For a better tomorrow.

  • Gnash2

    canada

    Stop complaining. Canada has more important things to worry about

    https://imgur.com/a/80Pc3Tt

    • https://i.imgur.com/…Gnash
    • Canada can be so ridiculous, like a woke keyboard warrior with powernb
    • A similar bit of nonsense from the Canadian government is directly responsible for the rise of Jordan Petersonnb
    • I do love that the Supreme Court dresses like Santa Clausnb
    • lol, ya the outfits are awesomeGnash
    • Well as long as she wasn’t raped by a man but by a “person with a schlong” then it’s ok!_niko
    • They’re called sperm injectors, I thinkGnash
    • seems things are pretty rough in Canada - you only have one joke to share between everyone.face_melter
    • hey leave us alone, we don't have a treasure trove of never-ending jokes that Brexit brought along..._niko
    • Far from being just one joke. It’s on a spectrum, so the hilarity is infinite.Gnash
  • Bluejam6
  • Ramanisky23

    World War 3

    Currently watching this one.

    • yeah, same here ... watched the first two episodes, fairly decent history lessonBluejam
    • Must watch: The Fog of War, 11 Lessons (Robert McNamara)nb
    • ^ will add to watchlist.. thanksRamanisky2
    • The Fog of War will make you uneasy for a bit, but is a must watch.garbage
    • Fog of War is even better if you already know some of this history. It assumes some familiarity.nb
    • https://archive.org/…nb
    • ^ Thanks nbRamanisky2
  • Miesfan2
  • Horp1

    blog

    *sigh*

    I worry that a chunky percentage of younger people just really don't get nuance and irony anymore. No big deal in some ways, but in other ways, it does imply that everything could increasingly need to be very literal and descriptive and thoroughly unambiguous.

    It's quite an important layer of the communication cake to remove and discard.

    I've noticed this a lot with people I've worked with here and there. Something said in allegory is taken literally leading to a lost half day stressing about it, when it doesn't even exist (whatever it was), and I've had to explain what I meant by "a needle in a haystack" or "the seed of an idea".

    "So I'm not meant to be looking for a real actual seed then?"

    I just had an example now, on a BMX forum. We're getting a new, quite extensive BMX/Skate playground built right by my house. For the UK it's pretty large. A multi-level / multi-object ramps and rails area and then flowing from that a fairly wild looking pump track in asphalt that in parts is like a skate bowl.

    So it's quite impressive.

    I decide to ride past it today on my BMX and shoot a vid over the railing on my phone. I wanted to post it to show everyone what's being built.

    I needed to ride standing up, and pedal, hold a video camera in one hand, up high, and maintain a straight line down the path next to the building sight.

    So I start off narrating this video and I begin pedalling.

    Literally 10ft later - before the new BMX park has even made it into frame, I lost my balance, made a god awful "old man yowling" noise as though my long saggy nuts had become trapped in the hinged lid of a school desk, and I came clean off my bike face down on the ground. Camera up in the air, the sound of my skull smacking down on hard tarmac, some impeachments made in earnest to a higher force and of a blasphemous nature, plus a few sexual swears on the audio.

    A stupidly old man who should not be riding a BMX anymore, crowing proudly about the new skate park as though he's going to boss it when it opens, and yet he can't even trundle along a perfectly flat, smooth, obstacle free surface for more than 10ft before falling off for no known reason and breaking his hip. (I haven't actually broken my hip but you know what I mean)

    "They'll love this" I thought. So I posted it on the forum.

    "Dude, we can't see the skate park"

    "Dude your video sucks there's nothing in it"

    "Dude, I think you uploaded the wrong video?"

    "Dude, it's just a shaky bit of sky"

    I had to *walk them through* the reason why I posted the video and the irony of its concept, context and content, and the slapstick, and the hubris, and the ridiculousness.

    After I had explained it, they said "ahhhh okay, I get it now, but you should have said it was about you falling off, not that is was a video about your new skate park because we can't see the skate park".

    No. No, you can't see the skatepark I promised but you did get to see an old cunt falling off a BMX for no apparent reason at all.

    But they don't like surprises. They can't process what wasn't expected. It needs to be presented as what it is, and it needs to stay true to that.

    Then somebody posts a video of a one legged BMX rider. Julian Molina. Seriously good rider. Can't pedal, obviously... he only has one leg, but he's right up there in the skills stakes and fearless as hell with it. Attempts and fails a 20ft drop and lands face first. Gets up, grins. Ready for more.

    It's seriously impressive stuff.

    I comment "Pfffft.... try doing that with *two* legs and then we'll see how good you are" adding "Goddam freeloaders with their cheat codes"

    The next thing I know I'm getting DMs from people telling me he can't try it with two legs because he only has one leg... and actually it's much *easier* with two legs, not harder... and I shouldn't mention that he only has one leg anyway because I'm othering him... and it's all very well saying what I said on the internet but they bet I couldn't even ride as good as he does with my two legs... and by the way he *isn't* using a cheat code his friend just gives him a push to get him up to speed but that's not classed as cheating if you can't pedal.

