Randomness thread, part two.

[jackvance]

Btw I don't want to sound high and mighty or anything there. It's just honestly how I perceive things.

[boost]

Grunching:

Man I was really really drunk last night.

[Chelle]

I don't think you're being high and mighty at all.

As far as the religion thing - I started questioning things about the same age, but kept having to go to church [yay souths]. Over the years I've finally just figured out [not really but almost] where I stand on the whole religion thing [to put fear and control into the masses], but I'm a more of a spiritual person [not a hippie, kind of, but not really]. I like some the view points of the Dalai Lama, some of the ideas of reincarnation, and I really think religions have the wrong idea of "god", or w/e they pray to. A lot of people that follow the Chrisitian religion that I know just pray for things to get better, don't put in the hard work, and just expect things to pop out of thin air. It's like they don't realize they have to put some effort into improving their life. A lot of people pray for their finances to improve, but if they started looking at the shit they're spending money on - they'd improve it themselves instead of praying. It's like they just don't realize they have the answer the whole time, and want a crutch to lean on.

It'd be fucking nice for an omnipresent power to just make every little thing better, but it doesn't work that way, sometimes you have to find it within yourself, and maybe that's what that omnipresent power is trying to teach people. People just don't want to be taught.

In other news - I like tuna, and japan was able to make a human liver out of stem cells.

[eugmac]

Well aesthetics is a pretty interesting topic. Why something strikes one as being beautiful. Beauty (not related to sexual attraction which has an obvious biological function) and its appreciation seems to have no direct "practical" value, and yet society without art, theatre, dance and music is unthinkable - indeed it seems to be a fundamental human need. Why? Why did cavemen start drumming beats and dance to it? What's the driving force behind all that? As a professional musician, once in a while I'm forced to ponder stuff like that.

forgot to include literary arts in my list. which gets me thinking about the evolution of various art forms. i can only assume that dancing came before writing poems in human history. music->dance->theatre->painting->writing? probably such a linear progression doesn't exist at all. but hey it was a try.

[jackvance]

It's not as elusive as you think. Many others have pondered this before you. And we know why. If you want I can just tell you lol

[eugmac]

jv, @ chelle or @ me?

[jackvance]

At you.

[eugmac]

Well, elaborate.

[eugmac]

I'm pretty sure that one of the fundamentals that lie beneath appreciation of art in any form is related to empathy.

[eugmac]

I guess Tolstoy's views are pretty close to my own: "Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them."

[eugmac]

which also explains why often i find people who haven't lived through any tough times or whatever produce lame art. but that's just my anecdotal two cents, it's far from a rule of thumb!

[eugmac]

like, recent studies showed that yawn contagion is related to empathy - the more empathy one has the more prone they are to it. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...ce-of-empathy/

i would throw out a hypothesis that the urge to dance for example stems from similar processes.

[Savy]

How can you dismiss the Stones then tell someone "don't be one of those of those people"?

Tell someone not to be someone who says things like "omg old music is so much better" and saying I don't like the stones aren't different things.

Also I don't dislike the stones by any means, the couple of albums I've listened to by them are just decent, not bad.

I personally find current day art a complete crock, probably because I'm an extremely scientific-minded person. But I can understand why it has its role in society.

Next time you go to a gallery or exhibit actually do some research on some of the people who are being shown there. The idea with a lot of modern art is much more to do with the ideas behind the art than it looking like a pretty picture.

Very true that most everything has been done, or can be done easily. In music, pictures etc. About me not liking contemporary art, I tried to find an explanation for my dislike. I'm not saying rational thought leads to disliking art, although probably there's a connection.

This is complete crap. Everything that can be done in music and art has already been done, lol kk.

You're aware that most subjects like physics and maths require huge amount of abstract thought too?

[eugmac]

another point which is relevant is that most artists aren't all that great, and that's the way it always has been. look at how few people from each era people still give a damn about today. only a handful.

[eugmac]

also hitler was a crap artist.

[eugmac]

and seemed to have little empathy.

[jackvance]

like, recent studies showed that yawn contagion is related to empathy - the more empathy one has the more prone they are to it. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...ce-of-empathy/

i would throw out a hypothesis that the urge to dance for example stems from similar processes.

