Samson's Wig

Doesn't matter how big we make it if we can't force people to go. I'm not knowledgeable in this area of the law, but we've got to find a way to make it easier to commit people. I understand the impetus for the ACLU move to try and stop the shenanigans that went on in the 20th century regarding committing people to hospitals. At this time it was the right move, but the unintended consequences are on the streets all around us. Surely there is a middle ground. Perhaps it's just not possible to prevent egregious misdeeds by they system, though. Look at how many judges are caught sending people to privately run prisons (or worse) to line their pockets. The same type of thing would likely happen with privately mental institutions, which would be the natural new business model were the state able to medically institutionalize people again. Or we can just follow crash_davis' advice and shoot these folks. Hope I'm never one of them.

Those of you more in the know: does Facebook/Instagram not have large companies advertising on their platform due to all the bullshit on it? My knowledge of this entire topic largely stems from reading this thread (so shaky at best), but lots of folks are talking about legit advertisers dropping off of Twitter due to concerns over content. Do these companies already not advertise on Facebook? That hellhole doesn't moderate anything last time I looked.

I'm coming around on the notion that Musk is the next generation's Trump. That's a sobering thought if he ever decides to enter politics. At least he's disqualified from the White House.

I'm still gravely concerned about how the world is going to function after Elon destroys Twitter. We barely made it through the MySpace debacle.

What is the justification for the Texas State system I've seen some throwing around? Is it just that you went to school there? Maybe I'm missing something but they seem to be near bottom of the barrel of the systems, and should be rolled into UT if anything.

That's weird, it does have the light gray background. I didn't paste anything in there so I'm not sure why. The mainstream outlet for conspiracy theorists would be more detrimental if anyone was actually reading it (which the vast majority of people are not), and if the same bullshit wasn't also plastered all over the place everywhere else. It just ultimately doesn't matter that much other than as popcorn munching sport.

That is clearly mostly my opinion, so no. Much like using Twitter you don't have to read it, and it likely carries little substance. Your clever retort certainly adds much more substance to the discussion, so thank you. I'll do my best to keep my thoughts to 144 characters or less for those who have been trained to consumer information in small bites. Here's a Reuters article from a few days ago that hits on some of the actual facts in my pile of vomit. https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-where-did-tweeters-go-twitter-is-losing-its-most-active-users-internal-2022-10-25/

Mid-sixties makes them more boomer than Gen-X, in my opinion. The line is often drawn at 1965, so at best they're on the cusp I suppose, but certainly not the meat of GenX. But yeah, many folks born in the sixties make for a rich target for Fox News. It's not all 40's and 50's babies.

I love love love this insanely heightened rhetoric. Some are acting like something important is happening, when in reality it's just a shitty place that has largely been an echo chamber for left of center commentary and a slightly different way of consuming pornography and sports info than the rest of the Internet, becoming a slightly different kind of echo chamber that will still have all the porn and sports nonsense (and even the left of center commentary). Watching the mouth-breathers delight in their favorite dumbasses returning to the platform is almost as delicious as watching the crying from others that their favorite way to completely waste time is changing. The two main categories of interest for English speaking users on Twitter? Crypto and porn. Crypto and porn, and people are acting like the world is ending. This is not something to take seriously unless you work for Twitter and are about to have to go find a job at another company that provides nothing of value. When McDonald's stopped using lard to make their shitty fries and started using vegetable oil to make even shittier fries, the world wasn't ending - many of us just stopped eating them. Those who kept eating them got even fatter. Twitter is of less significance to the world than McDonald's fries, but here we are acting like the world is ending. And I enjoy left of center commentary, porn, and sports info as much as anyone, but all of it is still widely available all over the damn place (even right here!). Twitter's only value to users was making it slightly easier to navigate. Not much of a loss. I get why many love the place since the orange one and his ilk were removed, it certainly became more enjoyable, but some of you are acting like humanity is at stake. Twitter was in significant decline long before Musk came along, with its true active users (heavy tweeters) basically abandoning their accounts since at least the beginning of the pandemic. Musk's ownership may well be the final nail in the coffin, who knows? But the one thing we all know is that no one has to use Twitter that doesn't want to. You will not miss out on a single thing that can't be found elsewhere. Twitter was, is, and always will be little more than a shiny paper bag to put on your ugly date before you fuck. It's all still ugly underneath, but some have grown to love the mask as if it has substance of its own. Now the mask is being ripped off and some are crying about having to fuck an ugly date, as if there are no other alternatives.

Wait, so now we're lumping old Gen-X in with Boomers? Have you censorship loving children not done enough??‽‽‽‽‽‽‽?‽!‽‽‽

Holy shit. Orban's Hungary? I can't tell if you're joking or not.

