Blabberbox:Random blog-like posts from pftq.Share on Twitter

Yorushika Piano Full Medley

November 17th, 2020 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Yorushika Piano Full Medley arranged by Polalice Alvireo (@PolaliceAlvireo)
158 unique view(s)

Past Becomes Myth

September 20th, 2020 | Posted by pftq in Stories | #
1. Kid watches people fly on TV. Parent: "Humans can't actually fly. Our bodies are too heavy. It's just a myth."
2. 1000 yrs later... Extremely fat kid watches people run on TV. Parent: "Humans can't actually run. Our bodies are too heavy. It's just a myth."
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Just a random idea for a comic that came to mind.
(but I do secretly believe we used to be able to fly)
223 unique view(s)

Nameless

September 20th, 2020 | Posted by pftq in Stories | #
Another mystery/horror story that came as a dream (and somewhat terrifying one at that)...

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A group of friends are traveling to a new city and staying there for a bit. It is a tropical beach city - a sandy, walkable, small town with low-rise, shack-like residences.  They play video games as a team online the first night and joke about why they bother to name the group if they can't beat anyone yet.  After midnight, they order food delivered on GrubHub, since it's too late to go out and fall asleep after eating.

The next morning,...[More]
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Sims 3 Generations Build Mode OST

April 25th, 2020 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Sims 3 Generations Build Mode OST by Steve Jablonsky (@jablonsky_steve)
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As Soon as They Die

August 22nd, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Thought of the Day | #
How can you say you love someone forever if as soon as they die, you ditch them in the ground to rot and never look back? What kind of horrible, inhumane person does that?
567 unique view(s)

Modern Schools

August 9th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
This is just my own personal preference in lifestyle obviously, but one of the thoughts I can't stand is how repetitive the life of a modern teacher must be, the dread of just living year after year on loop teaching the same thing but with no progression and not even the same students to share the journey.  To me, the thought of it is like being trapped in Groundhog Day.  You are the rock that never moves while all your students pass you by.  Fifty years can pass, your students already having lived entire lives, and when they come back to visit, you're still there doing the same thing, as if part of the historical scenery itself.

I kind of wish there was a more old-fashioned approach, where you and your teacher are both a team growing and learning together until the student finally one day becomes equal or even surpasses the teacher.  What we have instead with schools/colleges is more an assembly line where students churn in and out, the teachers sometimes...[More]
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Daydream Believers Cover

August 9th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Daydream Believer Cover by Youmou & Ohana
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SF vs Tokyo Prices

August 9th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
What $200/night gets you in SF, worst part of town but rated 4/5:
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/I-paid-202-to-stay-at-a-micro-hotel-in-SF-14287621.php#photo-18030559

What $65/night gets you in Tokyo, center of Shibuya:
https://www.themillennials.jp/shibuya?lang=en

And food prices:...[More]
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One Punch Cat Fan Animation

July 2nd, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Found @dillongoo's fan animation sadly more satisfying to watch than the second season. #OnePunchMan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niXMKRey9Yg
591 unique view(s)

A Taste for Health

June 27th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Stories | #
Had an idea for a story recently for if society found a way to make someone naturally like the taste of healthy foods (like vegetables, etc) - imagine if what you liked and craved lined up with what was good for you.  It sounds and all seems well, everyone eating better diets and enjoying better lifestyles.  Then imagine one day unexplained animal attacks start leaving people dead and torn up, seemingly at random and in generally urban settings with no dangerous wild predators.  As the story goes on, footage and evidence start to reveal the attacks seem to come from not any animal but a human.  The authorities track down and arrest one suspect, but the killings continue, seemingly at random and with no motive.  It turns out not to be any one person but people at random who suddenly go mad for human meat.  The commonality is they've all been genetically modified to like the taste of whatever is good for them, and it worked too well.  Because the healthiest...[More]
244 unique view(s)

Bitcoin Calls Below Parity

June 22nd, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Bitcoin is moving so fast that call options on @LedgerX are priced below parity, as if $BTC was still below $11K. Literally free money (just buy the call and sell one Bitcoin to net the difference). #Bitcoin #BTC
734 unique view(s)

USDT Minting

June 16th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Personal theory on where the #USDT is going - it's actually lent out on #Bitfinex. Risk-free return for the minters while collecting borrow fees during $BTC rallies. The thought came to mind when I noticed a $77M lending wall in their funding page at the same time the $100M USDT headline came out. Other exchanges having increased borrow rates once $BTC broke $9000, but the rates on Bitfinex stayed about the same.
645 unique view(s)

