That was an unexpectedly titillating and insightful read.

I agree that there are 6 Justices contorting their understanding of the Constitution but I don’t think impeachment is the answer. The political tit-for-tat has only grown more outrageous each passing year, from withholding SCOTUS justice confirmations to cabinet picks and budget brinksmanship. Our elected officials are more interested in scoring points than governing. Both sides of the aisle should be ashamed of how they are representing us, “We, The People.”

I wish I had a solution but I’ve grown disillusioned by the one-upsmanship and grandstanding. There is no coming together anymore.

This exchange from DS9’s Past Tense, fittingly set in late-August 2024, comes to mind.

SISKO: It’s not that they don’t give a damn, Doctor. It’s that they’ve given up. The social problems they face seem too enormous to deal with.

BASHIR: That only makes things worse. Causing people to suffer because you hate them is terrible, but causing people to suffer because you have forgotten how to care? That’s really hard to understand.

SISKO: They’ll remember. It’ll take some time and it won’t be easy, but eventually people in this century will remember how to care.

Call it Trekkie idealism but I still have hope. Live long and prosper, y’all 🖖

Checks and balances, baby! amiright, guys?

/s

As a dad?l, this new world terrifies me. The craziest trends that caught on for me were Pokémon cards, tamagotchi, and Uno.

At the rate we’re going, history books will be banned before we know it.

Damn! Your list made me remember that I missed Superliminal.

Which led me to Stanley’s Parable, which I hated. I maintain that I totally missed something despite a few playthroughs to “the end” but it seems to have just gone over my head.

*Break the Game is $2 during the Summer Sale. Definitely trying it.

My game time is limited so I play what I hope to be most impactful. My list is chock full of unforgettable experiences:

• Control
• RDR2
• Uncharted
• Dead Space
• God of War
• Ori and The Will of the Wisps
• Disco Elysium
• The Artful Escape
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Gris

The first three I’d say there was life before and then life after. The rest, I wouldn’t want to miss if I had a redo in life.

Picard, my friend. I don’t know history well enough to know if MSFT was involved or not based on our colleagues comments below but I most certainly agree that the horse armor was a reckoning, and dawn of a depressingly fraught new era.

I experienced the same at “regular” beaches out in Greece. Topless women and Speedos were just as normal as any other beachgoer. It was really rather relaxing thinking back to it now.

Someday I hope to build up the courage to visit/participate a nudist beach. It seems far more comfortable and “normal” in Europe than in the States from my travels. Remarkably humanizing.

“It’s the circle of liiiife”

Pain always adds a little pizazz to the finer things in life 😉

There are 9 planets…

$108k for those! With all the workers and equipment, I wonder if they profited. What a wild treasure hunt.

There’s a burial spot somewhere for old game cartridges too, right?

I would say it’s a war against knowledge and critical thinking. Those two things threaten their control and reasoning. Why else fear books or competing ideologies?

It’s one thing for the deer to see headlights coming at it. It’s another for it to know what it means and what it should do.

Is it weird that I still want to go for my PhD despite all the feedback about the process? I don’t think I’ve ever met a PhD or candidate that’s enthusiastically said “do it!”

Ngl if it weren’t for my soul crushing student loan debt, I’d do this. Not to qualify for jobs or gloat, I just love learning.

I hope to start a PhD before 40 but the finances and family life aren’t looking too promising.

Do I have a slot for that?

I recently started playing Diablo 4. I’ve never bought DLC or cosmetics but I recall the horse armor uproar. My shock when some of these cosmetics are $20 for mount or town portal…what?!