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#1

Off the Record / Re: What does a BIDEN Presiden...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 02:51:35 AM

My grandfather was a Lutheran pastor and served a term as a Bishop in the ELCA.  I remember him telling me that during his term he had argued in favor of endorsing some newer revision of the Bible because he wanted the Message to be as clear as possible to as many people as possible, but there were conservatives who disagreed and ultimately they made no change to their recommended translation of the Bible for congregations... or something along those lines (this was in the 1980s so my memory is a bit fuzzy on the specifics).

It's weirdly ironic. Translating the Bible into language people could understand (English, German etc.) without need for interlocutors in the form of pastors/priests was once a transgressive and groundbreaking move. Now, these centuries old translations have become more difficult to understand for contemporary Christians, but now you have again some conservatives pushing back on updating translations, sticking to the old ones.

Its funny though, because these colloquial translations might have made things harder for modern folk to read than if they'd stuck to more formal English at the time.
Always strikes me as funny when you get low grade fiction having a historic person speaking polite ye olde English throwing around thou et al. English mostly lost its impolite forms. Its the polite formal forms we kept.
Like imagine a bible translation using all the hippest 1970s language. This tends to be a bit of a problem with modern language takes; they go too far in trying to be trendy.

#2

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 02:38:21 AM

I approve.
Fuck England and Englishness.
I'm Bernician, British, and European. English only grudgingly when it comes to international sport. Its a redundant intermediate level.

I'm surprised though, I had thought vibes were very negative in the past decade or so. Wonder what it'd look like stretching back an extra decade or two- I suppose a big sudden rise was just before the graph?

#3

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by Syt - Today at 01:04:08 AM

What was the candle situation on the show?

#4

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by The Brain - Today at 12:55:21 AM

What was the 2012 identity crisis about?

#5

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 12:52:37 AM

Interesting results which I find counterintuitive 

The British state has hardly covered itself in glory in recent years.

Perhaps a shared hatred of the tories is bringing the country together 

#6

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by The Brain - Today at 12:51:24 AM

I've enjoyed the new Shogun. But they didn't have to portray Japan as having the same vibrant colors as a Soviet mining town during a blackout.

[You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000Thermonator, the first "flamethrower-wielding robot dog," is completely legal in 48 US states.]

#7

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Syt - Today at 12:42:20 AM

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/you-can-now-buy-a-flame-throwing-robot-dog-for-under-10000/

"What could possibly go wrong?"

You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000
Thermonator, the first "flamethrower-wielding robot dog," is completely legal in 48 US states.
BENJ EDWARDS - 4/23/2024, 11:27 PM

If you've been wondering when you'll be able to order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first announced last summer, that day has finally arrived. The Thermonator, what Throwflame bills as "the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog" is now available for purchase. The price? $9,420.

Thermonator is a quadruped robot with an ARC flamethrower mounted to its back, fueled by gasoline or napalm. It features a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control through a smartphone.

It also includes a LIDAR sensor for mapping and obstacle avoidance, laser sighting, and first-person view (FPV) navigation through an onboard camera. The product appears to integrate a version of the Unitree Go2 robot quadruped that retails alone for $1,600 in its base configuration.

The company lists possible applications of the new robot as "wildfire control and prevention," "agricultural management," "ecological conservation," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX." But most of all, it sets things on fire in a variety of real-world scenarios.

Back in 2018, Elon Musk made the news for offering an official Boring Company flamethrower that reportedly sold 10,000 units in 48 hours. It sparked some controversy because flamethrowers can also double as weapons or potentially start wildfires.

In the US, flamethrowers are legally unregulated in 48 states and are not considered firearms by federal agencies. Restrictions exist in Maryland, where flamethrowers require a Federal Firearms License to own, and California, where the range of flamethrowers cannot exceed 10 feet.

Even so, to state the obvious, flamethrowers can easily burn both things and people, starting fires and wreaking havoc if not used safely. Accordingly, the Thermonator might be one Christmas present you should skip for little Johnny this year.

#8

Off the Record / Re: Indian Elections 2024

Last post by Syt - Today at 12:26:13 AM

Asked my Indian coworker if he followed the elections. He said no, because it's way too depressing what's happening to the country. Besides, he can't cast a vote from Austria, anyways. He confirmed Sikhs being repressed but slightly less than Muslims (he himself is non-religious Hindu from Jaipur).

#9

Off the Record / Re: NHL Hockey thread

Last post by Barrister - Today at 12:01:21 AM

well fuck.

1-1 Jets Avs

#10

Off the Record / Re: Indian Elections 2024

Last post by Barrister - April 23, 2024, 11:37:09 PM

SO I think that the BJP and Hindu nationalism are politically-manufactured artifices that really don't stand up to the least bit of actual religious examination.

So I feel like I've said this kind of thing before:

I don't want to make a religious criticism of a non-Christian religion.  Because, of course, I could make a pretty basic critique that it's obviously false because they Hindus don't follow Christ.

But even beyond that - I could make a critique of Catholics and Orthodox because they don't follow the (obviously) true Protestant faith.

Or even within protestantism, there is of course all kinds of room for criticism (and this is where I don't know where I'd place myself anyways).

So I have no doubt that the BJP can be subject to religious criticism.  But I also don't doubt that I am in no way the person to make that criticism.  I merely attempted to observe, without criticism, what their position was.