Not gonna produce a huge post here, but it stems from sexual selection on intelligence. Being able to produce art or music that moves people (whether through it's aesthetic value, cultural fads, what it represents or who the creator is as a person - or most likely a combination of all those factors) is a heuristic we use for good genes. What we are capable of as people, in terms of buildings, colonizing the whole world, abstract thought, philosophy, medical and scientific advances etc, is an "unplanned" (ie it's not an advantage in and of itself) consequence of choosing smart mates. Kind like if you select on flies for size, you can grow really large ones. In the same way humans became a lot smarter in a relatively small period of time, evolutionarily speaking, through sexual selection. I have to add that that last part is more my opinion and there are other theories. The sexual selection part of our cranial explosion is generally accepted but there are varying theories on what was the catalyst. Most think it had to do with changing environmental factors, such as a higher intelligence helped with using utensils and weapons and hunting, like being able to throw a spear.

[eugmac]

You're aware that most subjects like physics and maths require huge amount of abstract thought too?

ya that was the allusion i wanted to make with Albert Einstein loving the Mozart.

[jackvance]

Hm I think you're on the wrong track thinking about it in terms of empathy. Hitler was one of the most influencial people of the past century. You can't honestly say that a person who was able to bring a whole country together (people mass fainted at his speeches they were so powerful) to lack the most basic people skill. It's quite the opposite. I've read Mein Kampf, and besides the jews suck nonsense, it read like a psychology book on how to influence people. He basically invented propaganda. He is the embodiment of evil in our society, and it's hard to find anything objective about him, but I did find some books in the library in college.

[a500lbgorilla]

I'll just go with what Andy Warhol said, 'Art is what you can get away with.'

As much as I like to label the wordspew of others as empty, I think this one is right on the button and I couldn't tell you why.

[Savy]

Hm I think you're on the wrong track thinking about it in terms of empathy. Hitler was one of the most influencial people of the past century. You can't honestly say that a person who was able to bring a whole country together (people mass fainted at his speeches they were so powerful) to lack the most basic people skill. It's quite the opposite. I've read Mein Kampf, and besides the jews suck nonsense, it read like a psychology book on how to influence people. He basically invented propaganda. He is the embodiment of evil in our society, and it's hard to find anything objective about him, but I did find some books in the library in college.

[eugmac]

Hm I think you're on the wrong track thinking about it in terms of empathy. Hitler was one of the most influencial people of the past century. You can't honestly say that a person who was able to bring a whole country together (people mass fainted at his speeches they were so powerful) to lack the most basic people skill. It's quite the opposite. I've read Mein Kampf, and besides the jews suck nonsense, it read like a psychology book on how to influence people. He basically invented propaganda. He is the embodiment of evil in our society, and it's hard to find anything objective about him, but I did find some books in the library in college.

Maybe he was good at faking it.

[eugmac]

I mean, my understanding of evil is that a dire lack of empathy is a pre-requisite for it.

[jackvance]

Maybe he was good at faking it.

This is true, he was a psychopath if you take empathy in the sense of showing affection and care for other people, which I take is the definition you use. My definition is more in terms of how someone is able to understand people. He did have that otherwise he wouldn't have been able to weasel his way into uniting germany under his ideology. Well to be fair a big factor in how it happened as it did was that germany had been harshly punished for ww1 and as such very susceptible to unite under a powerful leader and refind their patriotism. Still, he did what was needed to fill that void.

[jackvance]

I mean, my understanding of evil is that a dire lack of empathy is a pre-requisite for it.

True, in that they are psychopaths. But the dirty truth is that this is also true for politicians and succesful managers and entrepeneurs. The best criminals are also the best businessmen, genetically speaking.

Largest scale example: Australia was England's penal colony, so basically Australians are all descendants of English criminals. Still they have a normal society like any other now. It's a fine line of environmental factors that determines how you end up. And how we look back at you. If Germany had won the war, I'd be speaking german now and thinking of the jews as the root of all evil.

[eugmac]

Well, it's a bit of stretch to say that even a significant portion of the prisoners sent to Australia were actual psychopaths. I don't know enough about it though to say what degree of criminal you had to be on that boat.

