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Machinist

@ Machinist @lemmy.world

Posts
2
Comments
309
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Trump is preparing a coup — the evidence is clear if you know where to look

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  • The racism doesn't explain it for me.

    It's certainly a contributing factor, and I think it's closer to whatever venality trump has tapped into in these people.

    However, just the way the man presents himself should have been an immediate turnoff for most of these people.

    He's a fop, a dandy, he's got a swish in his mannerisms that borders queer stereotypes for many southerners. He's city soft. Which these people hate just as much as they hate black folks.

    Personal experience, I don't understand deacons, colonels, PhDs, and skilled blue collar worshipping the freak. It's not about policy, it's that they're just as bigoted against how he presents himself as they are about race.

  • Trump is preparing a coup — the evidence is clear if you know where to look

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  • I get how the mechanics of it work. That's not hard to see and understand.

    The part I don't understand is the cult of personality. The personality is repulsive. He violates all kinds of norms the fundies literally hold as sacred. Trump is openly a cartoon of what fundies rail against, teach their children not to be, and consider evil.

    I was born and raised southern fundie. A new york city, orange makeup wearing, reality tv, biblically ignorant, multiply divorced, fucktard conman is about the last thing I could see them falling for. That's the part I don't understand. Mike Johnson, Bush, Cheney - I understand. Hell, they didn't like Romney because he was Mormon.

    If you've ever seen the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales, there is a yankee carpet bagger selling snake oil. He's comic relief and is an archetype of slimy dandy Yankee sales weasel. There are cultural tropes against exactly the sort of person Trump is including his appearance.

    And yet, they fell for it. I don't get it.

  • Trump is preparing a coup — the evidence is clear if you know where to look

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  • Sitting on the inside here. I'm perpetually astounded as well. Very little of this suprises me anymore but plenty of things shock me.

    He's a stereotypical conman; so shallow, so obvious. And yet, my family and former friends continue to slurp up his bullshit. It's so fucking stupid. He's so stupid. On paper, many of these people are smarter than the orange used car salesman.

    It's difficult to describe how astounded I really am. Black magic or aliens would make more sense. I would find a novel or show with this unrealistic.

    I wonder if I'll ever understand?

  • MTG Turns on Trump and Tells GOP to End the Shutdown

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  • I really like your analysis.

    I really fucking hope you're right.

  • Magnificent

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  • I very much agree. It is held up as this wonderful parable of how you should live. It's the sort of thing that the powerful use to take advantage and abuse the weak.

    This kind of puerile shit is bad for children and is just like a lot of the Jesus crap that gets pounded into kids.

  • Have a bit of trust

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  • This is actually wisdom. I use a 4x fudge factor.

  • What do you call these?

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  • beat me to it.

  • Cory Doctorow New Book: Enshitification

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  • Correct, specific to his fiction. I don't know if I've read a non-fiction book of his. However, I've never read a bad article or essay by him. He has great insight.

  • Cory Doctorow New Book: Enshitification

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  • His ideas are fantastic. Execution and characterization are spotty. Been a while since I read anything of his, but IIRC, he has a tendency to dip into surrealism or absurdity that feels cringey instead of his artistic target.

    In some ways, it's similar to a lot of Golden Era SF. You read it for the ideas, not the story.

    I do have a favorable opinion of him and his work. I'd really enjoy Doctorow being paired with a traditional fiction author and both being rode herd by a hardass SF editor.

  • TIL about the largest labor uprising in history: The Battle of Blair Mountain, when the US military was deployed against 10,000 WV coal miners

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  • Again, intellectually, I get it. I'd read about Nazi Blood Libel, Mao and the Great Leap Forward, the Khemr Rouge, Rwanada, and so on. It's just difficult to comprehend when you see it happen all around you.

    As for myself falling for transparent propaganda, it's possible but unlikely. I think it's likely that I'm somewhat immune to it at this point. Religion, politics, hatred of outgroups are the main levers used and I've pretty much had that burnt out of me. I have a finely honed bullshit detector. I can certainly be tricked, at least for a time. However, I believe in so little, at this point, that I think it would be pretty difficult to uncouple my reality from the real world.

  • TIL about the largest labor uprising in history: The Battle of Blair Mountain, when the US military was deployed against 10,000 WV coal miners

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  • That was a forgiveable mistake the first time around. Howver, the insanity and utter bullshit I saw during COVID was not so forgiveable. And then, electing him a second time? I don't think there's any way back.

    It's such transparent propaganda, it will probably always astound me that people were so easily fooled. Pepple I thought were intelligent, wise, and that I respected. The Qanon stuff, the COVID conspiracy stuff, antivax, climate change. They have ended up in a false reality that most will never escape, and it was so obviously a lie. I'm still in a mild state of shock from time to time, I still grieve it.

    Intellectually I know how it happened, but my gut cannot make sense of how they fell for it.

  • TIL about the largest labor uprising in history: The Battle of Blair Mountain, when the US military was deployed against 10,000 WV coal miners

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  • Not who you were replying to. I have sort of similar roots, angst, and anger. My grandparents grew up sharecroppers, entire extended family are fundamentalists.