I'm sorry sir or madam, but visionaries here have made it clear that Twitter is home to the brightest minds in the world, where they trade barbs, learn from each other, and laugh at the remaining 96% of humanity that doesn't join them in their high minded ribaldry. It is simply impossible that they are bunch of rubes who enjoy the sound of their own voice echoing back at them so much that they would sacrifice privacy and integrity for something as base as a capitalist endeavor. Sarcasm aside, I continue to be amazed how many Twitter fanboys have their heads every bit as far up their own asses as Musk does. Trying to justify a platform as something high-minded when it is largely utilized to disseminate porn (just like the rest of the Internet) is hilarious. No one gives a fuck about anyone's tweet unless it drives eyeballs for advertisers. That dopamine rush you get when you post something clever or think you've interacted with someone important is nothing more than the cheese luring a mouse to a trap. What a fucking utopia of brilliant minds.

This is the notion that Twitter fan boys have their heads so far up their collective asses about. It is absolutely not the a tool employed by pretty much the entire world. Not even remotely close. Not even a 4th of Americans have a Twitter account, and among those who do maybe 10% of them are active. This shit is nothing more than the modern equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons for kids in the 80's. You're convinced you're being entertained but you're just being manipulated. I understand it's the drug of choice for lots of folks with short attention spans and a penchant for arguing with others in an absolutely consequence free environment, but that doesn't make it substantive.

Agree with most of that, except Tech should maintain independence in West Texas, in my opinion. A different system there makes geographic and cultural sense. Ultimately, I'd love to see aggie rolled back into the UT system where they belong (and forced the change their name for the lols), leaving Tech and UT as the two systems and dividing things up geographically. Aggie has proven over and over again that they will do anything to undermine the success of anyone else. Fuck them. They should be brought to heal. I could see Tech as a partner, but never aggie. (I know none of this will ever happen, nor will merging any of the other systems with maybe one or two exceptions).

One thing both Elon and his haters have in common: they both overvalue the fuck out of Twitter. - That's the entire point of this long post, so I recommend you stop reading there (it's certainly where I should have stopped typing). This thread is a shitload of drama over something that just isn't nearly as important as it desperately wants to be. It's a platform for 25-35 year olds (mostly dudes and arguably the absolute dumbest subset of the human population) to jerk each other off, with only about 10% of the users generating any content at all (and who knows what percent of those are bots). It isn't a public square (or whatever it was Musk said), it's not critical to the survival, function, or betterment of anyone or anything other than itself. It's classic tech industry bullshit. Nothing of substance is available there, although there are links to substantive materials if you can sift through the nonsense and find them. Twitter is aptly named, as it largely appeals to ADD addled twits. All twitter really does is make know-nothing jags feel like they are part of something important by allowing them to communicate with underpaid assistants posing as people of actual importance. It's a dopamine hit for morons. Oh yeah, and it's a really fucking excellent resource for propaganda and other misuse (like all social media). The common refrain from supporters is how great it is for breaking news. The only problem with that is most breaking news is completely wrong, misses key elements, and provides absolutely zero substance or nuance. What an excellent way to become a complete imbecile. Even the sports stuff that breaks on Twitter is almost always completely fucking wrong. Fast news isn't good news. I get it from an entertainment standpoint. I'm as susceptible as anyone else and have to actively work to avoid being sucked in by bullshit like Twitter. However, reading some of the posts about what is ultimately a giant advertisement machine is like dropping in on a fucking Scientology meeting. I recommend putting Twitter away for a month and then taking stock of whether you actually missed out on anything.

Regardless of what Musk is or isn't, Twitter employees sound like a pack of entitled twats.

Shit mental health resources. Shit education system. Abysmal healthcare for women. Texas. I sometimes try to remind myself why I'm still here, and I often land on taxes. Unfortunately, that's a bunch of shit too as we're not actually that great for overall tax burden (18th maybe?). Living in Austin will drop you into the bottom half of the country quickly. Then I think, well at least real estate is affordable. Not anymore. Maybe it's the weather? That must be it. Fuck me. That's not it. Oh yeah, I remember now. I feel stuck because my kids are settled in here and I don't want to uproot them.

Sinek is a prime example of what one can accomplish with no experience, a sketchy education, no discernible skillset, and access to the Internet.

I love how many of you expected to get hosed, when we just saw a prime example of having close calls go our way. Get that pussy victim mentality shit out of here.

It was the second hit. Direct dive helmet to helmet. Got lucky with no call there.

Targeting if there ever was. Damn.

Thanks. I managed to figure this out and bought out a few lists for teachers at my kids' school.

That may just be improvements in aerodynamics. I drove a Gladiator to Houston a couple of weeks ago (with it's near vertical windshield and no aerodynamics whatsoever) and the windshield was an inch thick in dead bugs from top to bottom.

Has anyone reached out to the poultry industry? I suspect some surreptitious chicken-neck dumping may be afoot.