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Ghost of LL

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by Ghost of LL

  1. 55 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

    Shit’s borked.  Need to change portal transfer window.  How the fuck does this make sense w the playoffs pending? 

    He needs to be enrolled in school for the spring semester.

    The shit’s that borked is that the playoffs go so far into January that football is now also a spring sport.

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  2. 1 minute ago, Valmy77 said:

    I just don't think the non-rival SEC teams hate us like most of the Big 12 did. All the players at TCU, Tech, and Baylor grew up beating Texas in their backyards. They know if they beat us they will make their names and be legends at their schools. And even to the guys from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia would get up for us as one of the flagship schools of the conference.

    No player from Georgia, Florida, or Alabama is going to feel that way. We will just be another game on their schedule...at least at first.

    Well, unless we're the defending national champions.

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  3. 2 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

    If Maalik leaves, best of luck to him, unless he goes to one of our rivals... which we have a lot of.

    Fuck that.  I'm cheering for Maalik wherever he goes.

    He could go to aggy, and I'd hope he would go 25-25 for 350 yards and 4 TDs in every game.  Just so long as aggy then loses every game 70-24.  Which, in light of the fact that their entire defense is apparently transferring, is not entirely out of the question.

  4. 18 hours ago, Parliament said:

    Link to the Sky News article: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-sky-news-blog-12541713?postid=6910575#liveblog-body

    US intelligence officials have assessed that Russia has suffered 315,000 dead and injured troops since its invasion of Ukraine.

    Officials say this represents nearly 90% of military personnel Russia had when the conflict began. 

    That means they only have 35k troops left? That and a buncha conscripts?  That can't be right.

    It's akin to the experience of the British Army in World War I.

    At the beginning of 1914, the British Army had roughly 250,000 troops.  In August and September, about half those were sent to France as the British Expeditionary Force.  By the end of the year, pretty much all of them were dead or wounded.

    On Boxing Day 1914, the British Army formed the Second Army.  That's not a term like the Germans had with First Army and Second Army, which invaded Belgium and France in August 1914.  The British Second Army was more like "we need to raise a second army because the first army got all killed and shit in the first five months of this war."

    That's where Russia is.  Their first army is gone.  They've now formed a second (and probably really a third) army.

    17 hours ago, MillerEP said:

     

    ^New Polish government looks promising
     

     

    I'm just going to tell you--at this point, I don't see how Ukraine can prevail without direct Polish involvement.

    And what worries me is that I don't think the Poles are inclined to allow Ukraine to lose.

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  5. 54 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

    First, congrats on the weight loss. I agree that compliments that validate hardwork and an appealing appearance can be a very positive emotional and mental experience.

    I think the problem is less about offending the 1% with a condition and more about drawing attention to the 99% who used to be fat and sloppy. Especially when our experience tells us more of these people are going to lose the diet war and end up as fat or fatter than they were originally— though I guess with the diabetes weight loss drugs maybe that’s changed now.

    Whereas you felt great and validated and your ego was tickled by being complimented for the weight loss and didn’t consider that the comparison being made was that you used to not be hot to this person and probably most people who aren’t your wife, others like someone from the last page, feel bad about themselves because they hear insults to how they used to be ugly and fat and unacceptable in attractiveness. 

    I would hypothesize that it is a man/woman thing and gender privilege is at play but we had a guy on this very thread express this very sentiment on the last page, so I think sensitivity to whether commenting on weight is a compliment or a “backhanded” compliment is unique to each individual.

    I think that's all right.  And you hit on something I referenced--there is a gender issue at play, both as to the complimenter and the receiver of the compliment.

    I think the lesson, more than anything, is "use good judgment."  And if you have any question about whether you have good judgment, then perhaps consider foregoing a compliment.

    As an aside, and as I referenced, my former partner was the head of the firm's employment section.  And later that afternoon, a bunch of us attorneys were laughing because the employment section is always the one that is the closest to the guardrail when it comes to workplace behavior.  It's pretty much a cliche across law firms at this point--every firm I've ever been associated with has had the same opinion of its employment lawyers.

    But here's the thing--they have good judgment based on years of professional experience.  They know when something is going to be unwelcome and offensive.  They don't make those comments.  So they may make comments that seem out of place among others who are cognizant about watching our step.  But they never actually make comments or do anything that would be truly unwelcome.

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  6. 4 hours ago, Parliament said:

    I didn't watch the video.  Can the F22 actually, literally see stuff like that?

    It's not about the aircraft.  The discussion was in the context of a drone vs. a live pilot who is in the cockpit.  And in a dogfighting scenario, the human pilot can see the movements in the control surfaces, which will cause a change in the orientation of the opposing aircraft before the aircraft actually reacts to that change in its own control surfaces.