Agree with you that top dogs in certain professions (banking for example) are probably very likely psychopaths.

[eugmac]

Also nature vs nurture blah blah blah. Not all people with 0 empathy will end up being a psychopath.

[boost]

another point which is relevant is that most artists aren't all that great, and that's the way it always has been. look at how few people from each era people still give a damn about today. only a handful.

Yeah, I think people quite often overlook this phenomenon. Sure the oldies channel is constantly playing good music, while the contemporary stations are playing the same dozen songs, seemingly on repeat, with half of them not even being very good. The thing is, the oldies channel has an advantage in that it can pull from a multi decade spanning catalog, while the contemporary station is confined to a playlist younger than a year for the most part.

[Savy]

Not to mention most "oldies" songs are nostalgia driven crap anyway.

[jackvance]

Well, it's a bit of stretch to say that even a significant portion of the prisoners sent to Australia were actual psychopaths. I don't know enough about it though to say what degree of criminal you had to be on that boat.

Yeah I was more talking about how the skillsets top criminals have and the skillsets of exemplary people are very similar. About psychopathy, it's a pretty laden word, where in reality it is a spectrum and there's nothing essentially wrong with it. Just that it was common in criminals like serial killers, so it's a clinical term. But yeah politicians who think one thing and say another for a job, what do you make of that?

[jackvance]

Also nature vs nurture blah blah blah. Not all people with 0 empathy will end up being a psychopath.

Yeah this is what I mean. Empathy is also an acquired skill imo, everyone has the ability to be empathic. Everyone is capable of greatness, and everyone has the ability to murder someone else under the right circumstances. We have a mental mechanism that makes us capable of objectifying (a subset of) other people. As in "I am empathic with all other people, and care for them. But the enemy aren't people, they're below people not even worth thinking about". This is probably easier for psychopaths.

But everyone can be anything, and I don't mean this as in a motivational slogan. Shut down all electricity in your city and see how all civilized people are going to act now.

[bikes]

But everyone can be anything, and I don't mean this as in a motivational slogan. Shut down all electricity in your city and see how all civilized people are going to act now.

Take away my internets for 1 min and see how frantically i go from the router to the modem to yelling at my ISP

[a500lbgorilla]

Take away my internets for 1 min and see how frantically i go from the router to the modem to yelling at my ISP

But there is no ISP. ISPs are a thing of the past. That shit was for 12:32. It's 12:34.... only God can save you now.

[Chelle]

I just spent about 2 hours hand sewing a dress to make it 2 inches shorter, and to make it tighter since I've lost so much weight.

The hem of the dress [the part that is on the bottom that i made shorter] is about 4-5 foot. Yay 50's dresses.

I'm not even finished yet. I have to add another dart to make it tighter, tack the straps to make it a strapless dress, press the new seams. Then, I get to start adding more fabric to the petticoat, add trim, and then I'll be done.

I bet when sewing machines were introduced to the people, they cried tears of joy. Cause this shit is ridiculous.

[WillburForce]

Ask my butcher if he can prepare my chicken wings for me. I explain that I need the wing tips removed, then cut into two sections. This will save me prep time. Just checked on my stock and he ain't done it. Cut of the wing tips sure, but left it whole. I aint got time to butcher 200 mofing wings. Special for the day? Whole wings........"like they do in the USofA - Happy July 4th"......might get away with it........

[eugmac]

Sounds like a man with a plan.

[boost]

That's not how they do it here...

Also, this should take you less than 15 minutes.

/hatehatehate

[WillburForce]

That's not how they do it here...

Also, this should take you less than 15 minutes.

/hatehatehate

I know that - but if anyone pulls me up on it, I say along the lines of "A cool American chef named Boost gave me the recipe"........

I semi cook and was cutting it fine already, needed to get them on.......they're cooking now. Plus I'm not a trained chef. That would take me minimum 1/2hr!


http://www.truckstoplondon.com/ This is where I'm heading today. Should be fun!

[eugmac]

true, now that i think of it, i've never seen unseparated wings ever in any place i've ever been. but you could still bluff. idk.

[ChipEaterMan]

As far as the religion thing - I started questioning things about the same age, but kept having to go to church [yay souths]. Over the years I've finally just figured out [not really but almost] where I stand on the whole religion thing [to put fear and control into the masses], but I'm a more of a spiritual person [not a hippie, kind of, but not really].

