beka valentine
@bekavalentine.bsky.social
a dyke who hacks on things. she/xey/ey.
defnotbeka@twitter.com
beka_valentine@kolektiva.social
defnotbeka@twitter.com
beka_valentine@kolektiva.social
in linguistics we dont usually think about folk meanings at all, since meaning is whatever people use things to mean. folk etymology is different precisely because the origin of a thing is an empirical matter and people are often wrong about them
December 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
in linguistics we dont usually think about folk meanings at all, since meaning is whatever people use things to mean. folk etymology is different precisely because the origin of a thing is an empirical matter and people are often wrong about them
and the ones that tend to stick are the ones that are the most captivating, and "balls out" and "balls to the wall" certainly evoke a memorable image
but these were originally just referencing literal balls on different kinds of engine throttles!
but these were originally just referencing literal balls on different kinds of engine throttles!
December 9, 2025 at 7:36 AM
and the ones that tend to stick are the ones that are the most captivating, and "balls out" and "balls to the wall" certainly evoke a memorable image
but these were originally just referencing literal balls on different kinds of engine throttles!
but these were originally just referencing literal balls on different kinds of engine throttles!
it sounds like i'm pranking you with this because "balls out" and "balls to the wall" have such a euphemistic feeling to them today, but that's only come about because we've lost all connection to the origins and so people have to make up their own folk etymologies
December 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
it sounds like i'm pranking you with this because "balls out" and "balls to the wall" have such a euphemistic feeling to them today, but that's only come about because we've lost all connection to the origins and so people have to make up their own folk etymologies
similarly, in the 1960s, airplane engine throttles had ball shaped knobs, and if you wanted to push the engines to high speed, you'd push the balls all the way forward against the wall dials, hence "balls to the wall"
December 9, 2025 at 7:34 AM
similarly, in the 1960s, airplane engine throttles had ball shaped knobs, and if you wanted to push the engines to high speed, you'd push the balls all the way forward against the wall dials, hence "balls to the wall"
when you want the engine to run very fast, you change the set point on the governor so that it needs to spin very fast, with the balls all the way out, before it starts to seriously affect fuel flow to the engine
hence, balls out
hence, balls out
December 9, 2025 at 7:31 AM
when you want the engine to run very fast, you change the set point on the governor so that it needs to spin very fast, with the balls all the way out, before it starts to seriously affect fuel flow to the engine
hence, balls out
hence, balls out
Flyball governor for flow control
YouTube video by thang010146
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 7:30 AM
the earliest known instances of "balls out" is used in reference to centrifugal governors on steam engines, which maintain a specific engine speed. the governor spins a pair of balls which rise higher the faster it spins, and thus pinches off more fuel, maintaining speed
December 9, 2025 at 7:29 AM
the earliest known instances of "balls out" is used in reference to centrifugal governors on steam engines, which maintain a specific engine speed. the governor spins a pair of balls which rise higher the faster it spins, and thus pinches off more fuel, maintaining speed
like, i suppose you could have something interesting to say about functional immortality and how they would lead to peculiar social phenomena, but that's not really how any of the stories work out
December 9, 2025 at 1:42 AM
like, i suppose you could have something interesting to say about functional immortality and how they would lead to peculiar social phenomena, but that's not really how any of the stories work out
I just finished it. it's pretty solid. i like his analyses
December 6, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I just finished it. it's pretty solid. i like his analyses
Reposted by beka valentine
this is so funny. if its true that pilot will never buy drinks or live it down and i hope his callsign became something really stupid like Standard or Cruise (missile)
December 6, 2025 at 1:05 AM
this is so funny. if its true that pilot will never buy drinks or live it down and i hope his callsign became something really stupid like Standard or Cruise (missile)
Reposted by beka valentine
A better example: Nazi Germany itself had a brain drain.
The US sent a polymath baseball player as a spy on their atomic bomb program, with the goal of assassinating the heads if they were close.
They weren't, so Heisenberg wasn't assassinated.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg
The US sent a polymath baseball player as a spy on their atomic bomb program, with the goal of assassinating the heads if they were close.
They weren't, so Heisenberg wasn't assassinated.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg
Moe Berg - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by beka valentine
Consider Max Born, forced by the nazis in 1933 as one of their very first acts in power to leave Gottingen and flee to Cambridge, along with basically all their other best physicists.
www.cantorsparadise.com/the-great-pu...
www.cantorsparadise.com/the-great-pu...
The Great Purge of 1933
How Antisemitism Destroyed Mathematics in Germany
www.cantorsparadise.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by beka valentine
The Nazis' famous occultist weird science shit, happened because *a decade earlier* they'd destroyed all German science and education immediately upon gaining power.
Los Alamos happened in the US because that's where they'd exiled all their best physicists in 1933.
Los Alamos happened in the US because that's where they'd exiled all their best physicists in 1933.
December 4, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The Nazis' famous occultist weird science shit, happened because *a decade earlier* they'd destroyed all German science and education immediately upon gaining power.
Los Alamos happened in the US because that's where they'd exiled all their best physicists in 1933.
Los Alamos happened in the US because that's where they'd exiled all their best physicists in 1933.
if the ends are the device and kohler, surely this is indeed e2e
December 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
if the ends are the device and kohler, surely this is indeed e2e