Flagging Uber, Lyft with QR Codes

June 9th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
For me it's still easier to flag a taxi in #NYC. It'd be great if you can flag @Uber or @Lyft the same way and just swipe QR codes to pay. Then you don't have to wait 5 min for the app to find drivers or for someone else further away to circle the block after accidentally passing you a few times.  Since many drivers already label their cars with Uber or Lyft signs, this is sort of part way there already.  The only thing missing is for a way to pay without driver searching, which would be solved by QR scanning the driver's phone when the passenger steps in to bypass the search process.
321 unique view(s)

Conversations

May 29th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Overhead a couple people having one of the more interesting philosophical conversations in a long time and wanted to join in, only to then realize they were middle school students doing homework. Sigh.
321 unique view(s)

Saitama vs Suiryu Fan Animation

May 26th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Thought this fan animation was more exciting to watch than the actual scene in the anime, which sadly often felt more like still images panned across the screen. #onepunchman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkY6bFt5UkY
284 unique view(s)

Brightburn at Dolby Cinema

May 25th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Just watched @Brightburn but was actually more impressed by @DolbyCinema. The bass was so heavy + directional that it felt like the sensation of a train speeding by (or coming right at you), which made it scarier than the scene itself.
224 unique view(s)

Conversation with a Doctor

May 24th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
One of the more frustrating experiences I've had in a while... part of what makes the healthcare here feel pretty worthless.  Obviously not reflective of all doctors... just many my own experiences.
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Doctor: Here's a prescription drug that will relieve the symptom.  Just take it everyday from now on, and you won't feel it anymore.
Me: Is there a test or something we can do to check why it's happening? Or if it might be more serious?
Doctor: Like what?
Me: Maybe it's...[More]
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If People Talked About Internet Like They Do Blockchain

May 10th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Person B: Have you heard of this thing called the Internet? It's the future. You should buy as many dial-up modems as you can before the price goes up.  Once the Internet becomes mainstream, we'll all be rich.
Person A: Why would the price go up?
Person B: Because adoption.  Everyone will start using the Internet.  You could use it to store information, transact, compute things... everything will be on the Internet.
Person A: Isn't that just computers in general?
Person B: No, unlike just your home computer, anything that is on the Internet stays there forever.  It's also decentralized, meaning no one can shut it down or control it.  And most importantly, it's global.  Everything has to be global nowadays.  That's the future.  Personal computing was the first revolution.  This is the next one.  Imagine if you could go back in time to the 80's before personal computing was mainstream.  This is that...[More]
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Prions and Synthesized Foods

April 23rd, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Ideas | #
More an open-ended question here.  Prions, or misfolded proteins, are the cause of mad-cow disease when eating meat.  The animal itself is more likely to be produce misfolded proteins when eating brain tissue, but sometimes it's also just luck (or perhaps environmental, stress, etc).  The prions themselves cannot be destroyed by heating or other means once created, as it's more a mutation than a "disease." Once in the body, it causes other proteins to be misfolded as well in a tumor-like fashion.  

With regards to new synthesized foods like vegan or lab-grown meats,  I wonder what ways (if any) are there to unintentionally create misfolded proteins in the process as well.  Right now, it seems that they try to mess with the vegetable ingredients as little as possible when creating the meat flavor and texture.  Some of these opt for an organic and non-GMO label to make it distinct, but a concern would be if something like lab grown meats...[More]
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A Wish for a Life

April 2nd, 2019 | Posted by pftq in Stories | #
Imagine if you could make any wish come true but would cause the death of one random person.

A man, known as the Baron, lives in a castle atop a hill and is suspected of having a supernatural artifact that does this, causing many mysterious deaths in the nearby town for his own gain.  Each death is similar, with each person becoming suddenly frail and ghostly pale before dying within days.  The story initially seems one of despair, as no one can really prove this to authorities and people at random just keep dying.  Many supporting and likeable characters have their arc abruptly ended in this manner.

An investigator tries to solve this mystery but doesn't believe in superstition.  He's an outsider to the town and tries to bring science and reason he believes the townspeople lack.  He suspects more likely the Baron created this rumor to hide something more nefarious.  A friend of the investigator gets frustrated with the investigator's calm...[More]
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