Open Thread

[Sticky] Open Thread #415: Misc.

Aaron "Sleazy" Elias

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58 thoughts on “[Sticky] Open Thread #415: Misc.”

  1. Recently, I brought up the interesting subject about the “Gut Feeling” in a message to someone. It sprouted from my recent discovery about the guy whom I last got into a fight with 14 years ago (Several of my training partners are former schoolmates, so they had inside information), and pretty much confirmed without a doubt that what I did on that day against him was not only 100% justified, but even necessary. Here’s the copypasta of the message:

    _________
    Last night while training (my former bouncer and experienced martial artist classmate being among us and the primary teacher that night. we were training takedowns), I ended up getting more “inside” information regarding the guy I last got into a fight with…and was surprised to learn that my gut feeling about him, was more accurate than I could have dreamed of.

    He didn’t just plain bully people or hurt people with bare hands, but even went as far as threatening other students (its not confirmed if he personally ever attacked anyone armed) with weapons, got fraternity/gangs to beat up on people (I suspect he was either leader, or at least one of the higher ups in the group) he didn’t like or wanted revenge on, and is actually 4 years older than both me and my friend. (that may not seem like a big deal anymore as a full-fledged adult, but it explains the big physical advantage he usually had against the folks he targeted for bullying. I’m also guessing he got pulled a grade or expelled a few times)

    So…yeah, I was right by going berserk and “overkilling” the guy, and making sure the school authorities are all involved by smashing him in front of the entire school, (This fight happened during our high school graduation practice. if something had happened to me after, everybody would be able to connect the dots, and he would have jeopardized his graduation) in doing so, I had robbed him of any opportunity or desire to try to get revenge on me.

    I had my doubts if I was a little too cautious with my setup (I was very much expecting the clash to happen.) and if I legitimately went too far…except that doubt has now been erased. Against scumbags like this, you pretty much HAVE to go overkill and crush them as decisively as you can, in order to kill the will to fight. (Link: https://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/WILLtoFIGHT.htm )

    Proud as I am to say, I definitely met Marc Macyoung’s standard of effective movement on that day. ended it in less than 3 moves. and would have overkilled him truly if the fight didn’t get broken up. I had successfully forced respect on him for sure. I even saw timid body language from him after the skirmish.

    You know, it makes you wonder, some people’s gut feelings are often completely off the mark, while others (and I’m glad to know I fall into this category) are accurate. I wonder what makes the difference. is it intelligence? experience? genetics?

    Anyway, I guess I really do get to live with the experience and bragging rights of trouncing a legitimate “street fighter”. 💪

    I don’t suppose you’ve ever had to deal with the “revenge attempts” from people you’ve fought? particularly in cases where you weren’t entirely the good guy. (or even outright in the wrong) What did you do to handle them if so?

    Part of the reason I hope to never get into a fight again, is because of that little complication above. Fortunately, no one has a long term vendetta against me.
    ___________

    I want to focus on this that I said:

    “You know, it makes you wonder, some people’s gut feelings are often completely off the mark, while others (and I’m glad to know I fall into this category) are accurate. I wonder what makes the difference. is it intelligence? experience? genetics?”

    What’s your take on this, guys? For instance, when I suspect that a girl is into me, I am usually proven to be correct, if not soon, then in time. On the other hand, my dad once generously accommodated an relatively older woman who had some connection in the family biz, and assumed erroneously that my dad must have been into her. We know because she had the audacity to say that out loud to my grandmother. Fortunately, my grandma didn’t hesitate to laugh in her face.

    Reply

    1. I think that modern man has a tendency to negate gut feeling and instinct, which seems to be a big oversight. While I cannot make any claim of being a good fighter because I never was in a real fight, I also never got into a fight, and this was due to me being able to accurately read the situation around me and act accordingly. This translates to other areas of my life. Generally, I think I have a well-above average ability to read the intentions of people. I have also had run-ins with people I consider psychopaths, and prevailed. Then again, I am probably not the kind of person psychopaths would try to take advantage of. Women as well as suppliant men are much more at risk in that regards.

  2. BTW Aaron, your blog is giving the warning signal that “this site is not secure”. Anyone else getting this as well? Might be something up that needs addressing, like what happened to your other blog.

