Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:46 am

Quick question about eugenics. Is it specifically the kind of thing we frown upon, where people with very small and stupid mustaches talk about not letting poor/stupid/brown/bald/whatever people breed, so as to pave the way for a perfect society of whatever they think the ideal human is?

Or does it also cover such things as "We should screen and test for serious birth defects that will have a severe impact on the quality of life", "if you have this condition, which will certainly be passed down, we recommend you do not have children" and "encouraging more interbreeding so that humans have a diverse gene pool and thus are more likely to be resilient to more things, live longer, not get weird birth defects and so on"?

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:08 am

It's both. The only things that separate Hitler's breeding programs from suggesting that people with MS not have kids is that Hitler was wrong about what was a defect, and that we aren't forcibly doing anything, only suggesting it.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:22 am

Thanks. I was aware of the moral differences (as I would hope most people are), just not sure about whether the term still applied.

But I suppose it'd still not be a good career move to start something with "I support the idea of eugenics".

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:32 am

Koumei wrote:Thanks. I was aware of the moral differences

The factual difference is much more important than the moral one. The moral one is mostly meaningless.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:35 am

I wouldn't say mostly meaningless, but I'd agree the factual difference is more important, and really, encompasses the moral difference.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:16 am

A few weeks ago I made the joke that there should be a D&D setting where all the planes are carried through the cosmos by a great snake, just so I could call the setting Planes On A Snake. But it's a reasonably compelling idea, and I had the thought that each plane could be a single scale on the snake's body. Now, obviously the total number of planes will therefore be "more than you will ever need," but for the sake of having an actual number just so that your efforts don't always dwindle to infinitesimal insignificance, does anyone know a rough estimate of how many scales there are on a snake's body? Any kind of snake really. If the great Cosmic Snake is like a garter snake or something that's not too bad. Obviously some way to estimate the scales on something awesome like a cobra or anaconda would be better, though.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:29 am

http://www.arod.com.au/arod/scale/ might help? There wasn't a lot on google. Apparently snakes hatch with a fixed number of scales, which is neat.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:42 am

I've been hired to create and manage a website for a company that's too cheap to hire a certified hack (I'm what HR calls a "power user", as in, can google stuff and follow instructions).

Which open sauce CMS is the prettiest out of the box? (Wordpress and other stuff "tainted" by blogging won't do. Neither will convincing the boss they need a professional.)

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:56 am

Sounds like exactly how I became my school paper's web editor.

Unfortunately I cannot make any real suggestion. Especially without a better idea of what you want to do. Wordpress is honestly a very good thing and very versatile. What do you mean "'tainted' by blogging?"

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:03 am

He means management are pieces of shit who reject things purely because they saw things on the internet using that format that were not companies selling products.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:05 am

The industry standard is Joomla. I really have no idea what the "best" is, but Joomla has the most online help and populated forums and shit. Announcing that you want to get the most used and reccommended program is unlikely to get you fired.

-Username17

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:10 am

Thank you, Kaelik, I got that. I was hoping that a specific complaint of management could be elucidated because some people on this forum are--strange as it may seem--interested in actually communicating with each other and helping to solve problems more frequently than shouting at them from rooftops before shitting on their proverbial heads.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:09 pm

Joomla and Drupal are both quite good. But, you can't really beat Wordpress for simple to use and quick to get a decent working website up quick.

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:20 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:Thank you, Kaelik, I got that. I was hoping that a specific complaint of management could be elucidated because some people on this forum are--strange as it may seem--interested in actually communicating with each other and helping to solve problems more frequently than shouting at them from rooftops before shitting on their proverbial heads.

What are the needs of your site? If it's just uploading/showing content then Wordpress is the best / most professional looking / free solution right now. If you're stuck with retarded management, then do as Frank said.