Wise words Chelle. Religions were created to put fear and control the masses. That's why in chess the bishops are near the king and the queen. You don't need religions to attain high spiritual states of consciousness.

[Chelle]

okay so i need some advice.

should i go buy a sewing machine for 74 bucks, use it, then take it back and get my money back?

i finished the dress - but the whole adding layers to the petticoat isn't working out like it should. so, i got the idea of hey i can get a sewing machine, use it, then return it!


p.s. keep in mind i'mma soulless ginger when it comes to judging whether or not this is a good idea.

[Savy]

Alternatively just buy a sewing machine and then have hours of fun using it and doing cool stuff that you couldn't do by hand.

[Chelle]

Alternatively just buy a sewing machine and then have hours of fun using it and doing cool stuff that you couldn't do by hand.

My Mom has two - one of which is getting passed to me whenever I get a place, which is why I don't want to buy one to keep forever. But, currently I'm 45 minutes away from my house, and won't be there for a few days. I need the more floofy petticoat for a photo shoot this weekend. The petticoat is okay as it is, but, needs more floof. I'd basically be using a sewing machine for 30-45 minutes max.

[Savy]

That's not an acceptable reason to do what you want to do unfortunately.

[Chelle]

That's not an acceptable reason to do what you want to do unfortunately.

;_; i figured. i might just end up wearing the petticoat as is. or figuring out how to do all this by hand. meeeeeeeeeeeeeeh

[jackvance]

This sounds perfectly acceptable to me. If it matters to you just do it. Unless this is a local store where everyone is in your circle of acquaintances, this is socially just fine. That's coming from a soul-less nonginger.

[Chelle]

Now I'm getting mixed responses WHATTHEFUCKDOIDO

[bikes]

Seems like a pretty straightforward don't do it to me.

[d0zer]

Seems like a pretty straightforward idgaf to me

[kiwiMark]

Lately I have been doing egg casseroles, which can be done in advance and save some cooking/cleaning time in the morning. Basically stir/combine in a large bowl: 12-18 whole eggs, maybe a bit of salt and pepper, cut up veggies, and some grated cheese and meat (either use pre-cooked or if you want to use bacon, cook it in a pan first then rip it up and put it on top), pour into a greased 9x13 glass pan, bake at 325 for roughly 40 minutes or until a knife put into the center of the pan comes out clean.

Let it cool, cover with foil, and it can be refrigerated for 4-5 days at least, I haven't tested further than that and don't plan to.

My first attempt at this is in the oven, hoping to make it a regular lunch although may need another attempt or two at it to get it down (kinda freeballed veg+meat to egg ratio, and wasn't sure about the size of the dish to do it in cos dunno how much the eggs are going to expand, so may have made too thin a layer of everything).

[Chelle]

I didn't do it. I did, however, get a handheld sewing machine for 1/4th the price of a cheaper sewing machine.

[boost]

Man.. buying things, from a big box store, for a single use, then returning them after you're done: Super Standard. You're playing life suboptimally if this isn't in your playbook.

[Chelle]

So, watched "This Is The End" on Sunday, and dear god. It's funny.

[bikes]

Man.. buying things, from a big box store, for a single use, then returning them after you're done: Super Standard. You're playing life suboptimally if this isn't in your playbook.

"you're just a bad person, not as in cruel, lacking morals or evil. But as in deficient" - Paraphrased boost2011

[boost]

ha. I don't remember saying that, but I'm happy to be given credit for it. Def gonna start using it on the reg.

[bikes]

ha. I don't remember saying that, but I'm happy to be given credit for it. Def gonna start using it on the reg.

we were in that thai resturant that helped the little kids with the good 'milkshakes' and pancakes. me you deanglow and tracy

[wufwugy]

some of the most entertaining and insightful analyses of history ive seen, with relevance to modern culture and current events

just start here and watch on. 42 episodes in the world history category

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja...EF80C9&index=1

[Lukie]

"you're just a bad person, not as in cruel, lacking morals or evil. But as in deficient" - Paraphrased boost2011

My advice is to not instigate boost. A "don't poke the bear" type of thing. Just trust me on this.

