Rant thread

[Maximus Decimus]

46 minutes ago, Griff9of13 said:

I "read" them on the train alot. My eyesight isn't brilliant for reading (I'm short sighted, but it fluctuates between wearing and not wearing glasses when reading, which is tiering. Bifocals becon) so they are great. Plus you get to gaze out of the window while enjoying the book.

I only get a chance to read at night. Have two kids under 3, I tend to get a page in and then fall asleep.

Audiobooks are a great distraction and can even make me look forward to a journey. I started with the complete works of Sherlock Holmes and each short story was about the length of a journey. Great stuff.

[Farmduck]

The problem is 3rd Wave Feminism. It doesn't have the legitimate institutional barriers that the first 2 waves had so it has had to invent some. We recently had a case at Sydney Uni where there was a scholarship giving preference to males planning to work in rural areas and specialise in large animals. There was an obvious legitimate need because farmers can't get vets who will live in the bush and stay there for long periods. Vet schools churn out women who end up working part-time in suburban practices doing cats and dogs. To the extent that the current graduating year admissions at Sydney Uni Vet School are 90% female.

There was the predictable outrage at anything preferencing men yet, if the gender ratios had been reversed it would have been accepted as a good idea without a murmur.

I read the most recent report from the OZ Work Gender Equality Agency and it was very unconvincing. The starting difference here is 100:82, M:F. The report went through the obvious reasons and was left with about a 4% difference which it just ascribed to sexism, without any supporting evidence. I find this issue extremely dishonest because it ignores asset acquisition and capital growth and access to partner's pension funds, in the event of death or divorce. How can you make financial comparisons between the genders if you are ignoring their shares of any asset distribution?

Another bogus whine I saw recently was a Forbes rich list which showed the 10 richest people are men. Well yes, but ....... I'll bet they're all married and all live in jurisdictions where, legally, the wife owns half of that wealth whether she works or not.

Rape culture is another blatant lie which comes with its own built-in excuse. Crime stats show that rape has been steadily decreasing in most industrialised countries for the last 20 years. But then we're told that this is because of under-reporting. Women don't trust the (male-dominated) criminal justice system. Well 32% of NSW Police, 34% of NSW judges and magistrates, 50% of NSW lawyers and 63% of NSW Law graduates are women. That excuse doesn't really stand up.

 

 

[Maximus Decimus]

38 minutes ago, Johnoco said:

I used to listen to Radio 4 years ago and used to love it and never thought of it as for older people or middle class. 

But nowadays I can't bear to listen to it, even for a minute. Anything that I might like is invariably on 4Extra anyway.

I was the same when I heard the average age was like 57 or something.

I don't mind Eddie Mair the odd time but other than that I tend to listen to the odd podcast of the moral maze or beyond belief for a laugh. The comedy seems to get worse all the time. 

[tonyXIII]

3 hours ago, Farmduck said:

I'd just become very lazy in my thinking over the last 15 years.

That struck a chord! I thought I was just getting old and cranky, but you're right. I've become a lazy thinker. WOW! Thanks for that.

BTW. I'm serious. No irony intended.

 

[Maximus Decimus]

17 minutes ago, Farmduck said:

The problem is 3rd Wave Feminism. It doesn't have the legitimate institutional barriers that the first 2 waves had so it has had to invent some. We recently had a case at Sydney Uni where there was a scholarship giving preference to males planning to work in rural areas and specialise in large animals. There was an obvious legitimate need because farmers can't get vets who will live in the bush and stay there for long periods. Vet schools churn out women who end up working part-time in suburban practices doing cats and dogs. To the extent that the current graduating year admissions at Sydney Uni Vet School are 90% female.

There was the predictable outrage at anything preferencing men yet, if the gender ratios had been reversed it would have been accepted as a good idea without a murmur.