    Reply

    2. Thanks for raising this issue. There was something wrong with the server configuration, which I finally got around to fixing earlier today.

    3. There was also a database issue, which is causing a huge chunk of the old blog posts to be unavailable. I hope to bring them back over time.

    4. You think there’s a chance that there’s someone who has it out for you (How likely is it that there’s a PUA out there who has held a grudge towards you for playing a role in the industry’s downfall, I wonder?) and possibly orchestrated this?

      I do hope you manage to restore all the content soon. Over the years, this blog has collected quite a variety of rich and fascinating discussions that it would be a damn shame to lose it.

    1. This trailer looks great. I also fully support the Chinese embracing feminism by showing us how empowered super-sluts take on the worst patriarchal demons the underworld can come up with. I particularly like that China is apparently easily undoing one to two decades of Western cultural rot. Speaking of gaming, yesterday I managed to get first place in the last of the four modes in Ridge Racer. This felt like a non-trivial achievement. I have a few more 1990s arcade bangers to tackle before I even want to think about turning my attention to modern gaming again.

      Here is is a competent run by a Japanese player who got a 3’47 in the fourth mode at Ridge Racer, i.e. the time trial. My best time is a 3’51, but that was only a second place. My first place was a 3’59. The problem is that you are racing a competitor car and it can be quite tricky to avoid collisions. Sometimes, the CPU driver just rams you from behind, wrecking your lap time. In this particular video, the guy manages to take the lead and maintain first place for the entire race. I am not at that level, so I regularly trade places with the CPU. Racing ahead and knowing that the slightest mistake will mean that the CPU takes the lead is really exciting. You can see in the video that the CPU is right behind the driver at all times. The time trial mode is absolutely exhilarating and among the most fun I have had in gaming.

  4. Aaron,
    I noticed there’s a lot of articles missing in your blog when I click on the Archives or the Categories section.

    Reply

    1. Yes, there is a database issue. I will work on bringing them back bit by bit. If there are any articles you are particularly interested in, let me know and I will prioritize them.

  5. I just finished watching the first part of the last season of Cobra Kai. It is serviceable. In short:
    – Narrative mess: college admission woes, frat parties, constant shifting of loyalties, Miyagi’s past, Johnny wants to become a provider, and Tory’s mother is dying. The writers just throw crap at the wall, it seems. The subplot of Miguel wanting to enter Stanford made me laugh. In five seasons there was not a hint of this guy taking his education seriously. Yet, suddenly he has been a A-student all along.
    – Lame and trite subversion subplot: Miyagi was akshually kind of a bad guy
    – Sam should lose weight; this character is not believable at all
    – Simplistic structure, even more so than in past seasons: underdogs (Tory/Robby) vs. the establishment (Sam/Miguel) vs. the dorks (Dimitri/Hawk)

    My favorite character in this show, by far, is Terry Silver. He has not shown up yet but I keep my fingers crossed that he will make a surprise reappearance after his rushed exit at the end of season five. It seems unlikely, though. Then again, stranger plot twists have happened in Cobra Kai.

    Reply

    1. My verdict of the second part of the sixth season of Cobra Kai is quite negative. The story telling is incredibly muddled. Terry Silver indeed comes back but plays a very minor part. At the end, the story completely unravels. Presumably, the State Department called and wanted an ad-hoc anti-Russia angle, which did not leave them with many other options. The finale is really bad. Let’s see what the remaining five episodes deliver.

    3. The TV show? It is great. There are a few elements that were included to deliberate push boundaries, but if you can look past the typical Hollywood subversion it is well worth watching.

    4. What a disappointment 😔 This series had so much promise. I think we could have written the last three seasons better.

    7. I made it to the end of season six. This show really did overstay its welcome. The writing got so bad that you wonder if there was even an outline at the beginning of this TV show. There probably was, but only for perhaps two to three seasons. Some parts in season six are so absurd that you wonder if they let some intern try his hand at writing. Robby practicing karate against his nemesis in VR was laughable. The “binary brothers” bit was cringeworthy but the writers kept doubling down on it. Particularly jarring was Amanda LaRusso acting like a caricature of a black woman during that tournament (“Das what I’m talking about!”) but the worst sub-story was fat Sam turning the head of some ultra-Chad at the tournament. If the writers had removed the worst crap, these final 15 episodes, many of which run for 45 minutes, could easily have been condensed into 8 episodes with a runtime of 30 minutes.