[boost]

some of the most entertaining and insightful analyses of history ive seen, with relevance to modern culture and current events

just start here and watch on. 42 episodes in the world history category

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja...EF80C9&index=1

I just started watching these myself. I love these rapid fire, but packed full of info tubecasts. There's another good one very similar to this, but I'm too lazy to find it right now.

[wufwugy]

I just started watching these myself. I love these rapid fire, but packed full of info tubecasts. There's another good one very similar to this, but I'm too lazy to find it right now.

What's most impressive to me is doing this while also providing deep philosophical views of the issues. There is so much to be learned about ourselves by why things in history happened the way they did

Can you find the other channel?

[Chelle]

...i posed on classic cars today in a pin-up outfit.
i dont even know.

also - saw a burlesque show. damn life is amazing.

[Jack Sawyer]

What's most impressive to me is doing this while also providing deep philosophical views of the issues. There is so much to be learned about ourselves by why things in history happened the way they did

Can you find the other channel?

Instasubbed.

You mean vlogbrothers?

[Chelle]

oh fuck. i just got a glance of a few pictures taken today.

..how is that even me. what. the. fuck.

[boost]

I'm subbed to it, so I don't know why I didn't just go look on youtube... guess I was in an especially lazy mood. Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CGPGrey

[wufwugy]

oh thanks, i know cgpgrey tho. he's great

[Lukie]

My first attempt at this is in the oven, hoping to make it a regular lunch although may need another attempt or two at it to get it down (kinda freeballed veg+meat to egg ratio, and wasn't sure about the size of the dish to do it in cos dunno how much the eggs are going to expand, so may have made too thin a layer of everything).

How did it turn out?

I recently, as in yesterday, read about a new way to make hard "boiled" eggs. It's incredibly simple. Bake eggs directly on an oven rack at 325 for 30 minutes. Then put them in cold water for 10+ minutes. They came out perfect.

[d0zer]

what advantages does the oven method have over boiling them, which doesn't take 40 minutes and is easy enough?

[kiwiMark]

Pretty good thankee, I think I cooked it for a few minutes too long but it'll be my third lunch of it in a row today and planning on making more tomorrow.

[eugmac]

what advantages does the oven method have over boiling them, which doesn't take 40 minutes and is easy enough?

Yeah, seems like an energy waste. My method is putting the eggs in COLD water, put it on high heat, once it starts boiling immediately (or after like 30 seconds) turn off the heat. Wait exactly 13 minutes. You're good to go. I dunno if this works on gas stoves, 'cause on electric the element stays hot for a while. The principle stays the same though, the eggs are already kind of cooking even before the water reaches boiling.

[eugmac]

And you'll never ever overboil them this way.

[eugmac]

Softboiled eggs though, that shit is hard to get down.

[d0zer]

Softboiled eggs though, that shit is hard to get down.

it is...there's so many variables. how salty the water is, your elevation, the size of the egg. You've almost gotta just learn what's the best time for your setup through trial & error. mine currently takes 5mins to do 3-5 eggs, but in my last house it was closer to 4mins.

[jackvance]

some of the most entertaining and insightful analyses of history ive seen, with relevance to modern culture and current events

just start here and watch on. 42 episodes in the world history category

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja...EF80C9&index=1

Awesome, watched the first ep and part of the second. Someone talking about history in the way I see it too, gotta watch them all now.

[d0zer]

Awesome, watched the first ep and part of the second. Someone talking about history in the way I see it too, gotta watch them all now.

I'm 3 in and quite enjoying them. most pre-roman history has been a nagging knowledge gap of mine for too long now and these short but not TOO short shorts are perfect.

[Lukie]

what advantages does the oven method have over boiling them, which doesn't take 40 minutes and is easy enough?

- so easy a caveman could do it

- no active prep time/work involved whatsoever. I actually used to hard boil them almost exactly like eugmac does with maybe a bit less time in the water but you do have to check on the water frequently. first world problems sort of thing.

- I suppose you could make more at a time, if necessary

Also baking them is supposed to make them easier to peel. They were indeed easy to peel but having only done it once I can't say for sure that it makes it easier.