I read the most recent report from the OZ Work Gender Equality Agency and it was very unconvincing. The starting difference here is 100:82, M:F. The report went through the obvious reasons and was left with about a 4% difference which it just ascribed to sexism, without any supporting evidence. I find this issue extremely dishonest because it ignores asset acquisition and capital growth and access to partner's pension funds, in the event of death or divorce. How can you make financial comparisons between the genders if you are ignoring their shares of any asset distribution?

Another bogus whine I saw recently was a Forbes rich list which showed the 10 richest people are men. Well yes, but ....... I'll bet they're all married and all live in jurisdictions where, legally, the wife owns half of that wealth whether she works or not.

Rape culture is another blatant lie which comes with its own built-in excuse. Crime stats show that rape has been steadily decreasing in most industrialised countries for the last 20 years. But then we're told that this is because of under-reporting. Women don't trust the (male-dominated) criminal justice system. Well 32% of NSW Police, 34% of NSW judges and magistrates, 50% of NSW lawyers and 63% of NSW Law graduates are women. That excuse doesn't really stand up.

 

 

The problem I have with the gender pay gap is that it is presented almost as if you go into your local shop the men are earning £100 for every £84 of their female co-workers. 

Bringing up children and the inevitable affect on income is almost never mentioned. For instance when my wife first got pregnant we were on a similar wage but it would have made more financial sense for me to take 9 months off and for her to carry on working. In reality this was never an option and although I mentioned it I didn't push the issue. After having two children the result is that I now earn more than she does by around 50%. She has moved jobs and ended up taking work that fits around the children, specifically childcare. 

Now this in itself is an issue. She obviously felt pressure as a mother to stay home with the children as they grew up and this had an inevitable effect on her earnings. I see it in teaching all the time, so many mums come back part time and this in turn affects whether they eventually move up the ladder. However, I object to the way it is dishonestly presented as somehow that men keep the best jobs for themselves and just don't pay women the same... There is some element of this, especially at the top level but it is much exaggerated in everyday life. 

Your last point is one that I agree with. Growing up it felt like almost everybody of our generation was on the same page, things were getting better and pretty much everyone I knew wanted the same thing. We wanted to try wherever possible to see through race and gender but this has turned 180. All of sudden it feels as though I'm the enemy purely because I'm a straight white male and I'm disqualified from opinions on certain topics because of this. 

Edited February 23, 2017 by Maximus Decimus

[Farmduck]

1 hour ago, Maximus Decimus said:

I watched Potholer for years and is one of the few YTers who has managed to keep on doing it completely drama free. I don't mind Hoff Summers and she makes some good points in a non-partisan way, like with the gender pay gap, as you say though I'm not 100% convinced that she is telling the whole story. Shapiro sounds good but again it's a very one-sided view, he came across better on The Rubin Report recently though although I still didn't agree with him. I actually follow Crowder but only for entertainment purposes, he's gone from being anti-Trump to a pro-Trump mouthpiece. I'd probably get criticised from both sides for saying this but people only listen to Lauren Southern because she's a pretty face. I really dislike Jordan Peterson, there is something about him that I distrust.

 

Shapiro is one of the few right wing commentators who is not a mindless Trumpista. The other day I saw his dissection of the God Emperor's press conference and Florida election rally. He rightly called out The Donald over the "Press is the enemy of the people" and a few other incoherent ramblings and he's prepared to lay the blame right at Trump's feet. Too many others are overusing the tired line that everything Trump does wrong is really just MSM vendetta.

Thunderfoot did a critique of Lauren Southern's reporting of an Antifa riot where she, well, let's just say she made very little effort to distinguish between the orderly anti-Trump protest and the Antifa antics that followed. Lauren is a bit like Tomi Lahren in that, if they were 30kg heavier, they would lose 75% of their audiences. Tomi Lahren also doesn't have much substance behind the blonde hair and basic talking points.

I've watched a couple of full Rubins. I wish he'd get to the point a bit quicker but he is a nice change, in having a good variety of guests without making the show all about him. I think his channel will grow then maybe he will have to tighten up his format a bit.