    8. I thought there was a “grand plan.” Especially with the importance of fatherhood. Which is a great message. Daniel, Jonny, Robbie, and Miguel all had no fathers or, absentee fathers.
      Miagi basically adopted Daniel because he lost his son. How in the fuck can you start with such a great message and finish with nothing? How does a series devolve on every level?

    9. Another great angle is the juxtaposition between the hopeful youth and the old senseis looking back at their lives, with a mixture of regret and happiness. This was at times only hinted at but in the end, completely squandered. A great ending would have been if the high school kids went separate ways, but found support if not solace in their knowledge of karate, while facing an uncertain future where some may succeed, some fail, and most end up with somewhat unremarkable lives. Instead, the good guys win, the bad guys lose. Even the loser Johnny Lawrence turns his life around. In contrast, Kreese and Silver go out in a lame CGI explosion. Of course, all the kids have made great friends, managed to paper over their differences, and stick together as they embark to college. It was incredibly lame. The main cast is so lame that you end up rooting for their opponents. In season six, I found Wolf, Kwon, Zara, and Axel much more interesting than any of the main characters.

      Terry Silver’s character had a lot of potential, which was only partly realized. There is also a great parallel to the life of the actor who portrays him, Thomas Ian Griffith. He basically got cheated out of a career as he was at the right place at the wrong time. In the 1990s, strong male lead characters were out, so his career never took off and his first role, as the antagonist in The Karate Kid III, was also the high point of his career.

    10. *lol ‘Robby,” my spelling couldn’t get worse. Especially when I’m worked up .

  6. Aaron,
    How long can a culture sustain its traditions, customs, and values before progressivism takes over and culture change occurs?

    How can one preserver their cultural heritage?

    Reply

    1. With a dedicated and coherent group of people, traditions can be preserved apparently indefinitely long. The Amish in the United States are probably the perfect example.

    1. I did read it in kindergarten, I kid you not. The story where the boy gets his thumbs cut off traumatized me for years, the illustrations were quite explicit. 🙂

    2. I did read it but even when I was a kid this book had fallen out of favor. Some of the illustrations are incredibly gruesome, more likely to give a child nightmares than instill behavioral lessons.

  8. I’ll post the is here so as not to derail the CK discussion:

    “The TV show? It is great. There are a few elements that were included to deliberate push boundaries, but if you can look past the typical Hollywood subversion it is well worth watching.”

    Glad to hear you also liked it. Like most series, I often get the feeling that they overstay their welcome at some point, yet the extravagant settings and witty banter kept me coming back. Besides a few trendy additions to the show such as Kendall having adopted an Indian daughter, Shiv having a clause in her marriage contract allowing her to legally cuck her husband, and the whole radical right wing presidential election subplot; the show was surprisingly tame in regards to modern woke standards. For example, simply having an all white main cast (if you forgive Kendall being a fellow white) this day and age is substantial.

    Reply

    1. I had the impression that the writers did not want to milk Succession for all its worth. You could even make the point that it went on a bit too long but four seasons is perfectly fine. There was a bit of meandering and a lack of development but the final season was pretty good overall. My favorite character was Tom Wambsgans, the talentless, yet utterly ruthless social climber. This is the kind of person you find a lot in business and politics, yet we pretend that these people do not exist in real life.

    2. I liked Tom and Roman. The latter of which was really the only sibling (besides the eldest) that got a good ending. I imagine he went on to become a smack talking play boy. Just drifting through life with his riches and attending the most exclusive parties, and hiring prostitutes to degrade him while he jerks off.