    Seriously guys, come on. I'm joking. They may not be *FUNNY* jokes and I'm not suggesting anyone ought to be amused by them, but, we mustn't forget how to recognise jokes and abstractions, even really shit ones.

    It's like communicating with a crowd of 1st generation helper bots.

    I don't know what's caused this but the trajectory we're on, we're going to end up in a VERY literal world where people can only say, and process, information that fits a template.

    And I worry about the poets. It's going to be a struggle for them in this new paradigm.

    • "memories like summer clouds passing through me, softening my heart in rain" Dude this poem sucks! if a cloud rained inside you you'd basically drown instantly.Horp
    • Here's Julian Molina...

      https://youtu.be/UxR…
      Horp
    • In the interests of balance, here is Alfred Molina...

      https://youtu.be/WnL…
      Horp
    • This is King Alfred....

      https://youtu.be/YSC…
      Horp
    • This is King Julien...

      https://youtu.be/vYH…
      Horp
    • Dude the poets will be finenb
    • Internet is just chock full of this shit. It’s mind numbing.monospaced
    • I thought ‘cheat codes’ was fucking funny! I wonder if it’s something to do with how sarcasm doesn’t translate to text...monNom
    • The 90s was the era of irony and sarcasm in comedy. But then email came along. You can’t do that kind of comedy over email, so comedy changed.monNom
    • The younger generation grew up in a world of email. They were oblivious they were missing the joke. They just thought people were being mean.monNom
    • That explains so much. What if the special snowflakes are all triggered because they don’t ‘get’ sarcasm? What does it look like when you aren’t in on the joke?monNom
    • next level is when the helper bots start calling you a NPC.uan
    • That would never happen on QBN.palimpsest
    • I feel youSimonFFM
    • It's their world now, evolve or die.robthelad
    • how big is the chunk ? did u run any numbers on this compared to the previous generation or is this just fantasy talk ...neverscared
    • the boomer and his far out generalisations ....C'est la vieneverscared
    • ^ hahahaHorp
    • Ooh, rub 'the lack of nuance genie' and neverscared appears. how odd.Nairn
    • It's a generation cosplaying autistic.i_monk
  • NBQ000

    World War 3

    Russian media: what a nuclear attack on the USA would look like (video)

    https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/…

    How sad is this. We have all the money and creativity in the world and use it to destroy ourselves. Hopefully not.

    • oh no!
      https://static.wikia…
      pango
    • Tzar Dumba_niko
    • "This clip is from the movie < insert hollywood blockbuster >."Bluejam
    • We continue wasting precious resources on wars, instead of doing what is necessary to avoid them, in the name of filthy moneyOBBTKN
    • We have not evolved, we are still big idiot monkeys. What a silly world we are leaving our children. It's both sad and infuriating.OBBTKN
    • The world has forgotten the past and our ability to kill. In my country we have been at war for decades...OBBTKN
    • and believe me, it's not as funny as they show it in the movies.

      It's what I fear most in my life. Not for me, but for our young people.
      OBBTKN
    • strategic deterrence.
      the us has the same ones (trident).
      uan
  • mort_4
    • haha
      I fucking hate top gear but that was funny
      PhanLo
    • Can't stand it either - maybe that's why it's funny :)mort_
    • I love that the AI versions of all of them are an improvement. They're all hideous cunts, inside and out.garbage
    • This is wonderfulcrazyprick
  • Nairn5

    Meme of the day

    .

    memories of staying at a friend's place when I was 13 or so - they were building their home so lived in a campervan on the construction site. I had to do the deed, and then was utterly flumoxed by the flush mechanism, which hadn't been explained to me.

    turns out there was some slide out thing to let the slop fall through, which my friend's dad had to do with my pile of shit with a flustered mass of tissue pressed on top, soaked in multiple pressings of panicked water flushes. oy vey.

  • imbecile4
  • nb5

    canada

    As a former Canadian, what I see from my outsider perspective is this:

    The country is falling behind rapidly due to a few simultaneous things going on.

    1. Weak leadership. Trudeau’s government appears to make some big decisions based on idealism rather than pragmatism. Political correctness occasionally wins over what is actually good for Canadians.

    2. Weak monetary policy leadership. Historically Canada has done well by following in the footsteps US Fed, staying 1-2 years behind and using the US economy as a bellweather. However, the lack of a similar real estate collapse in ‘09 and then entering the pandemic under very different conditions than the US has meant that the Bank of Canada now needs to act alone, without a clear model to guide them. BoC clearly has not risen to this challenge.