Jordan Petersen is, IMO, a one-trick pony who found himself thrust into the spotlight because of the Canadian hate-speech legislation. I think he's even a Christian and some of his other ideas seem less than fully fleshed out. Jonathan Haidt is another academic who has a good vid about polarisation in the electorate but has no full-spectrum platform.

I like Vernaculis who is from Boston I think. He's only 23 but a good clear thinker. He's pro-First and Second Amendment but not really conservative and definitely not a Trump apologist.

[tonyXIII]

1 hour ago, Griff9of13 said:

I "read" them on the train alot. My eyesight isn't brilliant for reading (I'm short sighted, but it fluctuates between wearing and not wearing glasses when reading, which is tiering. Bifocals becon) so they are great. Plus you get to gaze out of the window while enjoying the book.

Be careful! Bifocals and varifocals take some getting used to. You might want to avoid staircases when wearing them. I wear a very thin pair of reading glasses when teaching (I can see the students over them and read the book through them - much like bifocals). I once forgot to take them off, walked out of the classroom and missed my step on the staircase. I avoided a nasty fall only by reaching out and grabbing the bannister.

You have been warned.

 

[Bedford Roughyed]

I think i'll stick to my YT diet of Casey Neistat, Gary Vee and shonduras.  Less agro!

Edited February 23, 2017 by Bedford Roughyed

[Farmduck]

15 minutes ago, tonyXIII said:

That struck a chord! I thought I was just getting old and cranky, but you're right. I've become a lazy thinker. WOW! Thanks for that.

BTW. I'm serious. No irony intended.

 

Oddly, I've always been very calm and moderate in social situations - the typical diplomat and peacemaker. I promised myself that when I turned 60 (2 years ago) I would become an unapologetic, cranky old c@@@. It didn't happen. I've actually become a more fact-based critical thinker, even reading articles and lessons about logic and fallacies online. I really wanted to be a cranky old c*** because I'd seen so many others do it and get away with it for years. When I got there, I didn't want it.

[Farmduck]

6 minutes ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

I think i'll stick to my YT diet of Casey Neistat, Gary Vee and Honduras.  Less agro!

The whole point of YT is the interaction with the creators and/or the commenters. Without that you might as well just watch TV. (I know Neistat is a famous gamer? skater? but I don't know the other 2)  The aggro is one of the most important parts of the Webzes. Getting all worked up but NOT typing is a massive sign of personal growth.

[tonyXIII]

The posts on here about misdirected feminism reminded of my dad. He was a teacher back in the 40s and up to the 80s. some time after equal pay for women came in, he told me it was a mistake. I thought, "You're mad." However, his was a pov based on the social structure of a previous generation. Men go out to work and women stay home and raise the children, so pay men a much better salary and women a much lower salary. Sexist! Really? In the context of his upbringing - early 20th century - is it so ridiculous? Probably not. But it'll never come back and that's probably for the best, but it does imply a truly significant change in the structure of society.

 

[Futtocks]

I used to listen to music radio a lot, especially Radio Luxembourg, but I suffered a traumatic incident in the late Eighties. We lived on top of a hill, and a radio could pull in a lot of stations. One night, I was trawling the airwaves, looking for something to enjoy, and every pop music station was playing a Madonna single. My more or less complete conversion to speech radio dates from that horrific, stomach-churning moment.

I listen to Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra, Radio 5 and the World Service a lot, plus Radio 3 for specific broadcasts whose listings catch my attention. If there's anything worth keeping, Squarepenguin's very useful get_iplayer software downloads it to my hard drive.

get_iplayer from Squarepenguin

I have tried audiobooks, but they have never really done it for me. The attention drifts. My last job saw me spending 3 hours a day (minimum) commuting, but it was mostly in empty trains, so I could read loads.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Futtocks

[Maximus Decimus]

11 minutes ago, Farmduck said:

Shapiro is one of the few right wing commentators who is not a mindless Trumpista. The other day I saw his dissection of the God Emperor's press conference and Florida election rally. He rightly called out The Donald over the "Press is the enemy of the people" and a few other incoherent ramblings and he's prepared to lay the blame right at Trump's feet. Too many others are overusing the tired line that everything Trump does wrong is really just MSM vendetta.

