You were downvoted for making assumptions about the person you were responding to. All they did was make a lamentful comment about the state of nature, and you came in accusing them of having (or being supportive of having?) a pesticided lawn with automatic sprinkler system. Then you seemed to doubledown on blaming everybody else of shirking personal responsibility, while avoiding giving a straight-forward answer to the simple question of if the “we” in your quote “we completely fucked up the environment” also applied to yourself.

Having the testee measure their own penis is prone to error.

To be fair, testicles aren’t designed for that task.

Thankfully, there are some designs that improve on this! Here’s what’s in my kitchen:

The brand is OXO, for anyone curious.

The keyboard I’m currently using has a key in the F-row that’s tied to a lock screen. I accidentally hit it several times a day, and end up having to put in the passcode to unlock the computer every time.

I wish I could disable that stupid key. I’m tempted to pop it right out. But I use a shared computer, so I’m limited in options here.

I’d really love to find a new radio for my car that: 1) can serve as a monitor for my back-up camera, and 2) isn’t a fucking touch screen.

There are models that are one or the other, but I haven’t found anything that’s both. The closest I’ve found is a compromise - a touchscreen that also has a few tactile controls. But I don’t want to have to rely on any touch screen when I’m driving. I simply don’t feel compelled enough to spend $400+ for a frustrating half-measure.

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting
For this moment to arise

Let us never forget the reason why Paul McCartney wrote the song Black Bird. He wanted to write a song that inspired hope for those involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

Just some trivia that came to mind, might be good to know…

Spiders are always welcome in my garden. They come with free pest control.

As far as ways to filter for such positions, maybe look for roles that require traveling? At the very least, you’d be in a different location throughout your week.

By this logic, the less predictable your daily life is, the more “alive” you are.

So for a lot of us, to be “alive” is to experience constant anxiety about what’s about to happen.

…

Actually, that tracks.

Some fools will reflexively downvote any time they see the word “vegan,” yet I wouldn’t be surprised if knowledge of egg alternatives ends up making a difference in times like these.

With agricultural workers being deported and tariffs increasing the price of food sourced from abroad, Americans are going to have to get creative and flexible with their food habits. We don’t know yet how our grocery store shelves will end up looking, but if someone needs a substitute for an ingredient in a recipe, chances are a group of people already avoids that ingredient and thus has the knowledge of how to work around it. They may be vegan, they may have food allergies, they may have religious restrictions, or they may simply dislike a particular ingredient. Regardless of their reasons, the point is they’ve already experimented with recipes to figure out what works, which means the rest of us don’t have to trial & error everything ourselves.

It’s also worth noting that at the time, Samaritans were seen as an enemy. “To the Jews, a Samaritan was more revolting than a Gentile (pagan); Samaritans were half-breeds who defiled the true religion.”

So when it was written that a good Samaritan was an example of a neighbor, it was more impactful than the phrase implies today. Part of the point was to say that even those perceived as “enemies” are ordinary people that should be treated with the same dignity and care given to one’s own tribe.

I hope it brings you joy to know that “dinosaur” kids are still memorizing these ever-growing lists. I work with kids, and the big dinosaur fan is still teaching me new dino things almost every day. We recently learned of a dinosaur that is basically another student’s name +saurus. That was a cute discovery.

That is amazing. TIL!

So we can say that Bork borked things up?

In case anyone came to the comments looking for directions on how to opt out:

1. Go to Settings. 2) Scroll down and select “Photos.” 3) Locate the “Enhanced Visual Search” option. Turn off the toggle.

Autocorrected spelling helps with a lot, but it doesn’t help with run-on sentences that lack punctuation. Nobody’s expecting punctuation like an English teacher, but when you have to re-read a comment several times to make any sense of it, that’s simply poor communication.

tinfoil hair

Does that provide better coverage than a hat?

Because something something shill money.

The important thing is, you’re compelling people to examine their pre-existing beliefs. They won’t change their beliefs during your conversation, because deprogramming takes time. But the more seeds of doubt you plant, the better the chances are that some will germinate.

I find that the most effective way to encourage people to question themselves is to discuss things calmly and in good faith, through in-person conversations. Challenging people to “convert me” has been surprisingly fruitful - after all, I honestly would love to believe that a benevolent deity is looking out for us all. (As well, tons of believers would equally love to be the one who “shows [you or me] the light.”) I want them to provide compelling evidence that can change my mind.

Approaching the conversation in this fashion not only challenges the “missionary” types to think harder, but it also shifts the onus onto them to convince you. If they’ve never thought critically about their message, this kind of conversation may introduce questions that stick with them long after it’s over.

This idea the parents take most of the responsibility for the achievements of their children is absurd.

There’s also the flip-side of that attitude. It sure must feel nice for parents to be able to congratulate themselves when their kid excels, but what about when their kid has a disability or a developmental impairment? Who is responsible then?

It’s easy to be a parent when your kid acts and responds the way you want them to. Parents of neurodivergent kids can go above and beyond for their children, yet despite that they’ll still be given dirty looks and treated like pariahs when their overstimulated child has a public meltdown.

Kids aren’t raw lumps of clay that parents can mold to perfect shape. The best any parent can do is guide them toward success.