    3. All levels of government and regular Canadians turning a blind eye to the corruption, money laundering and bubble in real estate. For nearly 30 years; the length of a mortgage! The RE industry convinced homeowners that market corrections aren’t necessary and that rapidly rising prices is like winning the lottery. This isn’t true if you only own your primary residence. Eventually you get to be about 60 and your adult children are priced out of their own cities. Then you hit 75 and can’t retire because your property tax is almost as much as your mortgage payment was. The government did nothing to intervene. Canadian homeowners stayed willfully ignorant and the next generation is fucked. Young people can’t afford to have kids because they can’t afford to get them a home. Simple as that. That leads to population collapse and a new desperation for immigrants.

    4. Lack of investment in emerging industries. Canada focused on service sector and resource extraction instead of green energy, technology sector, etcl. It’s amazing that in the blackberry years, most Canadians didn’t even know Blackberry was Canadian. How about Shopify? Shopify is an extremely successful tech company and it’s known as having some of the lowest salaries in tech. Big tech pays about 30% less to Canadian employees than US employees. Canada missed a massive opportunity to grow the tech sector by leveraging the cheaper dollar and encouraging US tech workers to immigrate to Canada. This would’ve changed the entire economic outlook of Canada. Instead, there’s a massive brain drain as anyone who can be successful can do even better in the States. US immigration policy dictates Canada’s ability to retain doctors, software engineers, business consultants, etc. Canada doesn’t appear to even be trying to solve this problem.

    5. Lack of diversity in immigration policy. Canada is putting all its eggs in one basket: population growth. However, in order to use new immigrants to lift the country, you need immigrants that can generate productivity at and above the level of the current population. In simple terms, you need to attract doctors, engineers, businesspeople and you need to make sure they can get certified to do their profession in Canada. What you want is a highly competitive immigration process that has all the strongest candidates trying to get in. The US is pretty great at this and you can see the results after many decades of competitive immigration policy. Also, in order to stabilize your country, you need diverse immigrants. Otherwise your culture will soon be overtaken by a new culture. You want immigrants to bring their cultures and ADD to Canadian culture, to improve it via diversity, not replace it. This means limiting immigrants from the highest population countries (India and China). Trudeau would never do this because it would be perceived as racist (*one can argue that it IS racist but one can also argue that it’s about respecting diversity.) anyway, strong economies are built on diverse populations. Especially in a country that REQUIRES immigration for economic growth.

    6. I left long before weed was legal, but I think legalizing weed was bad for the country. I know many people enjoy weed and it can be a life saver for some but it does suck the motivation from a lot of people. For others it’s a daily escape from their problems. That can be good for an individual but bad in the long run.

    • Thanks for coming to my Massey Lecture ;)nb
    • well written summary, cheerseveryangle
    • the biggest issue with Canada and Canadiens is that we're too polite and we don't stand up or protest anything. Redneck trucker convoy aside_niko
    • Probably because we realize that we still have it better than 99% of the planet, especially better than whatever shithole country we emigrated from._niko
    • So we weather the storm, grin and bear it with great resolve in typical Canadian fashion._niko
    • Our banking is stable, probably one of the best in the world, we've got tons on natural resources and a highly skilled and educated population...so our general_niko
    • mindset is ...what me worry? lol_niko
    • and yeah agree with the weed thing though I don't think it's changed since it was illegal, the same people that smoked before smoke now_niko
    • I stopped smoking when it was legalized. Didn't feel as cool anymore.garbage
    • We have a D-list celebrity clown that has just now triggered his base by talking about the need for a "bloodbath" if he doesn't win the election.garbage
    • Sorry about your problems Canada, but we're too busy forging a shithole down here. (Can I move in please?)garbage
    • unlike the shit hole of country called the USAutopian
    • @garbage can't stop you. also wouldn't recommend.pango
    • 6. any study to show which way it's going?pango
    • So we all go to Mexico then. Gonna have to learn how to surf.garbage
    • we're all staying at moldy's placepango
    • Lol. Shhh, don't tell him. He'll lock the doors.garbage
  • neverscared4
  • utopian12
    • Nothing hits the spot like a dip into grandma's chocolate brownie.Akagiyama
    • god dammit akagiyama. fuck. no no no. just no_niko
    • Awwww :(Akagiyama
    • I'm hungry and hornycrazyprick
  • neverscared3
  • big-papes17

    making beats

    I just released an album today if you want to check it out. A mix of a lot of different stuff, some drum-n-bass, some ambient, some house-ish stuff. Alright, love ya, hope you are well.