Thunderfoot did a critique of Lauren Southern's reporting of an Antifa riot where she, well, let's just say she made very little effort to distinguish between the orderly anti-Trump protest and the Antifa antics that followed. Lauren is a bit like Tomi Lahren in that, if they were 30kg heavier, they would lose 75% of their audiences. Tomi Lahren also doesn't have much substance behind the blonde hair and basic talking points.

I've watched a couple of full Rubins. I wish he'd get to the point a bit quicker but he is a nice change, in having a good variety of guests without making the show all about him. I think his channel will grow then maybe he will have to tighten up his format a bit.

Jordan Petersen is, IMO, a one-trick pony who found himself thrust into the spotlight because of the Canadian hate-speech legislation. I think he's even a Christian and some of his other ideas seem less than fully fleshed out. Jonathan Haidt is another academic who has a good vid about polarisation in the electorate but has no full-spectrum platform.

I like Vernaculis who is from Boston I think. He's only 23 but a good clear thinker. He's pro-First and Second Amendment but not really conservative and definitely not a Trump apologist.

I like Haidt, he seems to be a much clearer thinker. I'm not sure Peterson is even right over his one issue. 

Rubin's philosophy is largely about letting people on both sides say their piece and then letting the audience make up their minds as to what they believe. This is all very well in theory but I'd like to see more people from the left including actual SJWs. There tends to be a preponderance of right leaning guests.

Thunderf00t did a great job of showing up Southern's overreaction to the protesters. Even if they were anti-Trumpists, they were so few in number that it was ridiculous to say that this is what anti-Trump people look like. Tomi Lahren looked silly on Bill Maher recently too. 

To be fair to Shapiro he was due to debate Milo but Milo kept on pulling out for whatever reason (according to him). 

[Maximus Decimus]

4 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

I used to listen to music radio a lot, especially Radio Luxembourg, but I suffered a traumatic incident in the late Eighties. We lived on top of a hill, and a radio could pull in a lot of stations. One night, I was trawling the airwaves, looking for something to enjoy, and every pop music station was playing a Madonna single. My more or less complete conversion to speech radio dates from that horrific, stomach-churning moment.

I listen to Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra, Radio 5 and the World Service a lot, plus Radio 3 for specific broadcasts whose listings catch my attention. If there's anything worth keeping, Squarepenguin's very useful get_iplayer software downloads it to my hard drive.

get_iplayer from Squarepenguin

I have tried audiobooks, but they have never really done it for me. The attention drifts. My last job saw me spending 3 hours a day (minimum) commuting, but it was mostly in empty trains, so I could read loads.

This was my concern prior to reading audiobooks, I thought I wouldn't be able to pay attention but oddly it's very rarely been a problem.

[longboard]

'Trainings.'

What's wrong with 'training?'

 

[tonyXIII]

38 minutes ago, longboard said:

'Trainings.'

What's wrong with 'training?'

 

It's too much like hard work. Or should that be "hard works"?

 

Edited February 23, 2017 by tonyXIII
trying for perfection

[Farmduck]

6 hours ago, Griff9of13 said:

I question many of the things I hold true. Often. It's only by constant questioning can you have any possibility of being right (right being your own subjective right rather than a definite "right").

Yes there is no universal correctness. Even on issues where I've assembled all the facts and stats I still think it's appropriate (as a human) to adjust my final policy position to achieve a more "humane" outcome. The other important consideration is that context changes over time. When I left school the dole was only $10/week but unemployment in my city was under 2% so nobody was ever unemployed long enough to qualify for the dole anyway. Obviously now that "normal" is around 5-6% you would have to rethink that policy.