    There's nothing inherently wrong with being ignorant. It's just a matter of education. Willfull ignorance, on the other hand, is the greatest sin.

    The part I still can't wrap my head around is falling for a New York, city slicker, orange ass, conman. My people used to dislike cops, hate the government, guns were just a fun tool for farm and hunting, and were suspicious of military jingoism and flag waving.

    I wasn't able to get a single friend or family member to see how they were being manipulated, how they were changing. I changed some, especially when I lost the religion, but I feel like I'm closer to our roots than they are. It's profoundly alienating. I hate my own people a lot of the time. I'm so angry at them for fucking falling for such transparent bullshit. Fuck the evil bastards that lied them into it.

  • Florida Deploys Police To Stare At Crosswalks, Stop Them From Being Painted Rainbow Colors

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  • Small squares as pixels would be time consuming, but would allow high detail even without a CNC.

    Drag knife on a cricut wouldn't be strong enough for thick tile.Mill with a O-flute single flute plastic routing bit would be the way to go. 1/8" diameter, carbide, as fast the spindle will turn. Flute length as short as the tile thickness will allow. You'd want a few spares, you'll probably break a couple getting it tweaked. Start at .030 chip load, full width and depth, probably don't need a finish pass as the edge roughness will increase adhesion and won't be visible. Don't use coolant, don't breathe the dust, wear a P99 or P100 respirator, shop vac with HEPA for cleanup. Some tile may have abrasive fiber in it and will shorten tool life.

    For fixturing, I think I'd use strap clamps and bars around edges. Use tabs between pieces almost like a stencil, lot of CAM software has a setting for auto tabs on profile cuts, cut from center to edges. Vacuum tables can be real temperamental, slow way down and still tab if trying to hold with vacuum. Double sided carpet tape can do it but has to be removed with acetone and IDK if that would effect the tile.

    Just spitballing, I'd be afraid metal mesh might cause de-adherence over time, especially if it corordes. I really like the mesh idea. Loose cotton fabric like cheese cloth or maybe a little tougher would absorb the tar and might make it even stronger, just have to pour at a high enough temp. Fiberglass sheet might also work.

  • Florida Deploys Police To Stare At Crosswalks, Stop Them From Being Painted Rainbow Colors

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  • Defacing postal boxes is destruction of federal property. Up to 3 years and $200k. Also, postal inspectors will absolutely dick you down and make local Florida cops look even way more dumberer.

    Postal inspectors are kind of like game wardens. They are cops, but, they mostly get a pass and they do a lot of good.

  • Florida Deploys Police To Stare At Crosswalks, Stop Them From Being Painted Rainbow Colors

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  • I've never seen one, but have read about them.

    Really interesting from a guerilla art perspective. Also, the durability is innovative.

  • Can't have nice things

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  • Yup. I have a play farm, not a real farm. Real farming is an industrial process that requires duallys and such. However, those are also real trucks. Beat to shit, tools in the bed, not lifted so much you can't load them, etc. They look the part. I do also have a 98 Chevy 3500 box truck. Drinks way too much gas to use it for anything other than its purpose, don't even have it registered right now, bad cats.

  • Can't have nice things

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  • I wish I had AWD/4WD sometimes. That's really the only thing I don't like about the truck.

    Before this truck, I had a Malibu, kept folding the seats down, toting 2x4's and such. Ripped sheets plywood in the parking lot with a battery powered saw to fit it in before.

    Parts are still pretty cheap for this truck here. They made so many of them. I only gave $3500 for it, but that was before prices on used little trucks jumped so high.

    I'm hoping I don't ever have to replace this truck, but if I do, I would be looking at a V6 minivan, especially if I could get in AWD. Gut one of those, and it's basically a little truck. I think it would do everything I needed, better on fuel costs, etc. I'm not much for lifitimg suspensions, but a truck-minivan with AWD I might lift a little to get into standard truck ground clearance range.

    Trucks/utility vehicles are tools and should be used and maintained like a good tool. If it doesn't have a few scratches and dents, it's not a real tool.

  • Can't have nice things

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  • This is actually my fourth vehicle, lifetime. My second was a 97 ranger with the 5 speed and 4 banger. I sold it and missed it so bad I got this one after I lost the car in a flood.

  • Can't have nice things

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  • 98 Ranger XLT extended cab. I've added trailer brake control for livestock hauling and a modern stereo with bluetooth, handsfree calling, and a sealed 10" sub cause I'm a metalhead.

    It's got the pushrod V6 that will last forever, in 99 they switched over to those awful self-destructing cassette timed V6s.

    It throws no codes. Redid intake manifold and valve gaskets about 18 months ago, but I've got increased Idle RPM and minor oil leak again. So, I have to redo it, looking for a more permanent fix.

    My truck does 10x the work most of those oversized pavement princess trucks do. It's a little truck for our little play farm.

  • Evolution: 🖕

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