Disqus - Latest Comments for elliotbay

Re: Real Donald Trump Quotes about Women | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:05:15 -0000

Well, "worse" would be my argument, but you might make a convincing rebuttal that it can't get much worse than this.

Re: Real Donald Trump Quotes about Women | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:02:39 -0000

Ah, sorry, those were things I didn't understand about the respondents, not about the video quotes themselves. Trump has indeed insulted men, as have many others in the past. My question was not whether Trump would have insulted men in those contexts (probably, but less likely to use gender-specific insults), but whether "we", as Dilbert Blog Commenters, would care about the messengers' appearance had they been male.

Insults have happened in politics in the past, but I would argue not to this level. I mean, the whole point of this post series is how Trump is going to change our view of the political process by doing things that common wisdom would see as political suicide, and still coming out ahead. Part of that is his above-average use of insults, including gendered insults. And people just think it's funny, not caring that he's ignoring the substance of the disagreement.

But, yes, had I been paying more attention already, I wouldn't have been saddened by the video, because I would have previously heard all those insults. I don't think the Roosevelt/Taft campaign you mentioned included quite that volume of inappropriate insults, but maybe I'm wrong there.

Re: Real Donald Trump Quotes about Women | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 18:36:27 -0000

Not faux, not panic, not saying it's the first personal insult levied in politics. You seem to be 0 for 3. I welcome you to respond to things I actually said.

Re: Real Donald Trump Quotes about Women | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 18:10:24 -0000

Male. Not appalled exactly (because I've heard of Trump before), but maybe saddened that one of our presidential frontrunners believes (and apparently rightly so) that those gendered insults have a place in our political discourse.

Things I don't understand:
- Focus on the messengers' appearance. Why does the attractiveness of the women matter to the message? Would there have been a similar evaluation if they were men?
- Humor. Is it that those out-of-context quotes were funny to begin with? Or is it just funny that anyone would consider that persuasive?

Re: A Voter’s Guide to Thinking | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:01:27 -0000

Here's an interesting tidbit: I never thought to compare Donald Trump to Hitler until this series of posts. I'm not generally prone to making such serious comparisons, but this has me thinking. Scott _says_ the Trump as Hitler theory is for stupid people who disagree with his Master Persuader theory, but that connection actually belongs in the Master Persuader filter more. Who's a better persuader than someone who managed to take over a political party in part by preying on peoples' fear of the Other, rise to unexplained prominence and power despite not having actually won an election.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that Trump would necessarily enact Hitler-like policies if he came to power, but when you realize that people in general aren't actually swayed by reason, it has me worried. Some of the policies that he is suggesting seem horrible to you and me, but they're designed to get him popularity in the current state of running for office, and they're obviously working.

Re: Risk Management - (Trump Persuasion Series) | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 13:16:41 -0000

I would accept a number of deaths up to the number of non-terrorist Muslims we let in. So, if we let in 10,000 refugees and 1% are terrorists, I would accept no more than 9,899 deaths.

The problem is, I don't have any belief that I or any American is more likely to be the victim of an ISIS-backed terrorist attack than they are a terrorist attack from any number of other extremist sources who are already in the country. School shootings, movie theater shootings, mosque bombings, mall shootings, Planned Parenthood attacks... Blocking all muslim immigrants doesn't seem like any kind of solution to me (even a bad one) to those attacks, and those are the terrorist attacks I'm seeing affect Americans.

Re: SU&SD on the spot: Two lovely interviews from FFG’s 2015 World Championships

elliotbay — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 21:12:15 -0000

Fun fact about butterflies: If you cut open the chrysalis while they're transforming, what you find inside is neither a caterpillar nor a butterfly, or even consisting chiefly of recognizable components of either of them. It's mostly a protein slurry full of half-formed or half-dissolved organs.

Re: Blog question | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:51:11 -0000

Here's a cropped version of what it looks like for me

Re: Blog question | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:48:59 -0000

Looks fine to me using Chrome on a mac laptop (OSX: Yosemite 10.10.3)

Re: Death with Dignity - Verdict | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Mon, 18 May 2015 17:19:42 -0000

That section was about the "Risk of Coercion". You're right that the post's definition of coercion in general is very broad, and generally fits into what most people would define as "persuasion" rather than "coercion". "When coercion is involved, we see the perpetrators as despicable," because generally we define coercion as "persuasion in a despicable way."