The truest test of anyone's commitment to developing good policy is whether they would adopt a position which would disadvantage them personally. There's an unusual (for a philosopher) quote from David Hume that "Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them." Most philosophers would probably say that we search for moral truth then try to live up to it. I interpret Hume's quote as, "We chase whatever we want then think up reasons to justify it."

[JohnM]

7 hours ago, longboard said:

'Trainings.'

What's wrong with 'training?'

 

Worse still:

Co-workers.  It's  COLLEAGUES! !!!!!!!!!

And its LESSONS....Not learnings

And it's ME...not Myself!

PS....I find varifocals great, though the utility depends on how strong or weak the prescription.

Audio books never did it for me, but I can change the font size on my various devices that run Kindle.

[Johnoco]

8 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

I was the same when I heard the average age was like 57 or something.

I don't mind Eddie Mair the odd time but other than that I tend to listen to the odd podcast of the moral maze or beyond belief for a laugh. The comedy seems to get worse all the time. 

The comedy is an issue for me. Not wanting to turn this into a 'PC gone mad' debate but there's people who get shows and it must be just to fulfil a quota. 

The comedy seems to consist of 'that Trump is an idiot' (applause) or whatever. There's absolutely no variety on R4, too smug and self agreeing for me. 

[Johnoco]

8 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Growing up it felt like almost everybody of our generation was on the same page, things were getting better and pretty much everyone I knew wanted the same thing. We wanted to try wherever possible to see through race and gender but this has turned 180. All of sudden it feels as though I'm the enemy purely because I'm a straight white male and I'm disqualified from opinions on certain topics because of this. 

This is exactly right. I used to passionately believe in equality for everyone and was a right Lenny Left (was actually on a march with a Socialist Worker banner chanting 'waddawewant..etc' ) . But gradually its been clear that it's not that straightforward and actually, I'm probably responsible for racism and sexism and everything else. Also, if I have any issues I should just shut up because others have been oppressed by 'my kind'. The new boss is just as bigoted as the old boss, just the targets as to what it is acceptable to discriminate against are different.

I no longer really give a toss about it, well I do but not enough to get excited about. My views are now 'life is unfair, if you live long enough enjoy it, you'll never change the system (you really won't) so why bother wasting what time you have left'    #### 'em.

[ckn]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Co-workers.  It's  COLLEAGUES! !!!!!!!!!

I prefer cow-orkers.  Describes people I've worked with over the years much more accurately.

[Mumby Magic]

Don't know if I have put this previously but people commenting at work negatively about what people are eating. I had a very loud "errrrrrrggh" because I dared to put tomato ketchup on a fish. In addition I had some very rude women retching deliberately because I dared to eat black pudding.

[heartofGold]

29 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

Don't know if I have put this previously but people commenting at work negatively about what people are eating. I had a very loud "errrrrrrggh" because I dared to put tomato ketchup on a fish. In addition I had some very rude women retching deliberately because I dared to eat black pudding.

Try working with nurses on that subject.  We have a kitchen/sitting room to eat our lunch in but I'm b*gg8r*d if I'm gonna sit there just to have some staff nurse make loud scathing remarks like "don't you need some carbs with that?!".  

Like you I have also had people making retching noises as I open a can of pilchards.  I eat at my desk now................COMMENT FREE AND CARB FREE

[clwydianrange]

46 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

Don't know if I have put this previously but people commenting at work negatively about what people are eating. I had a very loud "errrrrrrggh" because I dared to put tomato ketchup on a fish. In addition I had some very rude women retching deliberately because I dared to eat black pudding.

Nowt wrong with a bit of black pudding especially the one with the lathe globules of fat. It makes a breakfast and a slice or two of savoury duck doesn't go amiss either.

[Robin Evans]

2 minutes ago, clwydianrange said:

Nowt wrong with a bit of black pudding especially the one with the lathe globules of fat. It makes a breakfast and a slice or two of savoury duck doesn't go amiss either.

100% agree. Fatty black pud is a breakfast essential. Not many do a nice savoury duck nowadays but you can still get em on donny market. Love a nice duck me...