The new commentary is really good, tbh. I had no idea how much research and R&D they did. It looks fucking amazing for a 2004 game. The characters in particular.

It is extremely complex, requires half a dozen countries just to do, and requires incredible education and extremely long work hours.

That, and your state and city elections matter and might be direct votes, which matter a ton now that the government is going to largely become permanently scarred and damaged for decades or longer.

Oooh, I’m reading through the Hyperion series again right now. I will have to check this out afterwards. Thank you!

https://lmstudio.ai/

You can load up your own datasets, has some of its own, too. Most of these are pretty good, but run on synthetic data. Storing and processing something the size of chatgpt would bankrupt most people.

This program can use significant amounts of computer resources if you let her eat. I recommend closing other programs and games.

They are wild animals, but are almost eerily human.

They are incredibly smart and highly emotionally intelligent. Their families are very much like our own human families, and knowledge is passed down through generations. Some families pass down specialized knowledge that puts them on par with hunter-gatherers. I’d put wolves on the short list of intelligent species who could eventually evolve into a species that could be capable of much more, given a long enough timeline where they self-select for intelligence. Same with elephants, ravens, dolphins, chimps, and whales.

Though that would have to exist on a planet where we didn’t kill most of them and wreck the environment.

Absolutely. Voting in federal, state, and local elections makes big differences. I’ve lived in red and blue states, and my votes have personally swayed policy for red and blue states. Some of the stuff I voted for passed on margins as slim as 1,200 votes, in a city of hundreds of thousands of people (guess how many of them voted?)

As a direct result of me voting, my life dramatically improved because my cut bus lines were restored, the feds rebuilt parts of my city, and people were no longer getting arrested on bullshit charges.

Further civic action saved one local park from redevelopment.

So few people actually vote, even fewer with bad takes. So voting can have a profound impact on your life and other’s lives. Some of my friends got the right to marry. Some others lost their ability to access healthcare and were forced to move states to access it again. It makes a difference.

This doesn’t end with Americans either. You guys worldwide have had a number of extremely close elections, see the list below. Do your civic duty and vote! It can take an hour or less with a bit of research, and has a surprisingly big impact on your life.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_close_election_results

Probably a managed democracy like Russia. I wouldn’t be suprised if Trump ‘ran’ for a third term after this one. He’s going to fuck the voting system if he wins again. Not to mention all the horrific shit in project 2025, which will fire most of the non-aligned government staff running stuff like NOAA. Good luck with hurricane and fire predictions when the head of NOAA is some Amazon author, lmao.

You screw the Canadians, Mexicans, Ukrainians, and a bunch of normal countries around the world, not to mention some other friends across the pond.

Protest voting is exactly what Trump is hoping people will do because he knows his constuency is too small if people turn out to vote in greater numbers.

Shoutout to whoever drew the cat butler from Omori.

Just finished that game and it left me fucked up but also…happy? Massive emotional whiplash.

Thank you!

We need more third places that kids, teens, AND adults can access. Without needing to drive to them.

Lime bikes and scooters, too. Totally transformed our city after we finally started installing protected bike lanes (and light rail), and a ton of people use them instead of cars. I bought an ebike and use my car like, once a month to grab something like a heavy AC unit.

It’s not new, but this tune will keep being reused for a billion years. It’s got religious adaptations, too, providing incredible staying power. It will probably be used for many more years, as it’s one of those “golden” tunes that people will never quite forget.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Mountain_Thyme

If you went to Mass, you have probably heard it. Here’s a modern, secular cover of it:

https://youtu.be/LFw81n_nD1s

Just get a window AC if you have the right type of windows. Otherwise, a dual hose portable heat pump from costco or other reputable source.

Stay and vote. The way I see it, Canada is fucked if PP wins anyways, and will be hurt by Trump regardless. Europe is fucked if the alt right wins in France and hobbles Germany in the next couple elections. Nigel Farage is going to parasitically eat the conservatives from the inside out in the UK. Trump will pull put of NATO, which means war on Europe’s doorstep and probably all of south east Asia if China decides they don’t mind war.

Running isn’t going to work. Voting and protesting and political action is what will keep us all at peace and ever vigilant against populism and later, fascism. All hope isn’t lost. We still can undo the damage and categorically reject hate and corruption that is threatening democracies worldwide (and already dooming authoritarian countries with massive population gaps and economic damage)

About 41,000 Americans die in fatal car accidents, with another 289,000 injured in 2022 alone, from distracted driving. If we are going to be banning dangerous things, heavy consumer cars and trucks should probably be right up there.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2022-traffic-deaths-2023-early-estimates

You wash your ass every time you take a shit, even when at work? :P

Yeah, that was a bit depressing. The PFAS make it a lot more water soluble. My guess is that old TP didn’t break down very well at all, and was kinda splintery (or at least more paper-y).

Luckily, the bidet removes much of that as long as you don’t use TP. And for those that have bad pipes or a septic system, I think a bidet is an invaluable part of saving you lots of money, since you aren’t packing extra material down the pipes.

My BF and I are getting married soon! :D

I’m super excited. We live across borders, so I will finally be able to live with him. So much more time for fun stuff like camping and climbing, and even just normal stuff like reading or cooking together.