option. Give him the rope to hang himself with.

In these cases though, you'll also probably be fired if you follow what the boss says and it doesn't work.

Right, but you have at least some chance, you'll be able to expose your boss' incompetence (and here in NL there are legal consequences if you're fired without a valid reason), and if nothing else you'll get paid for the time being.

Quote from: Desert Fox on September 12, 2023, 11:20:23 PM

Quote from: RickyDMMont2ya on September 12, 2023, 09:08:11 PM

Quote from: Desert Fox on August 29, 2023, 02:05:53 PMI think we need to plan for a worst case situation

Worst case is a planet that is not able to be inhabited by humans. What kind of planning are you proposing for that?

Okay, fair enough. . . . .I am arguing that I think we need to plan for people not doing anything to fight climate change until it becomes horrible.

That would require acknowledging the problem.

In some cases, as seems to be the case with Musk a lot of the time, you don't have much choice other than to either do what the boss says, quit or be fired. In such cases I think it's probably the best option. Give him the rope to hang himself with.

I want a mammoth burger but I think I'd prefer a lab grown one that never had the brain of an elephant. They seem to mourn the dead.

Quote from: xenu on September 12, 2023, 09:06:08 PMI was in a union job so I would not try it unless you had some sort of protection.

I live in the Netherlands and this was the 80s so everyone had some sort of protection.

Tangentially relevant and interesting, so will just leave this here:

Quote from: xenu on September 12, 2023, 11:09:30 AMI like working for mangers like that. I like to do everything they tell me to do, exactly the way they tell me. Then when it fails make sure you document everything they say so they can not blame you. It's actually fun watching it happen. Like a train crash in slow motion.

My dad did this. He argued about the work but in the end went along with his jackass of a boss. It ended with a dispute between him and his boss, who accused him of screwing up when things inevitably went to shit. He had documented every interaction meticulously. There was some sort of committee that determined his lack of guilt. But of course he could no longer see eye to eye with his boss. Then he got fired anyway because [insert bullshit reason here]. He was over 40 at the time and working as a sociological researcher in a narrow field with a lot of competition so it was very difficult to find a suitable new position. In fact he never really found one.

So IOW beware that you don't piss off someone who the higher ups feel they can't afford to fire (or who is their buddy).