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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Geezus, man, I'm really sorry that happened. Truly. That sucks. **** So, I've quoted only the stuff from your post that I'd like to address: I'm kinda in the same boat as you, often traveling around the country, and also having a local credit union. It used to be that I'd get calls from Calcutta or wherever from an unrecognized number. The first time it happened, I didn't answer (for obvious reasons) and was then quickly surprised when my card didn't work at the gas pump. I then called the 1-800 number on the back of the card, and they itemized the questionable transactions specifically, asking if I had authorized each one, like checking off boxes. All of them were good, and they released my card. Nowadays, I also get text alerts, like you, asking me to call a number to verify transactions. Again, they are the ones who tell me, unprompted, which specific transaction raised a red flag, and I only tell them whether or not I approved the purchase. Based solely on the above, I'd say your trick in the future should be along the lines of simply asking what raised a red flag, making them disclose whether they're legit or not. Again, I'm really sorry you got fucked and hope this doesn't put you out too badly or linger as a pain in the ass.
  2. That’s weird. The YouTube clips are released in real-time as the program is actually being aired. It’s tonight’s show. The interview is always a second clip, so you get to watch the entire episode.
  3. It's not his best effort, granted, but I don't know of anyone doing better satire in the MSM-ish right now.
  4. "There is no bottom." ~ Brisket Texan, Esq.
  5. "At best, he sounds like Yoda with a sinus infection...trying not to cum."
  6. "At best, he sounds like Yoda with a sinus infection...trying not to cum."
  7. Désolé. Je ne pouvais pas pu résister, sachant que tu apprécies, sans doute, cette petite chanson sexy.
  8. Used to have this t-shirt back in the 90s. It might be time to get a new one.
  9. I don't begrudge those who use it as a megaphone to fight the good fight. But I didn't post on Twitter before I nuked my old account, and I don't post on Blue Sky with this one. It's simply the desire not to give any traffic to a site that actively promotes reich-wing neo-Nazis.
  10. Yep to all that. At the University of Texas, the planning program is part of the School of Architecture; hence, its popularity in non-architecture contexts in Austin, and city planning obviously involves urban design stuff. Man, I got really sick of hearing about Andres Duany and what we derisively called his new sub-urbanism because of its inauthenticity back then and we were punk planning students. Anyway, I kinda wanna say that I vaguely recall someone mentioning that the term was imported from Portland, so the general PNW region makes sense. For my part, I've mostly worked in the economic development field, but that obviously involves a lot of land use issues and revitalization projects (rehab, adaptive reuse, etc.) and often involves folks from your realm. A name you probably know is Peter Calthorpe. I'm not at my old firm anymore, but one of the two principals at the time came to Austin from your neck of the woods and was good friends with him, so we partnered a few times and have done some work up there in Redmond, Puyallup, and Longview (he wasn't involved in any of those particular projects). Generally speaking, revitalization shit is my game, but you only eat what you kill.
  11. If you've never come across this channel and are interested in a more secular discussion of religious studies, this is a good one. It's really great. Certainly, I'm not a religious scholar, nor a believer, but I love this guy's videos. He does an excellent job breaking down the concept of the "antichrist" for early Christians. 18 minutes
  12. Never heard of a one until getting my master's in community and regional planning at UT in the late 1990s and have actually led a number of planning sessions involving "charrettes" (never in Austin), though I never use that word when interfacing with the public because it's dumb. They can be helpful at the outset to generate ideas and engage the public, but then very quickly devolve into futile design-by-committee exercises that get bogged down and end in shitty results if you're not careful. A good facilitator with some experience learns fast how to plant ideas to shape the conversation and make the participants feel like they came up with them on their own, so that you get where you know the plan should go (because you've done this shit a thousand times in other places and you're a good planner). Everybody leaves happy, feels they were heard and made a contribution here or there, and knows the whole damn plan doesn't fall on their pointless efforts to reach consensus. I'm likely not telling you anything you don't already know, so this is mainly for the benefit of the peanut gallery, or those who don't know what the hell we're talking about.
  13. I'm out in West Texas these days.
  14. There's a contradiction there, for sure. Personally, I don't know if I subscribe to it. Still, I could see someone latching onto an idea floating out there that I've seen that consciousness = information = data = energy, while also keeping in mind the law of conservation of energy. Where does all that energy in our bodies go when the body expires? It's an interesting idea that I haven't delved into studying the matter.
  15. That's all cool, Nicole. Personally, I can't call myself a Christian because I don't believe in any of the superstitious stuff, like a literal God, miracles, being raised from the dead, and all that jazz. Feels too much like magical thinking. Sorry, I'm a rationalist in that way. That said, I do consider myself a "philosophical Christian," a term I just made up in my head that may or may not exist. The core message is easy as shit to get behind: love God (I substitute that with Nature, or if you prefer, the Creation or Universe or maybe just the Big Bang, the Multiverse) and love your fellow human, which I will admit is becoming increasingly difficult. At the very least, I strive not to actively harm, hate, or exclude others based solely on immutable and defining characteristics. The Golden Rule. It's really, really basic stuff that only toddlers should struggle to understand.
  16. These are people who manipulate their religion to match their politics when they should be modifying their politics to match their religion. Christianity teaches we are ALL God's children. It's a message of inclusion, sharing the message of love for one another, treating your neighbor as you would treat yourself. And yet their politics preach exclusion, which also happens to run counter to the foundational notion of this nation: ALL are equal. How the fuck do you reconcile that your core belief, excluding icky others, runs counter to both your religion and your republic?
  17. Philosophically or spiritually, you're beliefs are not wrong, but they won't let her lead shit. My evidence? They just hijacked her personal grief and weaponized it to advance a cause whose gospel is hate, and turned his memorial into a political rally where she doesn't get the final word. And that word is antithetical to the teachings of her religion. Or, on the other hand, she's simply parroting the Good Word for show, while going along with everything that Jesus stood against.
  18. Wordle 1,556 3/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #834 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🙂 Daily Quordle 1337 6️⃣8️⃣ 5️⃣4️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟨🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  19. No, he didn't get flagged. After the "incident," one of the refs came up to him, talked to him for a total of maybe 10 seconds, and Arch went to the sideline to celebrate the score with the team. That's all that happened. Everything else is media morons manufacturing a "scandal" while an army of online followers (and Texas haters) generate a false narrative on the socials. So then others pick it up, spread the lies, and it becomes an "a lot of people are saying" thing and becomes gospel in the public imagination. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. This is especially true in today's world.
  20. Wyoming @ Colorado was another color game. The contrast looked sharp under the lights.
  21. I was just about to post that article but will just add the accompanying graphic.
  22. Not stressed about it. I was just genuinely surprised to see Texas drop, and then seeing who jumped the Horns prompted a reaction.
  23. Fine, but that Auburn (now unranked) win was sketchy.
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