  9. Some games maintain a fanbase for decades. Here is Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, which came out in 2012; the original Virtua Fighter 5 was released in 2006. There is still a competitive scene around Final Showdown in Japan. The arcade Mikado live streams this game frequently, sometimes even more than once per day. The video below is of one such live stream. At the time stamp you see the player card of a guy who has racked up a little over 56,000 matches. Assume a match takes about 3 minutes, you end up at a total play time of 2,800 hours.

    https://youtu.be/bpfVEoWHa5w?t=6775

    Reply

    2. I am looking forward to the release of this game, primarily because I have been wondering whether “BBC in Feudal Japan” is going to be the game that will sink Ubisoft. Their economic performance has been dismal for a few years and I do not think that they have many attempts left to turn their business around. Of course, as a Yasuke superfan I would lament Ubisoft’s bankruptcy. It is unfortunate that gamers are so bigoted nowadays.

    4. I just came across this introductory video on Virtua Fighter 5, highlighting the various characters and their style. Each character only gets about two minutes but this should be enough to realize how deep this fighting game is, without relying on ridiculous special moves or magic attacks. I have not put a lot of hours into this game as my PS3 is in storage, but I have played VF5 enough to have gained an appreciation for it. My favorite character is Goh Hinogami. At some point, I would like to put more time into this game.

  10. Is it a likely possibility you’ll find a way to restore all of this blog’s content at once, Aaron?

    The comment discussions with Alek regarding long term vs short term mating were some of the most interesting/insightful. I don’t necessarily need access to the information anymore because I’ve read and understood, but obviously its a nice-to-have for the information to be accessible. especially if one needs re-reading in case any details were missed.

    Reply

  11. Dang, just saw a headline that Gene Hackman died. Only flagging since readers here talked about great films…and Hackman was in some great 70s, 80s, 90s stuff… like:

    – The French Connection
    – Mississippi Burning
    – The Unforgiven

    Reply

    2. I was surprised that Gene Hackman was still alive. Not everyone gets to 95 years of age. I only have vague recollections of Unforgiven, but it is of my list of movies to rewatch.

    3. Potsdam is a very nice city, well-worth a visit. It is perhaps infamous for its status as a sanctuary city for Berlin politicians who apparently do not want to be exposed to the results of their policies. The still-current German chancellor lives there, and so does the foreign minister. This is all just speculation. They probably have entirely different reasons for not wanting to live in Berlin.

    4. This is still a big improvement. In Sweden, often relatively plain-looking traditional houses come with surprising sticker prices. In particular in coastal towns some of the most expensive real estate is remodeled dwellings that were inhabited by peasants back in the days. Oftentimes, the wealthy use them as vacation homes.

    5. I’m hoping to visit Germany again someday. 🙂 It’s been a very long time since I was last there.

      You’re right about the Swedish homes. We can “thank” the Social Democrats for that. They passed laws that make it near impossible to build residential homes (even vacation homes) anywhere near the water, to protect public access to it. But they grandfathered the homes that were already built.

      So any dwelling that’s close to the water, no matter how primitive, is going to fetch a high price because there’s such a limited supply of them. If somebody by some odd chance manages to get approval from the municipality to build close to the water, you can count on it being appealed to the County Administrative Board, and reversed. 🙁

    1. I have not heard of them, but this is a great track. I just came across this recording of one of their recent festival gigs, in which Babymetal also makes an appearance:

      My wife sang APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars to me recently, which I found quite amusing. ROSÉ is part of the very well-known K-pop group BLACKPINK. I can’t say that I am too fond of Bruno Mars but his presence thankfully does not ruin this song:

    2. I love Babymetal! 🙂

      They’re actually insanely talented. They’ve been going at it for 15 years already; when they started the members were like 10-12 years old. Here’s a performance they put on at ages 14, 14, and 16:

    3. This is probably my favorite Babymetal performance:

      They must do a lot of physical exercise to be able to perform like that. Their level of cardiovascular fitness is insane! Most people would collapse in a heap halfway through a performance like that, and that’s just one song. Imagine keeping that up for a whole concert!

    4. I wonder for how long they will be able to keep this up. With an all-male metal or rock group that is also a bit less focused on exerting themselves physically on stage, it is obvious that they can be active until their middle age if not beyond. The Rolling Stones are still touring, even though they are in their late 70s and 80s. On the other hand, I cannot imagine Babymetal staying in this business much beyond 35 or 40.