    https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a06175…

    https://lnk.to/AllOverThePlace

    • Dude... LOVE IT. Damn. It's a little bit Apex Twin, a little bit Prodigy, and a lot of other things and it sounds AMAZING.mg33
    • Oh damn, Thank you!big-papes
    • very very good album. lots of great tracks.
      I really liked Ritwd! thanks for sharing
      futurefood
    • Congrats on the release! Just starting but already sounds EPIC!mantrakid
    • Love it!
      -and Doomtree as well!-
      dyspl
    • holy shit! paper tiger is on QBN?! i listened the shit out of False Hopes back in the day and have a lot of catching up to do. fuck yesscruffics
    • Can I just repeat what scruffics said? Why do the cool folk keep quiet here? Oh wait.. answered my own question.garbage
    • This is so good. Can I ask what you use for master/bus compression? Such a glued and punchy soundFennero
    • Ha! yeah I'm mostly a lurker around here. @Fennero, I've been messing with Ozone a bit, but for these tracks, I worked with a great engineerbig-papes
    • Loving this.skinny_puppy
  • OBBTKN9

    blog

    Tomorrow I have lunch at a cider house with "lifelong" friends whom I have not been with in about 15 years!

    At the very least, it's going to be fun...

    • "So, do you have any pets?"bainbridge
    • Txotx!!!Miesfan
    • The cider was too sour for my taste, but it didn't stop me from drinking liters of it, lol. But the meat was realy bad, badly cooked and bad quality in origin..OBBTKN
    • Enjoyed a lot, but don't remember how I've come back home. Now I'm going to check it with my wife...OBBTKN
  • BuddhaHat0

    FMT 031523

    Ahh man I remember those FMT days fondly. RickBenedict you are the man.

    • Memories of Jazx. No one seemed to like him but he was a huge contributor.CyBrainX
    • I used to research and buy music specifically to share on Fridays, lol.Nairn
    • what des FMT stand for?Krassy
    • Friday Means Thursdayimbecile
    • Friday Music Thread if I'm not mistakenBuddhaHat
    • cool, tnxKrassy
    • It originally meant Friday Music Thread but many people will tell you it meant Friday Means Thursday because we usually started it on Thursday.CyBrainX
  • prophetone5
  • milfhunter0
    • *palimpsest busts a nutNairn
    • I really don't get that random symbol. Also it gives me Asics vibes.milfhunter
    • quoi!omer
    • what is the icon supposed to be?dbloc
    • cool clipart symbolutopian
    • https://wolffolins.c…dmay
    • I'd love to know how much Wolff Olins charged for this.Continuity
    • Also, that they managed to make that CA ... err ... ligature(?) look even worse than it did on the old logo is astonishing. That's talent I really don't have.Continuity
    • the lettering is much better, the icon... well, it's usable and distinct enough to use across all the products they havedmay
    • Logo of the Day shows it without context; meh.

      Wolff Olins over contextualizes it, BUT man it looks good!
      ideaist
    • that will be 895,734.76$
      Our team worked very hard in the last 6 months to bring your logo to the next level.
      HAL9001
    • I think it's smart to have a "mark" that you can use without the type. Clip art or not, it works well on their clothing and on tiny applications.monospaced
    • It evokes movement, it's like a D, it locks up nice. Don't need to read too much into it beyond that.monospaced
    • Pecathalon.Nairn
    • Weird forced ligature that looks like C4bulletfactory
    • ^ For whatever reason, that CA ligature thingy reminds me of a dog lifting its leg up to piss on something.Continuity
    • The icon is the P for decathlonimbecile
    • The selected blue color is not working, previous was way more "positive" than the new. The new logo looks like the LADA of clothing...OBBTKN
    • Taking into account the price increase that their products have experienced lately... This is not going to help them to sale moreOBBTKN
    • The icon makes sense in that it is reminiscent of the CA ligature, although that could be pushed harder. Very useful to have something small for buttons and >>skinny_puppy
    • >> other small touches. I liked the old font though has character, the new one is ... dull. They could just have tweaked the original lettering.skinny_puppy
    • @cont Like a lone elephant washing itself with the self-knowledge that it is a dying species, because it fits in with nothing that surrounds it.garbage
    • The new font is boring, generic. The icon looks like a random korean or chinese car company. The old color is also way better. Don't get it.sandpipe
    • I do not approve.
      I agree with sandpipe, the old color is the best thing they had.
      palimpsest
    • The tension between the top right of the C and the A makes me very uncomfortable.maquito
    • We want it to have movement, so italicise the ligature.
      More.
      No like they did in the 90s.
      Perfection
      Projectile
  • utopian5
  • monNom0

    SNEAKERS

    Shoes made with Japanese washi paper

    https://us.wildling.shoes/produc…

    • 110$+ for shoes made out of paper?!?!?!?pango
    • Ink on the skin, paper on the feetOBBTKN
    • Damn, WANT.Nairn
    • Apparently they are surprisingly durable. Japanese used to make shoes out of stuff, which is how I stumbled upon these.monNom
    • looks cool!Squiddy