The "risk of coercion", however, is that someone will be convinced to take action that is not actually in their best interests, or wouldn't be in their best interests if the coercion weren't present. It's incorrect to dismiss this case as the patient coming out ahead. As far as where that line is drawn, though, you're correct to say it's a murky area.

Re: Death with Dignity - Verdict | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 13 May 2015 16:35:14 -0000

The paragraph that ends, "This is the only crime in which the victim comes out ahead," is biased without calling it out. If we judge the influence to be coercive in nature, then by definition the patient would prefer life (even if in pain). In this case, the victim does not come out ahead in their own internal valuation.

Re: Death with Dignity - Verdict | Scott Adams Blog

elliotbay — Wed, 13 May 2015 15:58:28 -0000

"Phenomenon" is the singular form of "phenomena"

Re: Parcelable vs Serializable

elliotbay — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 19:23:45 -0000

I'm not entirely sure that you should be either serializing or parceling in a game loop.

Re: I Blog...Therefore I'm Not - Don’t stop chasing. I think that one of the...

elliotbay — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:22:33 -0000

I think that one of the biggest reason why relationships do not work out in the long run is because that giddy feeling of being a new couple in love doesn't last, and once that's done, you need a solid relationship on which to fall back that is not based on hormones. The trick is not to make the honeymoon period into the whole relationship, because that will be a constant fight with yourself. The trick is to be able to be a real life partner for someone, supporting them in their endeavors, catching them when they fall, and being able to share interests and fun in the good times, too. I'm not saying it doesn't take work, but that work is in finding compromises when you disagree, and thinking about the other's feelings.

Re: Message Board Armageddon! The Battle is Afoot!

elliotbay — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:02:11 -0000

I lol'd at "Chips Ahoy". Where'd you get that picture?

Re: I Blog...Therefore I'm Not - A Guy Steals a Loaf of Bread: and shit goes down

elliotbay — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 02:50:04 -0000

This suddenly seems like a movie I have to watch

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/34711943560

elliotbay — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:51:02 -0000

So, the take-away point from this is that we men should all start wearing really tight pants to even the score. I'll get right on that.

Re: And If Elected, I Solemnenomely… Somnolently… Sominex… Promise

elliotbay — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:34:25 -0000

Nice! I had to do a double-take at "Saw: Russia"

Re: Rose Bowl Blog of a Crazed Duck Fan

elliotbay — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:42:24 -0000

"2:20 p.m: Touchdown Badgers. Down 7. Bad word or two from me."It was at this point that my step-mom said, "They're known for their offense, so this promises to be a pretty offensive game," to which I responded, "I'm already offended." We were all pretty happy by the end, though. Go Ducks!

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/10205558773

elliotbay — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:49:21 -0000

4, in the teal area. You sired a color-distinguishing individual, though labeling them would still not be my forte.

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/9338296592

elliotbay — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:44:50 -0000

Salad, eh?

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/8833867421

elliotbay — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:43:44 -0000

Book says horcruxes. I'm curious: has DeeDee seen 7 part 1, or read the books at all?

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/8503985507

elliotbay — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:19:53 -0000

Or too late, for that matter.

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/8495173367

elliotbay — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:14:46 -0000

Wow, you're dangerously close to appreciating the artistic implications of a fantasy story. God help us all :P

I guess the part of me that's surprised about that is the same part of me that once informed a waitress that "Dad hates straws."

Also, did you really say "F you" to a Husky fan in 1993 when he wished you a pleasant trip home? I didn't hear this story. Or was it just that you wanted to? Or was there less censoring than you indicated?

Re: http://duckpop22.tumblr.com/post/8221968220

elliotbay — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:23:38 -0000

I really enjoyed the competition dynamic when I read the book as well.

Glad to see that something that is *gasp* fantasy isn't so bad.