    5. WTF, Karl? Did your doctor double your Ritalin dosage? That’s like 11 posts in a row! I’m posting in good fun, definitely no offense intended 😜

    6. @Aaron:
      Yeah, it will be a challenge for them for sure. While it’s possible to maintain quite good endurance up to that age, the amount of explosive muscle movements in their choreography is another matter altogether.

      They could of course shift to a less athletic performance style, but will people still be interested then? Plus their looks are going to fade. While I would only consider Moametal (the girl in pigtails, to the right at the start of the video, who later shifts to the middle) as being very pretty, it’s pretty clear that part of the draw for all of them are their youthful looks.

      GLAS:
      Nah, but I doubled up on my coke lines. 😉

      (In case it’s not obvious, that’s a joke. I do neither Ritalin nor coke. 😀 )

    7. “My wife sang APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars to me recently, which I found quite amusing. ROSÉ is part of the very well-known K-pop group BLACKPINK. I can’t say that I am too fond of Bruno Mars…”

      That sounds cute! I have heard this song somewhere and had no idea what the lyrics were at the beginning was. Apparently it’s the Korean for apartment and also the name of a drinking game? I’m also not fond of Bruno Mars or most mainstream pop music, but there is no doubt that he is talented. I’ve heard that he gets his takes usually in one go in the studio, not unlike Michael Jackson.

      “I have not heard of them, but this is a great track. I just came across this recording of one of their recent festival gigs, in which Babymetal also makes an appearance…”

      I ended up watching most of this. It was quite a show, and what a big turnout. Great for them. I recently also watched their video for the remix of Everytime We Touch and thought it was pretty amusing. It was also very nicely shot it the German Rothstein Castle, which I wasn’t previously aware of.

      “I love Babymetal! 🙂

      They’re actually insanely talented. They’ve been going at it for 15 years already; when they started the members were like 10-12 years old. Here’s a performance they put on at ages 14, 14, and 16”

      I remember back when they first exploded onto the scene. It’s crazy to see how far they’ve come. I had a chance to witness them some years back during a US festival. The Swedish band Ghost was also there who are huge draw. It’s wild how popular such a band has become.

      I have sort of a guilty pleasure band at the moment. They’re called Spirit Box and they’re like if Evanescence had more balls:
      https://youtu.be/UCTEmssP_Mc

      Also, how are you guys listening to music? I always use my trusty Grado SR-80s that I’ve had for over 10 years if I’m serious about listening to something.

    8. Schloss Rothestein is not an exception. There are a lot of castles all over Germany, many of which would be major attractions in most other countries. Fortunately, there are a lot of historic sites in Germany so the Allies could not destroy them all.

      The Grado SR-80 has a very good reputation. I like using so-called monitoring headphones that, unlike many of the products in today’s market, do not distort the music. Urban gentlemen may prefer an exaggerated bass but this approach does not work for me. The Shure SRH440A is quite nice in this regard but it can become a bit uncomfortable if you want to listen to music for hours. Otherwise, when I am looking for a new headset, I normally first check the current lineup by AKG, at a similar price point as your Grados. In fact, the main reason I do not own the Grado SR-80 is that they were not easily available in Europe the last time I bought new headphones. If you want a recommendation for an AKG headset, I can point you to the AKG K702. They are great for classical music and very comfortable.

      EDIT: I should point out one weakness in the design of the AKG K702. You plug in the audio cable only on one side. I had the problem that after a few years of use, the cable connecting both sides of the headphones had cracked, and the repair would have cost more than buying new headphones. The spare part alone would have cost a bit more than half as much as new K702. I had gotten a solid five or six years out of my first K702, though, so it was still decent value for money, albeit I would prefer less inbuilt obsolescence.

    10. Yes, symphonies sound pretty good on these headphones. This is an old video encoded in 480p, though. Back then, YouTube compressed the sound quality quite heavily, based on video resolution, i.e. the lower the resolution the worse the audio compression. If you listen to the recording below, in contrast, then you should be able to notice a significant difference in audio quality:

      On a more general note, one downside of good headphones is that they make it possible to notice poor audio quality. This is much less of a problem nowadays than it was in the heyday of mp3, though.

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