    As an aside, that has to make it difficult for the pilot of a 4th Gen. fighter in any dogfight with a 5th Gen fighter, because the control surface movement would be so different that it would really throw off the pilot of the 4th Gen fighter.

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  7. 6 hours ago, B00M said:

    Given the events of the last few years, it seems short sighted to assume we don’t need the SPR.  I realize we only import like 3% of our oil from the Middle East but if China invades Taiwan and we lose a lot of our pacific fleet, it doesn’t seem crazy to assume Iran and Houthis could disrupt flow out of the ME precisely when our national consumption (and that of our allies) will surge.

    why do you think it’s not a problem? If it’s cool that we physically can’t refill our SPR, what do we even have it for? 
     

    Now that the United States is a net exporter of petroleum, it's really hard to justify the SPR.  It's akin to Greenland maintaining a Strategic Ice Reserve or Oklahoma holding on to a Strategic Meth Reserve.  It doesn't really make any sense.

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  8. 1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

    And, as the scotx just pointed out, Ms. Cox shouldn't have needed to go to court, either.

    So wait--a person who is uncertain about what her legal rights/obligations are can't go to court to obtain a decision . . . let's call it a "declaratory judgment" . . . declaring what those rights/obligations actually are?

    Well fuck, and here I have been citing Chapter 37 of the CPRC for more than two fucking decades.  Silly me.

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  9. On 12/9/2023 at 10:17 AM, 956 Worldwide said:

    My understanding is that “Oriental” is out of favor because there is an opposite, “Occidental” that no one uses when referring to people. You would use the nationality or “European” or “North American;” no one says “he is an Occidental.” So “Oriental” has the connotation of an undifferentiated mass of people from the East who are different from us and for whom that difference is a defining factor. 

     “Asian” or “South Asian” or “East Asian” is just a geographic descriptor and is more like what we say about ourselves and people like us.

    But let's be real fair--"Asian" is a lousy geographic description because it is so non-specific.  To give any idea what you actually mean, you need to say "East Asian" or "South Asian" or whatever. 

    The implication that "Asian" means "East Asian" brings its own problems.  It indicates that you're ignoring (among other places) the most-populous country on Earth.  And yeah--some people find that kind of offensive.

    All of which should serve as your periodic reminder that today's progressivism is tomorrow's cringe.

    On 12/9/2023 at 9:30 PM, shadow_operative said:

    i recently saw a long thread online full of women who were all in an uproar about how wildly insensitive it is to tell a woman who’s recently lost weight that she looks great, because she may have IBS and your pointing to her weight loss as a positive thing can be traumatizing to her.

    so, one day you walk into the office, and your coworker who’s lost 15-20 lbs looks particularly good, you notice and give her a friendly compliment, and you’re an asshole if she has IBS and you don’t know it? i’m sorry, i don’t agree with that.

    In this anecdote, we're talking about a woman complimenting other women.  So I think the discussion about what we as men can or can't do in the workplace is a bit misplaced.

    But somewhat relatedly, our former partner who was the head of our employment-law section was in the office yesterday to handle some EOY benefits stuff.  She retired a year ago and hadn't seen me in at least six months.  And during that time, I've lost a bunch of weight.  So when she stopped by my office, she said "damn, GOLL--you look hot."

    Fuck yeah, I do.  I'm not eating fucking salads and spending my evenings in the gym to look not hot, after all.  But even so, that (very accurate) observation had me strutting around like a peacock all afternoon.

    And it occurs to me that we shouldn't forego compliments that are going to validate someone's efforts for fear that the person may have a condition that only a tiny percentage of the population has.  

    Besides--in my experience, people with IBS make sure everyone around them knows about their IBS.  They're a little like vegans in that way.

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  10. "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is."  Marbury v. Madison (1803).

     

    . . . except in Texas, in which it is up to doctors to try to fumble around and figure out whether a particular pregnancy fits within a statutory exception, because the Supreme Court isn't going to say what the law is.

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  11. 4 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

    100% they dismiss the appeal as moot.  I would very much expect to see that order come out Friday at 9:00.

    And of course no sooner than I issue my learned prognostication than SCOTX hands down its decision, showing my prediction to be 100% wrong.  So let this be another small rock upon the mountain of evidence demonstrating why nobody should ever listen to my pontifications.

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  12. 20 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

    Seems like this is a classic example of "capable of repetition yet evading review."  In federal court I don't imagine it would be treated as moot.  Who knows in the court of 9 republicans?

    100% they dismiss the appeal as moot.  I would very much expect to see that order come out Friday at 9:00.

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  13. 16 hours ago, F250 said:

    Years ago, when my boys were in elementary, about 5th and 4th grade, I picked them up from their friend's house. There were about 8 boys throwing a football is the air then everyone would tackle the kid with the ball.