Anyway, this is the site we usually use as a starting point when we want to publish a site. It has stuff for Joomla too.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:48 pm

Hm. AROD's scale database implies they have access to the numbers I need, but their database is working in the reverse order of how I want it to, starting with the numbers of scales and then telling you what kind of snake it is. I sent them an email asking if it would be possible for them to dig up the numbers in their database and give me the range for a green python, hopefully I'll get a response.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 1:42 am

Whatever wrote:http://www.arod.com.au/arod/scale/ might help? There wasn't a lot on google. Apparently snakes hatch with a fixed number of scales, which is neat.

Oh, Australia. Shine on, you crazy diamond.

Do not try to identify a live snake by counting its scales!
Most Australian snakes are venomous, and all are capable of biting.
Even dead snakes are capable of biting - they may react to touch and other stimuli for many hours after they have been killed.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 2:05 am

Starmaker wrote:I've been hired to create and manage a website for a company that's too cheap to hire a certified hack (I'm what HR calls a "power user", as in, can google stuff and follow instructions).

Which open sauce CMS is the prettiest out of the box? (Wordpress and other stuff "tainted" by blogging won't do. Neither will convincing the boss they need a professional.)

I love me some dokuwiki. (https://www.dokuwiki.org/dokuwiki)
It's not that amazing or anything, but it's very, very easy to use. I even taught my grandfather to use it, including formatting.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 2:34 am

Okay, someone explain the Game of Thrones Red Wedding to me.

I'm the designated Nerd Who Knows in my group of friends/associates, and it was evidently making people throw up when the TV episode aired, and everyone assumes I read everything with the fantasy label (hint, I don't, but I hear about stuff) and I just -know- I'll be asked about it. I'd like to have some coherent answer rather than "I'onno."

Could someone do me a solid?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:51 am

Look on the wiki, it's very thorough. Massive spoilers, of course.

PoliteNewb · Post by **PoliteNewb** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:03 am

Maxus wrote:Okay, someone explain the Game of Thrones Red Wedding to me.

Angel already answered, but in case you're too lazy to click'n'read...

Robb Stark agreed (way back in book 1) to marry one of Walder Frey's kids. Then he fell in love with a chick named Jeyne, and married her instead on a whim, which insulted the crap out of Walder Frey. Frey was already a bitter old shit, so with a little prodding from Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton, he concocted a scheme to get revenge.

When Robb offered to apologize if it could mend things, Frey pretended to agree, if Edmure Tully would marry one of his kids instead. They threw a big wedding at the Twins, during which time most of Robb's men were outside the castle and getting drunk on Lord Frey's booze, and some of Robb's chief guys were inside getting drunk and mostly unarmed. Frey snuck a bunch of archers in disguised as musicians, they shot up all of Robb's guys at the wedding, and then his army and Roose Bolton's northmen totally murdered almost all of Robb's men. Some guys got captured instead (like the Greatjon).

Robb himself got shot several times, and was killed. Frey chopped off his head and that of his direwolf, and they sewed the wolf's head on Robb's body before pitching him in the river. They also cut Catelyn's throat and threw her in the river as well.

...You Lost Me · Post by **...You Lost Me** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:37 am

Why is sushi so darn expensive? I've been trying to figure this out ever since I noticed that the difference between what I thought was quality sushi (Blue C Sushi and other Bento restaurants sell it) and crappy sushi with substitute meat (like the california rolls at Safeway) is only about a dollar, with the Safeway stuff costing about $5.

I really like sushi, and I want to eat it all the time, but it's sooooooo expensive. Why?

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:53 am

It's because there is a specific grade of fish that they're supposed to use, literally "sushi grade fish" which is more strictly regulated so as to be safe(r?) to consume raw. This grade requires a different source, method of gathering, etc.

Also marketing, demand, etc.

Guyr Adamantine · Post by **Guyr Adamantine** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:20 am

Also, "exotic" products are more expensive, because people expect it to be so.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:41 pm

If you really like sushi, it's worth learning to make it yourself. And it's more fun that way, too.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:00 pm

I'd assume region also has an affect on the price (beyond cost-of-living differences).

If you live by the ocean, it's probably lower. If you live by some big fishing place, it's probably lower.