Life or Death Debate: Locking Threads Without Hugging It Out

[Eliahad]

You know the rules. Blah blah, we talk about things for a while and come to a conclusion.

This topic:

How much is Kyle insecure that his submission to the soda debate thread isn't as good as he thinks it is?

Go!

[Kyle]

IN THE FIRST INSTANCE... I'm pretty insecure and you know that. And it hurts when you hammer the nail on the vulnerabilities that you know will hurt me most. This isn't you, Eli. It isn't us. Sure, it's not where I thought we'd be ten years ago when we agreed to go on this journey together, but it's not where you thought we'd be either. No one knows the future and that's neither of our faults. But still we look down and we're here. We can't help it. We're here. So the question we need to ask ourselves- both you and I- is do we want to keep walking forward together, or do we want to walk in opposite directions? Because I can tell you this: I want to keep walking forward. And I want you to walk with me.

I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry. I did this and I'm sorry. But I don't want to sacrifice everything we built together because of some dumb spur of the moment decision I made to lock a thread. I should have been better than that. I AM better than that and I'm going to make it my number one priority to prove that to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I locked the thread, but there's nothing we can do about that now. But I'm looking to the future. A future with you. I'm just a man holding out my hand and begging you to take it and see if we can move forward together. Take my hand, Eli. Please.

[Eliahad]

You're right, you're right, of course you're right. I'll go change the title of the thread.

[Phoebe]

How do we know that Mike's chicken wing soda isn't the best since no one else has tried it? Did I get that right, it's chicken wings soda? What the hell?

Anyway, my fascinating human ability to extrapolate and abstract from my empirical experience tells me that a prune flavored soda with minimal added refined sugars would be the best way to go, but I don't know where that product is. Can someone help me find that product? Maybe it would be some type of plum soda?

[Mike]

Oh shit... the judges actually locked the thread. I thought Kyle was kidding. This is new for them. They must be very serious about soda

[bralbovsky]

Ok, ok...

not to muddy the waters, but as a person who likely still has intestinal scarring from the quantity of Mountain Dew (all varieties) that I consumed, I'm throwing in a nomination for a soda that mostly reminds me of childhood.
I love ren faire birch beer and licorice malt, and lots of "fully developed palate" stuff.

Root Beer (not Barqs) specifically the kind you get made on the spot at your local A&W, less wonderfully, their packaged stuff.
If you can't get that, there's an imported variety, Ringnes that's also exceedingly light and bubbly with the magical taste of the earth lingering behind it.

Root beer, specifically A&W, featured as the least toxic soda, which ought to count for something. Also, one can make it at home as a fun, only marginally dangerous family activity.
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/ ... oth-enamel

I will look for this supposedly magical Dr Pepper. I might be able to cadge some from Our Lady of Wegmans.

[Kyle]

Nominations are closed. But what are your opinions on locking down threads due to insecurities?

[bralbovsky]

Insecurities are inevitable; yielding to them is the root cause of much is what's wrong with the world.

Worst are the powerful, who, dogged by their insecurities, bully the weak in order to attempt bolstering their self image, ultimately humiliating and debasing everything.

Followed by those who know what the right, courageous thing to do might be, but doubt, and in the process lose both their struggle and their self respect.

At the bottom are those who have nothing but our insecurities, paralyzed, for the most part, most of the time, but occasionally moved by triggers to flail and writhe...mostly that breaks trivial, fragile stuff that was perhaps once beautiful.

So, against.

[Akiva]

Let Nietzsche decide for us: “Once and for all, there are many things I choose not to know.--Wisdom sets limits even to knowledge.”

So obviously locking the thread is the right thing to do.

[Phoebe]

Root beer, specifically A&W, featured as the least toxic soda, which ought to count for something.

It does count for very much indeed! I really like root beer floats and I feel like no other soda can be combined with ice cream as well as root beer, so that's a huge set of points in its favor. Even cream soda doesn't work with ice cream in the way that root beer does, and I can't even mix diet Dr pepper with Captain Morgan without knowing that I'm doing something fundamentally wrong. I don't like to knowingly do wrong. Maybe my life would be easier if I were the sort of person who could wander about knowingly violating the moral law, or wallowing in and relishing my own guilt while doing it, but I cannot, so...
Something troubling has happened.
I think I've just made an argument for Mike.
Because the Captain... He used to be important in my life and he can't be a very good part of your life if you don't mix him with... That soda.
I'm going to stop writing now because I've upset myself.

[Phoebe]

Insecurities are inevitable; yielding to them is the root cause of much is what's wrong with the world.

We see what you did there, under the guise of making a responsive argument.

[Phoebe]

Let Nietzsche decide for us:

Then Zarathustra stood up and said to his heart:
"Indeed, a nice catch of fish Zarathustra has today! No human being did he catch, but a corpse instead.
Uncanny is human existence and still without meaning: a jester can spell its doom."

In other words, even if somebody tries to lock the thread down, start a new thread and keep going because why the hell not?

Also just to be clear akiva wins the thread for letting Nietzsche decide it.

[bralbovsky]

So, belatedly, since it's apparently illegal in my county, I found some of this fabled dr pepper zero cream soda. My evaluation will be saved as draft until I manage to return with some so that Darcs can sample it. All this knowing that a verdict has been rendered; it's just for science.

[Kyle]

Update- all beverages, except the fountain drink- have been purchased and will be tested this weekend.

[Phoebe]

I can't find any.

[bralbovsky]

You know how the Man in Black tells Inigo, " Get used to disappointment." That's what this soda tastes like.
I like cream soda, but this was empty.
It was so disappointing, adding vanilla crown royal couldn't revive it.
In sympathy, I surmise that folks' appreciation for it might be a symptom of covid loss of sensation.
I had no trouble saving some for Darcs despite the long drive.
The twelve pack I ordered came with one absolutely empty can. I didn't ask for a refund because I thought that was symbolically what it tasted like.
Sorry, but if you can't find it....bullet dodged.

[Mike]

I can't find any.

My grocery story has 12-pack cans. That's the only place I find it.

My kids love it. I still think it's just not quite as good as the original. On first sip, I THINK I like it, but then halfway through the can, it becomes a chore. Something about the chemical aftertaste being slightly more chemical-y than the regular Diet Dr. Pepper.

[Phoebe]

You know how the Man in Black tells Inigo, " Get used to disappointment." That's what this soda tastes like.

I am dead.

I like cream soda, but this was empty.
It was so disappointing, adding vanilla crown royal couldn't revive it.

Slain

In sympathy, I surmise that folks' appreciation for it might be a symptom of covid loss of sensation.

Heh.

I had no trouble saving some for Darcs despite the long drive.
The twelve pack I ordered came with one absolutely empty can. I didn't ask for a refund because I thought that was symbolically what it tasted like.

From this part I will never recover. A forking *empty can*.