    When my boys got in the truck, I asked them "y'all playing smear the queer?"

    My kids reaction.

    200.gif

    My oldest has since graduated college and is an officer in the Air Force and the other one is about to graduate from college. It's been years since they were in elementary. My youngest is in middle school and the respect for minorities is now considered "political" and is not being taught to the younger generation.

    We are backsliding as a society.

    Well, they're going to have some real trouble when they enter the workforce.  Because by the time they get into the workforce, the people who are young employees now are going to be the boss.  And let me tell you--they are frequently very sensitive and conscientious about these topics.  I don't think they're going to appreciate their subordinates not showing appropriate respect for minorities (or anyone, really).

    9 hours ago, YGIFS said:

    "Mixed Race" and/or "Mixed Marriage" 

    I think of the scene in 'Soul Man', arguably the most racially offensive movie of the 20th century and that includes the filmography of Mister Al Jolson.  When the building super tells the white guy that his roommate is a person of color and the guy responds with, "Mark, a black negro?  This is news to me."  I used that once in a class at UT when some student said something to the effect of, "Well, easy for you to say as a white person."  And I replied, "Me, I'm white?  My mother is from Mexico and my first language was Spanish but I'm white?  This is news to us both, I assure you."  She then inquired about my name which, admittedly, does not sound Hispanic at all.  She closed with, "Okay, so you're mixed race then?"  I moved on quickly to the finance topic at hand, but chuckled that somebody so 'progressive' still used the term 'mixed race.'  

    Few years before that we were in my wife's church's pre-marital counseling sessions.  Totally fine with me to appease her family and diocese.  So the guy at some point said, "As a mixed marriage couple, here are some classes/books you can engage in order to prepare for the ceremony."  But my defensive ass was like "Uh, mixed marriage?  I know I'm Latino, but we don't really use that term anymore.  Plus my people are the only part of your church that's growing in size, not shrinking."  And Deacon said, "Sorry.  I meant mixed as in you checked Lutheran and Jewish on the form here.  Mixed as in non-Catholic marrying a Catholic without converting."  And I laughed "Oh, yeah...that's fine.  Catholic lists of Protestants and Jews, totally fine, I get it."    /csb

    This time of year, I also like to say 'Happy Christmas' because I've been to more than one country in my lifetime.  Sorry for partying/traveling.  

    So fun thing as I watch L.A. Law, which is now streaming on Hulu and was one of my great television pleasures as a young person.  Back in the late 1980s and early 90s, L.A. Law was seen as a very progressive show.  It even had a transgender person on it.  But now you go back and watch it, and the word "yikes" frequently crosses your mind.

    So let this be a lesson, particularly to all the GenZers who are oh-so-progressive and judgmental of their elders' perceived malfeasances: Today's progressivism is tomorrow's cringe.

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  14. 3 hours ago, hornmpa96 said:

    This thread is a good reminder that I need to add a bottle of Dom to the cellar. You never know when either Trump or Switzer will drop dead.

    Prepare Schitts Creek GIF by CBC

    Counterpoint: unlike many red varietals, champagne does not improve in your cellar.  Actually, it generally degrades over time.  And since evil seems to live forever, you shouldn't be cellaring champagne in anticipation of Trump's or Switzer's death.

    Spec's always stocks Dom (and Krug and Comte de Champagne, which are better)--best to just hit it up when the time comes.

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  15. 24 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

     


    Not mentioned is he sabotaged the 1967/68 peace treaty that was pretty much agreed on in order to give Nixon political points. Roughly 30k Americans and 1 million or so Vietnamese died between ‘68-75. Doesn’t even count the dead in Cambodia and Laos.

     

    Whoa--that's not right.  Kissinger told the Nixon campaign about the status of the peace talks.  It was Nixon who used that information to sabotage the talks.

    Let's not let our enthusiasm for denouncing Kissinger absolve Nixon of his manifold wrongdoings.  

  16. Yeah.  

    You know, everyone seems to have celebrated Kissinger's death, without anyone really explaining or identifying what he did to deserve such celebration.  And I have to admit that I don't fully grasp it.

    So he advocated for the bombing of Cambodia.  Yeah--the United States shouldn't have done that.  I mean, the North Vietnamese shouldn't have been using neutral Cambodia as a transport route and a base of operations.  But still--it's not great.

    But Kissinger wasn't the president who ordered the bombing.  It's Nixon who bears the responsibility for that.  And the manner in which the bombing was carried out--which I think can be fairly described as "indiscriminate"--was a military decision.  The USAF, not Kissinger, bears responsibility for that.

    So I guess I'm a bit "meh" about Kissinger in the grand pantheon of deaths that I will celebrate.  But obviously, I may be woefully ill-informed on the issue, so I welcome any education coming my way.

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