My favorite argument is that people in many countries don’t have the luxury of speaking their minds or criticizing their government, so isn’t it the sheerest form of self-indulgence to engage in such behavior instead of being quietly glad that you could do so if you wanted? Or, put more shortly, You have the right to…

Very nice metaphor.

People aren’t wrong when they say that Trump could probably initially draft a pardon for himself. However, for some reason they forget to mention that it would immediately be struck down by the courts on a common-law basis that a person cannot be their own judge in a court of law. We don’t need a law presently saying…

I think somebody’s lost perspective. Come back to earth. Or open up a history book instead of just reading Huffington Post comment threads all day.

God how I miss the vending machines. No matter where you were, in the heart of an oppressive Japanese summer, odds are there was a vending machine within 100 meters of you. Pocari sweat, Aquarius, Boss Coffee... man, boss coffee.

Your observation about blighttown is an interesting one. Would it have gained its notoriety without the crippling performance issues? Almost certainly not. One of my favorite souls stories revolves around it. A guy had convinced his friend to play Dark Souls, and the next night he received a succinct text: “If I die,…

This seems like deciding it’s better to fly in a plane piloted by someone who doesn’t know how to fly a plane rather than someone who flies in a way you don’t like. If the plane crashes, you may wish the competent pilot you don’t like had been at the controls instead.

“...having Donald Trump as President is better than Mike Pence”, which works as long as you assume that having Mike Pence as President would mean more legislative accomplishments...

I believe in the right of responsible, law-abiding citizens to own guns for the purpose of protecting themselves and their loved ones. This includes me, by the way.

I’m afraid that ship has sailed, my friend. If the government wants to get you at this point, consider yourself got. Defense against a tyrannical government is an argument that hasn’t made much sense since the invention of the tank.

I was just about to post this. There is an interesting correlation among developed nations between access to birth control and abortions and a decrease in crime rates.

Even so it’s like... did we really need to get the police involved, here?

Oh... my... GOD!

I dunno, I mean... I’ve had plenty of books and stories truly surprise me. Like, for example, at one point I read James Joyce’s The Dead, and for however many pages it is minus 2, I just was not seeing what was so great about this story. Then, I read the last two pages and thought Oh, that’s why. Because this story is…

This argument drives me nuts. Most people think they are inherently superior to those who came before because we are, on the whole, better educated and we have iPhones. But the reality is this: if you were born when they were, you’d be as they were, almost certainly. If you were born in the South before the civil war,…

That’s correct. The companies can refuse to honor the warranty if they have actual evidence to suggest you opened it up and botched up something inside (part is broken cleanly in two and covered with fingerprints), but they can’t punish you for opening it up and trying, if your attempt at repairs doesn’t demonstrably…

You’re as bad as they are, and potentially even more dangerous.

Yes, that was the one. What a tragedy.

Unfortunately this isn’t entirely true. I’m aware of at least one airbus crash wherein despite being in a prolonged stall, the staff disregarded their instruments and pulled up for several minutes to try and gain altitude. The plane pancaked and all aboard were killed. Honestly it sounds like a fine idea to limit…

There was an experimental system in trials that used an expert system to assess what parts of the craft were still functional, then attempt to utilize them to make the aircraft do as close to what the pilot wanted through normal control inputs as possible, but I’m not sure it’s been deployed yet. Early reviews from…