It was really nice. We went prior to the Olympics, but Paris and other parts of France are beautiful and lovely each in their own way. It feels very much like home, yet foreign at the same time.

I will never forget how immaculately well kept the American graves were at the beaches of Normandy. They treat them with such respect, and it brought tears to my eyes. The people of France will always have a spot in my heart for what they’ve done for us in our time of need and for the utmost respect they have shown our ancestors in both world wars.

I love a good hardcover, but tend to flip between hardcover, paperback, and kobo e-ink. I try to buy used books where possible just for the environmental impact. They are often less expensive, too.

Whenever I think about these things, I just think of the UK and how long they’ve been around. Wars, plagues, economic meltdowns, etc. They may not be the global power anymore, but on the whole, things seem to be working out fairly well for them. For the rest of developed countries, I don’t worry much either.

The only countries I do actually worry about are China and russia, since both have lost generations of people either to capital flight, or self-imposed policies that have erased generations of young people and women. There’s no way to undo that generational damage, even if you started importing immigrants 24/7 to get married and all that. Generally, big upsets like that result in massive wars/starvation/mass purges/etc.

That said, if I were Germany, I’d be working to get off LNG as soon as possible. I’d be looking at advanced nuclear and securing non-russian nuclear fuels in case climate change causes the ocean currents to shift and make things hotter/cooler around the north Atlantic and North Sea. Nothing good can come from russian LNG at this point. Investing in R&D in renewables, scientific advancements, and clean energy is probably where I’d be retrenching my economy.

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Smuggle budgies for your partner, haha.

Didn’t Borat wear one of these? Edit: yes, just realized it’s part of the hyperlink, lol.

https://www.bananahammockworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Borat-Banana-Hammock-Mankini-205x300.png

Insane rent hikes. Landlords and corps shouldn’t be able to raise rent from $1,700 mo to $8,000 mo in a single period, let alone a handful of years.

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

The only way it could have been whiter is if they started arguing about how spicy ketchup is, lol.

They are for watercooling, but you are right that people don’t need them. OEMs just add some holes or a random reservoir mount and then bill a case as Watercooling Ready™️, even if it has like, space for one 120x15mm rad, lol.

Watercooling holes. That said, I’ve never seen anyone use them. Mounting external rads is a bitch. They take up space. Most people just buy a watercooling compatible case.

Wow, if I was a customer, I’d be dropping them immediately even if I didn’t pirate. That is sketchy as hell.

3D printers were a 21st century invention, I think.

Quadcopters and other multirotor designs resulted in an incredible leap in affordable cinematography, racing applications, rescue, mapping, and warfare.

Hard to quantify, but stuff like PrEP (a drug used to prevent HIV infection) has probably saved a staggering number of lives across the globe, same with the yearly influenza vaccines.

For a more personal one?

I’d say the innovations to bikes, which have been staggering since 2000. Downhill mountain bikes have had staggering changes that make them lighter, faster, stronger, and way more stable, and they look dramatically different to their 90s counterparts. Stuff like dropper posts, modern full suspension, tubeless tires, disc brakes, and massive cassettes make them incredible. You can roll over a cantaloupe-sized rock at 20mph and the bike will just take it without you being ejected over the bars.

Ebikes have totally changed the calculus in hilly cities, even in flat ones to some extent. Being able to effortlessly bike 45 miles and not be totally thrashed the next day is such a gamechanger, it’s actually beyond belief. My car has been largely collecting dust because most trips day to day are under 45 miles. And it takes pennies to recharge vs $90 or so to refill the tank.

Bikes already help take tons of cars off the road worldwide, but ebikes could really help extend people’s ranges, particularly if they would normally drive otherwise.

There’s one here in the US that doesn’t have any signage at all. Just a lightly pink door. It opens down into one of the coolest restaurants and live performance places in the city. It has become pretty popular.

Any reason in particular? I would have thought that the UK would be all over good rail transit.

I want us to build a massive collider in New Mexico. There’s a bunch of land around Black Mesa that could probably house a massive underground collider. The US needs a big one!

I find it really interesting, the juxtaposition between pets and humans, sometimes even at the same events. Awkward huggers will get down there and really be physically affectionate with pets and competent at it, too. It always warms my heart, but also makes me wish society was just a bit more relaxed sometimes. Pets can be the instigators of play in a great way, but it also makes me wonder if people are missing opportunities to form stronger connections to friends and family members.

It was really interesting to watch. I know Tolkien didn’t write the entire series as a reflection of WW1, but while watching longer clips of WW1 british soldiers (particularly in non-combat scenarios), I was struck at just how playful and affectionate they were with each other, even POWs that they were relaxing with or sometimes, playing with. In some sense, I feel like the culture around physical affection was just a bit different back then, and people were less guarded. Feels like some of that seeps into Tolkien’s books :)

Not necessarily. I’ve noticed female friends tend to be much more adept at physical affection on the whole. Men tend to have a much wider range, with some hugging you (male) like a 2x4, whereas others shimmy over to you and rest their head or arm around you on a chairlift.

Mostly, I wanted to hear how male-male friends and family treated each other physically, without the complication of SOs or romantic partners fuzzing the responses (since people tend to already be physically affectionate with romantic partners).

It’s been really interesting to hear, the responses are much more diverse than I was expecting, and it’s really heartwarming to see.

It’s been a much more diverse range of comments than I anticipated. It’s very heartening to see. :)